What are adverbs?
Adverbs tell us in what way someone does something.
Adverbs can modify verbs (here: drive), adjectives or other adverbs.
adjective | adverb |
Mandy is a careful girl | Mandy drives carefully |
She is very careful | She drives carefully |
Explanation:
Mandy is a careful driver.
This sentence is about Mandy, the driver, so use the adjective.
Mandy drives carefully.
This sentence is about her way of driving, so use the adverb
Form of the adverb: adjective + -ly
adjective | adverb |
dangerous | dangerously |
careful | carefully |
nice | nicely |
horrible | horribly |
easy | easily |
electronic | electronically |
Adverbs formed from adjectives ending -y, pronounced like Dutch 'ie'
If the adjective ends in -y, change the final -y to -i. Then add -ly:
happy - happily
but:
shy – shyly (the 'y' in 'shy' does not sound like Dutch 'ie'.)