Level: beginner
Adverbs of manner are usually formed from adjectives by adding –ly:
| bad > badly | quiet > quietly | sudden > suddenly |
but sometimes there are changes in spelling:
| easy > easily | gentle > gently | careful > carefully |
The adverb formed from good is well:
You speak English very well.
Adverbs of manner normally come after the verb:
He spoke angrily.
or after the object:
He opened the door quietly.
- Adverbials of manner 1
- Adverbials of manner 2
Level: intermediate
If an adjective already ends in -ly, we use the phrase in a …. way to express manner:
silly: He behaved in a silly way.
friendly: She spoke in a friendly way.
A few adverbs of manner have the same form as the adjective:
They all worked hard.
She usually arrives late/early.
I hate driving fast.
| Be careful! |
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hardly and lately have different meanings from hard and late:
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We often use phrases with like as adverbials of manner:
She slept like a baby.
He ran like a rabbit.
Adverbials of manner and link verbs
We very often use adverbials with like after link verbs:
Her hands felt like ice.
It smells like fresh bread.
| Be careful! |
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We do not use adverbs of manner after link verbs. We use adjectives instead:
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- Adverbials of manner 3
- Adverbials of manner 4
Comments
Hello
I wanted to know if an adverbial should be put at the front, middle or back.
Hello Jason C,
That really depends on the adverbial, the context and the exact meaning you want to convey. In most situations, though, adverbials of manner come after the verb. You can read a bit more about this on this Cambridge Dictionary page.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello! In the las excercise in the subsection "intensifiers and mitigators" there is this sentence: "The children waited _rather anxiously_ for their new teacher".
I'm a little confused, because lessons say adverbials usually goes after the verb and the complement. Or shouldn't we consider "their new teacher" as the complement of the verb "waited"?
Thanks a lot.
Hello Claudia,
The position of adverbial phrases is very flexible in English. All of the following are possible:
I think the third form is the most common and the fourth the least common, but all are grammatically possible.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Is "regardless of" an adverb(ial) of manner? "He did it regardless of our opinions to the contrary."
Hello anssir66,
I wouldn't call 'regardless' an adverbial of manner. To be honest, I'm not sure what type of adverb it is. I'm afraid I'm not familiar with any commonly accepted classification of adverbs that includes it.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
It's really encapsulating.
Is this sentence, "corruption is very widespread in Nigeria" correct please?
Hello raphway
I answered your other nearly identical comment on the Adverbials page. Please do not post your comments in more than one place.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Is this sentence, "corruption is very widespread" cotter please?
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