Delbeke Koenraad - 29 november 1999

The commonest way to form an adverb is to ad –ly to the adjective:

quick – quickly, tidy – tidily, nice – nicely, preposterous – preposterously

There are however a number of exceptions and variations to this rule:

1. Adjectives ending in –ly:

1. These may have the same form as the adverb

e.g. He was a kindly and reasonable man.
e.g. We went for a leisurely walk around the garden.

2. They may require an adverbial phrase.

e.g. She was a friendly person, she always treated us in a friendly manner.

3. They may have no direct adverbial equivalent.

e.g. He is a likely candidate.

2. Adjectives which have the same form as adverbs:

e.g. They woke early and caught the early train.
e.g. He drove fast on the fast lane.

3. Adjectives which have the same form as adverbs (see above), but which also have a

–ly adverb with a different use.

e.g. She looked deep into his eyes, and she was deeply ashamed.

e.g. She arrived late. Lately it had become a habit of hers.

4. Adjectives with only a –ly adverb with a different use

bare cold cool hot present warm

e.g. We can do nothing at the present time. We shall do something presently.

e.g. It was cool in the room, the teacher looked at me coolly.

e.g. It was hot in the police station, the thief hotly denied all accusations.

Complete the following pairs of sentences with a suitable adverb/adjective from the list below, adding –ly as necessary.

first – hard – direct – high – late – short

1. Does this flight go -------------- to Miami?
2. I’ve nearly finished – I shall be with you ---------------- .
3. We’ve had a lot of extra work on ----------------- .
4. I’m going to have to work ------------------- this evening.
5. He drove ----------------- and reached the town by nightfall.
6. When he arrived, he was so tired he could ----------------- keep his eyes open.
7. We’ll have to leave ------------------ if we don’t want to miss the train.
8. The rocket landed some 100 metres ------------------- of its target.
9. She has come ------------------ in her last three races.
10. ------------------ I’d like to congratulate you all on your performance.
11. Her latest play has been -------------------- commended by the critics.
12. The clouds drifted --------------------- above our heads.