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Adverbs of manner – use
We use adverbs of manner after a verb to describe the verb. We use an adverb of manner to say how something happens or how we do something.
- It rained heavily. (=We are describing how it rained.)
- He always replies quickly. (=We are describing how he walks)
Adverbs of manner – position
We use adverbs of manner after the verb or, if there is an object, after verb + object.
- He drives carefully.
- She plays the guitar well.
very, really, quite
We can use very, really, quite before an adverb of manner.
- It rained quite heavily.
- He drives quite carefully.
- She plays the guitar really well.
Adjectives
We use adjectives before a noun or after the verb be.
- This is an expensive guitar.
- This guitar is expensive.
Adverbs of manner vs adjectives
Difference
We use adjectives to describe a noun (before a noun or after the verb be), and we use adverbs of manner to describe a verb (after the verb or verb + object). Compare:
- Robert plays the guitar well. (=We are describing the verb, i.e. how Robert plays the guitar.)
- Robert is a good guitar player. (=We are describing the noun, Robert.)
- Sara eats slowly.
- Sara is a slow eater.
Adjectives ending in -ly
Some words end in -ly, but they are adjectives, NOT adverbs: friendly, lovely, silly. We CANNOT transform these adjectives into adverbs of manner.