ADVERBS: How adverbs are formed

Rules

1. In most cases, an adverb is formed by adding '-ly' to an adjective:

Adjective	Adverb
cheap quick slow	cheaply quickly slowly

Examples

• Time goes quickly.
• He walked slowly to the door.
• She certainly had an interesting life.
• He carefully picked up the sleeping child.

Rules

If the adjective ends in '-y', replace the 'y' with 'i' and add '-ly':

Adjective	Adverb
easy angry happy lucky	easily angrily happily luckily

If the adjective ends in -'able', '-ible', or '-le', replace the '-e' with '-y':

Adjective	Adverb
probable terrible gentle	probably terribly gently

If the adjective ends in '-ic', add '-ally':

Adjective	Adverb
basic economic tragic	basically economically tragically

Note: Exception: public - publicly

2. Some adverbs have the same form as the adjective:

Adjective and Adverb
early fast hard high	late near straight wrong

Compare:

• It is a fast car.
• He drives very fast.
• This is a hard exercise.
• He works hard.
• We saw many high buildings.
• The bird flew high in the sky.

3. 'Well' and 'good'

'Well' is the adverb that corresponds to the adjective 'good'.

Examples

• He is a good student.
• He studies well.
• She is a good pianist.
• She plays the piano well.
• They are good swimmers.
• They swim well.