Many adverbs are formed from adjectives and end in -ly. Here are some rules/tips to help you form adverbs from adjectives and spell them correctly.
Forming Adverbs from Adjectives
Rule 1
In most cases, an adverb is formed by adding “-ly” to an adjective:
For examples:
- cheap -cheaply
- quick – quickly
- slow – slowly
- anxious – anxiously
- calm – calmly
- brave – bravely
- careful – carefully
- careless – carelessly
- certain – certainly
- correct – correctly
- curious – curiously
- eager – eagerly
- excited – excitedly
- extreme – extremely
- fortunate – fortunately
- furious – furiously
- generous – generously
- glad – gladly
- honest – honestly
- immediate – immediately
- jealous – jealously
…
Rule 2
If the adjective ends with “y”, replace the “y” with an “i” and add “-ly”:
For examples:
- ready – readily
- merry – merrily
- easy – easily
- angry – angrily
- busy – busily
- happy – happily
- hungry – hungrily
- lazy – lazily
- noisy – noisily
…
Rule 3
If the adjective ends with “-le”, replace “e” at the end with “y”:
For examples:
- understandable – understandbly
- forcible – forcibly
- gentle – gently
- possible – possibly
…
Rule 4
If the adjectives ends with “-ic”, add “-ally”:
For examples:
- Idiotic – idiotically
- Tragic – tragically
- Basic – basically
…
Excepting:
- public – publicly
Rule 5
Some adjectives do not change form at all:
- fast – fast
- hard – hard
- late – late
- early – early
- monthly – monthly
- daily – daily
- near – near
- far – far
- right – right
- wrong – wrong
- straight – straight
- low – low
- high – high
…
Forming Adverbs from Adjectives | Image
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