Adverbs

An adverb gives us more information about a verb. It can be in the form of a single word (happily) or in a phrase (in the town) and the term adverbial is often used to describe both forms.

Adverbs can be thought of as answering questions, such as How? (manner), Where? (place), When? (time), How often? (frequency), and To what extent? (degree).

Adverbs of Manner.

Add -ly to an adjective: quick/quickly

After a consonant, -y changes to – i happy/happily

Some words can be used as adverbs or adjectives without adding –ly or –ily

Example:

He was a fast worker => He worked fast

Other examples are: better, best, early, hard, high, last, late, monthly, near, wide, worse.

Exercise 1 Spot the mistake (Elementary) Five of the following sentences contain an error with the form of the adverb. If there is an error, write the correct form in the space that follows.

1. John Zenki’s name is at the end of the register so he is always called lastly.
   Check
   lastly is incorrect. The answer is last.
2. My bus was held up this morning so that is why I turned up lately.
   Check
   lately is incorrect. The answer is late.
3. The school monitor is a charming girl and always helps the teacher gladly.
   Check
   gladly is correct.
4. Please open the window widely to let in the fresh air.
   Check
   widely is incorrect. The correct answer is wide.
5. The student did no revision so he did worse in his test this time.
   Check
   worse is correct.
6. I pay my bills monthly by standing order.
   Check
   monthly is correct.
7. If you want to do well in life, you must aim highly.
   Check
   highly is incorrect. The answer is high.
8. The train moved off suddenly and the passengers went flying.
   Check
   suddenly is correct.
9. Robert has a mathematical brain and he thinks quick.
   Check
   quick is incorrect. The answer is quickly.
10. My mother’s motto was “Always do your best!”
    Check
    best is correct.

Adverbs that can cause confusion

Some adverbs have two forms, one with –ly and one without-ly.

These forms have different meanings and uses:e.g.

hard/hardly

He tried hard to find work, but had no luck (=he made a big effort)

He hardly tried at all to find work (=he made almost no effort)

late/lately

I came late for the meeting (= not on time)

We have been having many meetings lately. (= recently)

just/justly

I have just submitted my proposal so there is no feedback yet. (= a short time ago)

I was not treated justly by my boss. He fired me for no reason. (= in an unfair manner)

Exercise2 - Drag and drop. (Elementary)

Exercise2 - Drop-down list. (Elementary) Choose the right adverb in each sentence.

1. Sam is a good tennis player because he can hit the ball hard hardly .
2. We’ve been getting a lot of nuisance calls late lately .
3. I’ve just justly been offered a promotion so let’s celebrate! .
4. You should see a tribunal if you are not treated just justly .
5. Kitchen staff earn hard hardly enough to pay their bills.
6. The ferry often gets in late lately so I miss my connection.
7. If you work hard hardly ,you will get a monthly bonus.
8. There has been a lot of unsettled weather lately late .
9. These two versions are very similar. There is hard hardly .
10. The cabin crew were working to rule so the plane arrived late lately .

Exercise 3 Matching (Advanced) Substitute the adverbs below for the adverbial phrases in the sentences which follow. Each adverb matches one of the sentences.