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.

Watch this video if you want to learn all about adverbs: