ADVERBS OF MANNER

Adverbs of manner are usually formed from adjectives by adding –ly:

bad > badly; quiet > quietly; sudden > suddenly

but there are sometimes changes in spelling:

easy > easily; gentle > gently

If an adjective 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.
I hate driving fast.

Note: hardly and lately have different meanings:
He could hardly walk = It was difficult for him to walk.
I haven’t seen John lately = I haven’t seen John recently.

We often use phrases with like as adverbials of manner:

She slept like a baby.
He ran like a rabbit.

Adverbs 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.

But we do not use other adverbials of manner after link verbs. We use adjectives instead:

They looked happily happy.
That bread smells deliciously delicious.

Try these exercises to practice your use of adverbials of manner.

Try these tasks to practice your use of placement of adverbials.