Lesson 91 · Stage 8: Adjectives, adverbs & prepositions
Adjectives and adverbs
BeginnerForm & use
quick vs quickly, good vs well, hard vs hardly — describing a thing vs describing how something is done
1.Adjective or adverb?
An adjective (quick, careful, clear) describes a person or thing — it goes before a noun or after be / look / feel… An adverb (quickly, carefully, clearly) describes how something is done — it usually goes after the verb, or after the object if there is one.
| Adjective — describes a noun | Adverb — describes a verb | |
|---|---|---|
| Pattern | adjective + noun / be + adjective | verb (+ object) + adverb |
| Example | Linh is a careful driver. | Linh drives carefully. |
| Example | Tuan's pronunciation is clear. | Tuan speaks clearly. |
| Example | This is an easy exercise. | I did the exercise easily. |
The library is always very quiet.
be + adjective
She closed the door quietly.
closed + adverb
Nam is a slow eater. He eats very slowly.
In many languages the same word works both ways. In English you have to choose: describing a person or thing → slow; describing how something is done → slowly. Ask yourself: is this word telling us about a noun or a verb?
2.How to add -ly
| Adjective ends in | Rule | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| most adjectives | + ly | quick → quickly, bad → badly, careful → carefully, nice → nicely |
| consonant + y | y → ily | easy → easily, happy → happily, heavy → heavily |
| consonant + le | le → ly | terrible → terribly, gentle → gently, simple → simply |
| -ic | + ally | basic → basically, dramatic → dramatically (exception: public → publicly) |
| -ue, -ll | drop e / add y | true → truly, full → fully |
Some words ending in -ly are actually adjectives: friendly, lovely, lonely, lively, elderly, silly, ugly. They have no adverb form, so to describe how something is done, use in a … way.
It was a lovely evening.
lovely is an adjective
He explained the rules in a friendly way.
3.Adverbs before adjectives and other adverbs
Adverbs also go before adjectives, before other adverbs and before past participles to say how much or in what way: really cosy, amazingly fast, beautifully organised. For “fairly”, see the lesson “Quite / pretty / rather / fairly”.
The homework was surprisingly short today.
adverb + adjective
My little brother types amazingly fast.
adverb + adverb
The wedding was beautifully organised.
adverb + past participle
My grandmother was seriously ill last winter.
4.Good / well, fast, hard, late
Some special words to learn separately:
| Adjective | Adverb | Note |
|---|---|---|
| good | well | well is also an adjective = healthy: I'm not well today. Well + past participle: well-known, well-paid |
| fast | fast | there is no “fastly” |
| hard | hard | hardly = almost not (a different meaning) |
| late | late | lately = recently |
| early | early | there is no “earlily” |
Thu is a good cook. She cooks really well.
Hoa can't come today. She isn't well.
well = healthy, an adjective
My brother runs very fast.
I've worked hard all week.
The bus was late, so I got to work late.
Have you talked to Linh lately?
Hardly = almost not. It goes before the main verb (after can / could or an auxiliary) and often goes with any, anyone, anything, ever: hardly any (almost none), hardly ever (almost never).
It was so noisy that I could hardly hear the teacher.
I hardly know my neighbours.
There's hardly any milk left.
Nam works hard, but his brother hardly works.
In casual speech, especially American English, you'll hear “I'm doing good”, “Drive safe”, “Come here quick!”. These are very common in conversation, but in writing and exams use the standard forms: doing well, drive safely, come quickly.
5.Common mistakes
Lan answered the questions very quick.Lan answered the questions very quickly.
It describes how she answered → adverb.
Nam speaks English very good.Nam speaks English very well.
The adverb of good is well.
He works very hardly.He works very hard.
hard is both adjective and adverb; hardly = almost not.
Have you been to the cinema late?Have you been to the cinema lately?
“Recently” → lately.
The hotel was unusual quiet.The hotel was unusually quiet.
It describes an adjective → adverb.
She smiled at me friendly.She smiled at me in a friendly way.
friendly is an adjective with no adverb form.
Examples
- Please drive carefully. The road is wet.
- Nam speaks English very well.
- The children played happily in the garden.
- I'm so tired. I've worked hard all week.
