Adverbs of manner in English

Adverbs of manner describe how an action happens or is performed. Many are formed from adjectives with -ly, such as quick → quickly and careful → carefully, while others have irregular or unchanged forms, such as good → well, fast → fast and hard → hard.

How to form adverbs of manner

Most adverbs of manner are formed from adjectives by adding -ly, although some use a different form or remain unchanged.

Adjectives + -ly

Form most adverbs of manner by adding -ly to an adjective:

• quick → quickly
• slow → slowly
• loud → loudly
• silent → silently
• quiet → quietly
• careful → carefully
• polite → politely
• excellent → excellently

Common spelling changes

When -ly is added, some adjectives require a small spelling change:

Some adjectives already end in -ly and do not form a normal -ly adverb. Use a phrase with a word such as way, fashion or manner instead:

• silly → in a silly way
• friendly → in a friendly manner
• lovely → in a lovely way
• cowardly → in a cowardly way
• orderly → in an orderly fashion
• lively → in a lively manner

Remember that not all words that end -ly are adverbs. The words above, for example, are all adjectives.

Irregular and unchanged adverbs of manner

Some common adverbs of manner do not follow the normal adjective + -ly pattern:

⚠️ Hard and hardly do not have the same meaning. Hard means with a lot of effort or with difficulty, while hardly means almost not:

• He works hard. (He works with a lot of effort)
• He hardly works. (He does almost no work)

Adverbs of manner sentence placement

Adverbs of manner can appear in different positions in a sentence, depending on the form of the adverb and the effect the speaker wants to create.

End position

Adverbs of manner most naturally appear in the end position for the normal, neutral word order:

• The car drove away quickly.
• Paul waited patiently.
• We all watched eagerly.

When an adverb of manner is in the end position and the verb has a direct object, the adverb goes after the object:

• He accepted their proposal reluctantly.
• They asked their questions politely.
• She passed the exam easily.

Do not put an adverb of manner between a transitive verb and its direct object:

• ❌ He accepted reluctantly their proposal.
• ❌ They asked politely their questions.
• ❌ She passed easily the exam.

Irregular and unchanged adverbs of manner are always used in the end position:

• She plays the violin well.
• He’s been working hard all day.
• Phil drives fast.

Mid position

Adverbs of manner ending -ly can also be placed in the mid position, which means it is placed before the main verb. Sometimes, the mid position allows a little more emphasis to be placed on the adverb; at other times, it may help with the flow, but often it is just as natural as the end position:

• He reluctantly accepted their proposal.
• She carefully opened the package.
• They politely declined the invitation.
• The cat quietly followed the mouse.
• They cheerfully strolled through the park.
• My brother blindly believes anything on social media.

Front position

Adverbs of manner ending -ly can also be placed in front position. This usually gives the adverb extra emphasis and can make the sentence sound more dramatic. It is especially common in descriptive or narrative language, where it can help set the scene:

• Reluctantly, he accepted their proposal.
• Greedily, the children gobbled down the cakes.
• Silently, Bond slipped past the guards.
• Patiently, Paul waited.
• Jubilantly, she opened her present.
• Confidently, he walked into the room.

Prepositional phrases as manner adverbials

A prepositional phrase can also function as a manner adverbial, describing how an action happens in the same way as an adverb of manner. Many of these phrases have an equivalent adverb of manner with the same basic meaning, although the prepositional phrase can give the manner more emphasis. Some common prepositional phrases used to show manner include:

• with ease (easily)
• with enthusiasm (enthusiastically)
• with care (carefully)
• with difficulty (not easily)
• without a sound (quietly, silently)
• in silence (silently)
• in comfort (comfortably)
• in a hurry (hurriedly)
• by accident (accidentally)
• on purpose (deliberately)
• at random (randomly)
• at full speed (quickly)

Prepositional phrases to show manner most naturally and neutrally appear in the end position:

• She handled the vase with care.
• He answered with confidence.
• They waited in silence.
• I deleted the file by accident.

To give greater emphasis to the manner, they can also be placed in the front position:

• With care, she handled the vase.
• By accident, we sent the wrong package.
• With enthusiasm, the children played with the dog.
• In silence, the students began their exam.

English also uses many fixed and idiomatic expressions as manner adverbials, for example:

• with a heavy heart (sadly and reluctantly)
• without a care (without worrying about anything)
• like a pro (very skilfully, like a professional)
• like a madman (in a wild, uncontrolled or extremely energetic way)
• like clockwork (very smoothly, regularly and exactly as planned)
• with open arms (warmly and enthusiastically)
• with all your heart (sincerely or with great enthusiasm)
• under your breath (very quietly, so that other people cannot easily hear)
• at the top of your voice (as loudly as possible)
• on the sly (secretly, especially because you do not want to be noticed)
• without hesitation (immediately and confidently, without pausing to think)
• in good faith (honestly and sincerely)

Common mistakes with adverbs of manner

The most common mistakes with adverbs of manner involve placing the adverb in the wrong position or confusing adverbs with adjectives. The table below shows some typical errors and the correct forms.

Don’t separate a verb from its direct object

An adverb of manner cannot be placed between a transitive verb and its direct object:

• ❌ They pay well the workers.
• ✅ They pay the workers well.

• ❌ She sang beautifully the song.
• ✅ She sang the song beautifully.

Don’t confuse adjectives and adverbs

Adjectives describe nouns, and therefore typically appear directly before the noun they describe or as a complement to a linking verb like be. Using an adverb to describe a noun in this way is incorrect:

• ❌ They look like happily people.
• ✅ They look like happy people.

• ❌ You are very quietly today.
• ✅ You are very quiet today.

Adverbs of manner describe how the verb happens. You cannot use an adjective to describe a verb:

• ❌ They easy passed the exam.
• ✅ They easily passed the exam.

• ❌ Are you sitting comfortable?
• ✅ Are you sitting comfortably?

Free adverbs of manner worksheets