Unit 85: quickly/badly/suddenly etc. (adverbs)

Master adverbs of manner, time, and degree

A. Adjective → Adverb

He ate quickly

He ate his dinner very quickly.

Suddenly fell

Suddenly the shelf fell down.

adjective + -ly → adverb
• quick → quickly
• careful → carefully
• bad → badly
• sudden → suddenly
• heavy → heavily etc.

Spelling (→ Appendix 5): easy → easily, heavy → heavily

B. Adverbs tell you how something happens or how somebody does something

Raining heavily

It's raining heavily.

• The train stopped suddenly.
• I opened the door slowly.
• Please listen carefully.
• I understand you perfectly.

Compare:

adjective (→ Unit 84)
• Sue is very quiet.
• Be careful!
• It was a bad game.
• I feel nervous. (= I am nervous)
adverb
• Sue speaks very quietly. (not 'speaks very quiet')
• Listen carefully! (not 'listen careful')
• Our team played badly. (not 'played bad')
• I waited nervously.

C. hard / fast / late / early

• Sue's job is very hard.
• Ben is a fast runner.
• The bus was late/early.
• Sue works very hard. (not 'hardly')
• Ben can run fast.
• I went to bed late/early.

D. good (adjective) → well (adverb)

• Your English is very good.
• It was a good game.
• You speak English very well. (not 'very good')
• Our team played well.

But well is also an adjective (= not ill, in good health):

• 'How are you?' 'I'm very well, thank you. And you?'

Adjective → Adverb

quick → quickly
careful → carefully
bad → badly
sudden → suddenly

Adverbs of manner

He speaks slowly. → She drives carefully.
They work hard. → We waited patiently.

hard / fast / late / early

He works hard. → She runs fast.
I went to bed late. → The train arrived early.

good → well

You speak English well. → She plays tennis well.
He did the test well. → They played well.

85.1 Look at the pictures and complete the sentences with one of these adverbs:

angrily badly dangerously fast heavily quietly

Raining heavily

1

Singing badly

2

Driving dangerously

3

Running fast

4

Shouting angrily

5

Writing quietly

6

  1. It's raining heavily.
  2. He sings very .
  3. They came in .
  4. She shouted at me .
  5. She can run very .
  6. He was driving .

85.2 Choose a verb (Box A) + an adverb (Box B) to complete the sentences.

A
come explain know listen
sleep think win work
B
carefully clearly hard
easily quickly well
  1. I'm going to tell you something very important, so please listen carefully.
  2. Ann! I need your help. !
  3. They at the end of the day. They're always tired.
  4. I'm tired this morning. I didn't last night.
  5. 'You've got a much better tennis player than me. When we play, you always .
  6. I've met Alice a few times but I don't very .
  7. Our teacher isn't very good. Sometimes he doesn't very .

85.3 Which is right?

  1. Don't eat so quick/quickly. It's not good for you.
  2. Why are you angry/angrily? I haven't done anything.
  3. Can you speak slow/slowly please?
  4. Come on, Dave! Why are you always so slow/slowly?
  5. Bill is a careful/carefully driver.
  6. Jane is studying hard/hardly for her examinations.
  7. 'Where's Diane?' 'She was here but she left sudden/suddenly.'
  8. Please be quiet/quietly. I'm studying.
  9. Some companies pay their workers very bad/badly.
  10. Those oranges look nice/nicely. Can I have one?

85.4 Put in good or well.

  1. Your English is very good. You speak English well.
  2. Jackie did very in her exams.
  3. The party was very . I enjoyed it very much.
  4. Martin has a difficult job but he does it .
  5. How are your parents? Are they ?
  6. Did you have a holiday? Was the weather ?
Progress: 0%
0 / 0 exercises completed

Interactive English Grammar • Unit 85 • Page 178-179