CHAPTER 25: ADVERBS OF MANNER AND ADVERBS USED IN COMPARISONS
English Grammar | By Mary Ansell
📖 1. ADVERBS OF MANNER
Adverbs of Manner
Adverbs of manner tell how an action is performed.
Most adverbs of manner are formed by adding -ly to an adjective.
Examples
- quick → quickly
- careful → carefully
- beautiful → beautifully
- quiet → quietly
1a. Spelling Rules for Adding ly
🔹 Adjectives Ending in ic
Rule: Add -ally (not just -ly).
- basic → basically
- dramatic → dramatically
- scientific → scientifically
- specific → specifically
🔹 Adjectives Ending in le
Rule: Change -le to -ly.
- terrible → terribly
- simple → simply
- possible → possibly
- comfortable → comfortably
🔹 Adjectives Ending in ll
Rule: Add -y.
- full → fully
- dull → dully
🔹 Adjectives Ending in ue
Rule: Drop the -e and add -ly.
- true → truly
- due → duly
🔹 Adjectives Ending in y
Rule: Change -y to -ily.
- happy → happily
- easy → easily
- lucky → luckily
- angry → angrily
1b. Adverbs Which Do Not Use the Ending ly
Rule
Some adverbs have the same form as the adjective.
Examples
- fast → fast
- hard → hard
- late → late
- early → early
- daily → daily
- weekly → weekly
1c. The Differing Functions of Adjectives and Adverbs
🔹 Adjectives Modifying Nouns vs Adverbs Modifying Verbs
Examples
- Adjective: She has a quick car.
- Adverb: She drives quickly.
- Adjective: He is a careful driver.
- Adverb: He drives carefully.
🔹 Adjectives Modifying Nouns vs Adverbs Modifying Adjectives
Examples
- Adjective: She is a beautiful singer.
- Adverb: She sings beautifully.
🔹 Predicate Adjectives vs Adverbs Modifying Verbs
Examples
- Adjective: She looks beautiful. (after linking verb)
- Adverb: She looks carefully at the picture. (modifying verb)
📋 2. ADVERBS USED IN COMPARISONS
2a. The Formation of Comparative and Superlative Forms of Adverbs
🔹 Adverbs Used with More and Most
Examples
- carefully → more carefully → most carefully
- beautifully → more beautifully → most beautifully
- frequently → more frequently → most frequently
🔹 Adverbs Used with the Endings er and est
Examples
- fast → faster → fastest
- hard → harder → hardest
- soon → sooner → soonest
- late → later → latest
🔹 Irregular Adverbs
| Positive | Comparative | Superlative |
|---|---|---|
| well | better | best |
| badly | worse | worst |
| much | more | most |
| little | less | least |
| far | farther / further | farthest / furthest |
2b. Positive Forms of Adverbs Used in Comparisons
🔹 The Construction with As ... As
Examples
- She sings as beautifully as her sister.
- He runs as fast as his brother.
- She dances as gracefully as a swan.
🔹 Ellipsis
- She sings as beautifully as her sister (does).
- He runs as fast as his brother (does).
2c. Comparative Forms of Adverbs Used in Comparisons
🔹 The Construction with Than
Examples
- She sings more beautifully than her sister.
- He runs faster than his brother.
- She dances better than anyone.
🔹 Progressive Comparisons
Examples
- She is singing more and more beautifully.
- He is running faster and faster.
🔹 The Construction with Less and Less
Examples
- She sings less and less beautifully.
- He runs less and less fast.
🔹 The Construction with The ..., The ...
Examples
- The harder you study, the better you will do.
- The faster you run, the sooner you will finish.
2d. Superlative Forms of Adverbs Used in Comparisons
🔹 The Construction with The
Examples
- She sings the most beautifully of all.
- He runs the fastest in his class.
- She dances the best in the group.
🔹 The Construction with The Least
Examples
- She sings the least beautifully of all.
- He runs the least fast in the group.
📝 EXERCISES FOR CHAPTER 25
Exercise 1. Fill in the blanks with the correct adverb of manner.
- She sings ______. (beautiful / beautifully)
- He drives ______. (careful / carefully)
- They spoke ______. (quiet / quietly)
- He answered ______. (quick / quickly)
- She walked ______. (slow / slowly)
- He did the work ______. (easy / easily)
Answers to Exercise 1:
- beautifully
- carefully
- quietly
- quickly
- slowly
- easily
Exercise 2. Fill in the blanks with the correct comparative or superlative form of the adverb.
- She sings ______ (beautifully) than her sister.
- He runs ______ (fast) than his brother.
- She sings ______ (beautifully) of all.
- He runs ______ (fast) in his class.
- She dances ______ (well) than anyone.
- He did the work ______ (carefully) than before.
Answers to Exercise 2:
- more beautifully
- faster
- the most beautifully
- the fastest
- better
- more carefully
Exercise 3. Fill in the blanks with as ... as or than.
- She sings ______ beautifully ______ her sister.
- He runs faster ______ his brother.
- She dances ______ gracefully ______ a swan.
- He drives more carefully ______ before.
- She speaks ______ clearly ______ her mother.
Answers to Exercise 3:
- as, as
- than
- as, as
- than
- as, as
Exercise 4. Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the adverb.
- She sings ______ (beautiful) than her sister.
- He runs ______ (fast) of all.
- She dances ______ (well) than anyone.
- He drives ______ (careful) as his father.
- She speaks ______ (clear) than before.
- He did the work ______ (careful) of all.
Answers to Exercise 4:
- more beautifully
- the fastest
- better
- as carefully
- more clearly
- the most carefully
Exercise 5. Rewrite using the correct form of the adverb.
- She is a beautiful singer. (She sings...)
- He is a careful driver. (He drives...)
- She is a quick runner. (She runs...)
- He is a hard worker. (He works...)
- She is a graceful dancer. (She dances...)
Answers to Exercise 5:
- She sings beautifully.
- He drives carefully.
- She runs quickly.
- He works hard.
- She dances gracefully.
📌 KEY SUMMARY
🔹 Adverbs of Manner & Comparisons Summary
| Form | Structure | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Adverb Formation | adjective + ly | quick → quickly |
| Positive | as + adverb + as | as fast as |
| Comparative | more + adverb + than | more carefully than |
| Comparative (short) | adverb + er + than | faster than |
| Superlative | the most + adverb | the most beautifully |
| Superlative (short) | the + adverb + est | the fastest |
| Progressive | more and more + adverb | more and more beautifully |
💡 Key Points:
- Adverbs of manner tell how and usually end in -ly.
- Spelling rules: ic → ically, le → ly, y → ily, ue → ly
- Some adverbs have the same form as adjectives (fast, hard, late, early).
- Adjectives modify nouns; adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs.
- Comparisons: as ... as (positive), more/er ... than (comparative), the most/est (superlative).
- Irregular adverbs: well → better → best, badly → worse → worst.
English Grammar | By Mary Ansell
Chapter 25: Adverbs of Manner and Adverbs Used in Comparisons