Adjectives and Adverbs

Some adverbs are formed from an adjective + -ly: happy ― happily, etc. When an adjective already ends in –ly (cowardly, daily, friendly, kindly, lively, lonely) we don’t add –ly to it to make an adverb. Instead we can use a prepositional phrase with the words fashion, manner, or way:

He smiled at me in a friendly way.

She waved her hands around in a lively fashion.

N + -ly = Adj in a [Adj] manner/way = Adv			Adj = Adv (in form)
N	Adj	Adv (phrase)
man woman friend coward life love mother father brother sister king soldier sick	manly womanly friendly cowardly lively lovely motherly fatherly brotherly sisterly kingly soldierly sickly silly	in a manly way in a womanly way in a friendly way in a cowardly way in a lively way in a lovely way in a motherly way in a fatherly way in a brotherly way in a sisterly way in a kingly way in a soldierly way in a sickly way in a silly way	better best daily early fast hourly monthly weekly worse worst yearly

Most participle adjectives ending in –ed don’t have an adverb form and we can use a similar prepositional phrase:

They rose to greet me in a subdued manner.

She walked around the room in an agitated way. (or in agitation.)

However, some do have an adverb form with –ly, including the following common ones: allegedly, belatedly, contentedly, dejectedly, deservedly, excitedly, hurriedly, markedly, pointedly, repeatedly, reportedly, reputedly, supposedly, unexpectedly, wholeheartedly, wickedly:

The weather had turned unexpectedly stormy.

Some adverbs have two forms, one ending in –ly and the other ― without it: cheap(ly), clean(ly), clear(ly), fine(ly), slow(ly), thin(ly). These pairs of adverbs usually have different meanings. Compare:

We live close to the church (=near).	The prisoners were guarded closely (= very attentively).
The rain stopped dead (suddenly and completely). I am dead certain (= completely) / dead tired / dead asleep / dead drunk / dead calm / dead sure / dead right.	He is deadly serious (= very). She is deadly pale today (= like death). (adj) deadly poison / deadly struggle (adj) a deadly sin (= mortal)
He pushed his stick deep into the sand (= to a great depth).	He was deeply offended (= very). I am deeply privileged.
‘Do I have to change trains in Leeds?’ ‘No, you can go direct (= without stopping)’.	I’ll be with you directly (= very soon). He saw Susan directly (= straight) ahead.
Just take it easy (= remain calm) and tell us exactly what happened. Easy does it = тише едешь, дальше будешь	I can easily finish it today (= without difficulty). She is easily the best student in the class. (= undoubtfully)
You must play fair. (= in a just or honest manner, or according to the rules)	Cut the meat fairly small, but not too small. (= to some degree, rather, quite)
She worked really hard and passed her exams.	The telephone line was so bad, I could hardly (= only just) hear what he was saying.
He kicked the ball high over the goal.	Everyone thinks highly of her teaching. (= they praise her for it).
She was sitting just here (= exactly)	As you justly observed (= rightly, correctly)
They stayed up late to watch the election results on television. (= after the usual, arranged, or expected time)	I’ve been feeling very well lately (= in the recent past and up until now).
They live quite near (her) (= not far from, close to).	He was nearly as tall as his friend (= not exactly, approximately).
It’s pretty cold today. (= quite, rather)	She smiled prettily. The room was prettily decorated.
The meeting starts at 3 o’clock sharp (= exactly). Turn sharp right at the crossroads (= suddenly and quickly).	“Don’t talk nonsense”, she said sharply (= suddenly and rather firmly or angrily)
They cut short their holiday when John became ill. (= went home early)	The speaker will be arriving shortly (= soon). Please take your seats.
The windows were shut tight against the rain (= shut very firmly).	I wouldn’t like to live in a society, which is very tightly controlled (= closely, firmly).
The door was wide (= completely) open so I just went straight in.	It won’t be difficult to get the book. It’s widely available. (= in many places)

Remember that good is an adjective and well is an adverb:

I asked Francis to clean the car, and he did a good job. / and he did the job well.

However, well is also an adjective meaning healthy:

You’re not looking too well. Are you okay?

I don’t feel very well today.

Note that after the link verbs look, sound, smell, taste, feel, seem we use adjectives, not adverbs:

She looks nice / bad / pale / awful / strange.

It smells sweet / horrible / bad / wonderful.