Formation of adverbs in English


The table below shows the way we form English adverbs.

Adverbs are usually formed by adding '-ly' to an adjective. bad - badly
quiet - quietly
careful - carefully
careless - carelessly
Adjectives ending in '-le' change to '-ly'. possible - possibly
probable - probably
incredible - incredibly
Adjectives ending in '-y' change to '-ily': consonant + y
Compare: vowel + y
lucky - luckily
happy - happily
angry - angrily
day (noun) - daily
Delete -e and add -ly for endings in -le noble - nobly
Adjectives ending in '-ic' change to '-ically'. fantastic - fantastically
basic - basically
ironic - ironically
scientific - scientifically
Some adjectives are irregular. good - well
hard - hard
fast -fast