Adverb Form

We make many adverbs by adding -ly to an adjective, for example:

  • quick (adjective) > quickly (adverb)
  • careful (adjective) > carefully (adverb)
  • beautiful (adjective) > beautifully (adverb)

There are some basic rules about spelling for -ly adverbs. See the table below:

Adjective endingdo thisadjectiveadverb
most adjectivesadd -lyquick
nice
sole
careful		quickly
nicely
solely
carefully
-able or -iblechange -e to -yregrettable
horrible		regrettably
horribly
-ychange -y to -ilyhappyhappily
-icchange -ic to -icallyeconomiceconomically

But not all words that end in -ly are adverbs. The words friendly, lovely, lonely and neighborly, for example, are all adjectives.

And some adverbs have no particular form. Look at these examples:

  • well, fast, very, never, always, often, still

Useful Tip

Note that the form of an adverb can also change to make it comparative or superlative.