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Forming adverbs from adjectives and recognizing irregular adverbs.
Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, other adverbs and entire sentences.
They express manner, time, place, frequency, degree and other meanings.
She sings beautifully.
Она прекрасно поет.
"Beautifully" modifies the verb "sings" and describes manner.
He arrived yesterday.
Он приехал вчера.
"Yesterday" modifies the verb phrase and expresses time.
They live nearby.
Они живут поблизости.
"Nearby" expresses place.
I usually walk to work.
Я обычно хожу на работу пешком.
"Usually" expresses frequency.
The coffee is very hot.
Кофе очень горячий.
"Very" modifies the adjective "hot" and expresses degree.
She speaks extremely slowly.
Она говорит чрезвычайно медленно.
"Extremely" modifies the adverb "slowly".
Fortunately, nobody was injured.
К счастью, никто не пострадал.
"Fortunately" comments on the whole sentence.
He nearly missed the train.
Он чуть не опоздал на поезд.
"Nearly" modifies the verb phrase and expresses degree.
Many adverbs are formed by adding -ly to adjectives.
Examples include quick → quickly, careful → carefully and happy → happily.
She answered quickly.
Она быстро ответила.
"Quickly" is formed from the adjective "quick" by adding "-ly".
He drove carefully.
Он вел машину осторожно.
"Carefully" is formed from "careful" by adding "-ly".
She smiled happily.
Она счастливо улыбнулась.
"Happily" is the adverb formed from "happy".
He completed the task successfully.
Он успешно выполнил задание.
"Successfully" is formed from "successful".
They listened carefully to the instructions.
Они внимательно слушали инструкции.
"Carefully" modifies the verb "listened".
She spoke politely to the receptionist.
Она вежливо поговорила с администратором.
"Politely" is formed from "polite".
The machine operates automatically.
Машина работает автоматически.
"Automatically" is formed from "automatic".
He explained the problem clearly.
Он ясно объяснил проблему.
"Clearly" is formed from the adjective "clear".
Some adjectives change spelling before adding -ly.
Examples include happy → happily, terrible → terribly, true → truly and basic → basically.
She spoke happily about her new job.
Она счастливо говорила о своей новой работе.
"Happy" changes to "happily" by changing "y" to "i" before "-ly".
He behaved terribly at the meeting.
Он ужасно вел себя на встрече.
"Terrible" changes to "terribly" before "-ly".
She truly believes in the project.
Она действительно верит в этот проект.
"True" becomes "truly", dropping the final "e" and adding "-ly".
The system is basically complete.
Система в основном завершена.
"Basic" becomes "basically" by changing the spelling before "-ly".
She was extremely polite.
Она была чрезвычайно вежливой.
"Extreme" becomes "extremely" by dropping the final "e" before "-ly".
He replied angrily.
Он сердито ответил.
"Angry" becomes "angrily" by changing "y" to "i".
She spoke gently to the child.
Она мягко поговорила с ребенком.
"Gentle" becomes "gently"; the final "e" is not retained.
He answered honestly.
Он честно ответил.
"Honest" becomes "honestly" before "-ly".
Some common adverbs do not follow the regular -ly formation.
Examples include well, fast, hard, late and early.
She speaks English well.
Она хорошо говорит по-английски.
"Well" is the adverb corresponding to "good".
He runs fast.
Он быстро бегает.
"Fast" functions as an adverb without the ending "-ly".
She works hard.
Она усердно работает.
"Hard" functions as an adverb without the ending "-ly".
He arrived late.
Он приехал поздно.
"Late" functions as an adverb.
She woke up early.
Она проснулась рано.
"Early" functions as an adverb with no "-ly" ending.
The children played outside.
Дети играли на улице.
"Outside" functions as an adverb of place.
Please come back soon.
Пожалуйста, скоро возвращайся.
"Soon" is an irregular adverb of time.
She knows him well.
Она хорошо его знает.
"Well" is the adverb used with the verb "know".
Some adverbs have the same form as adjectives without the -ly ending.
Examples include fast, hard, long, late, early, straight and wrong. These are called flat adverbs.
The car was moving fast.
Машина двигалась быстро.
"Fast" has the same form as the adjective and functions as an adverb.
She works hard every day.
Она усердно работает каждый день.
"Hard" is a flat adverb in this sentence.
We stayed late at the office.
Мы задержались в офисе допоздна.
"Late" functions as an adverb without "-ly".
She arrived early.
Она приехала рано.
"Early" has the same form as the adjective.
The road continues straight.
Дорога продолжается прямо.
"Straight" functions as a flat adverb.
He guessed wrong.
Он угадал неправильно.
"Wrong" can function as a flat adverb.
The plane flew low over the mountains.
Самолет летел низко над горами.
"Low" can function as a flat adverb.
The birds flew high above the trees.
Птицы летели высоко над деревьями.
"High" functions as a flat adverb.
Not every word ending in -ly is an adverb.
Examples include friendly, lovely, lively, lonely, silly and elderly, which are adjectives.
She is very friendly.
Она очень дружелюбная.
"Friendly" ends in "-ly" but is an adjective.
It was a lovely afternoon.
Это был прекрасный день.
"Lovely" is an adjective, not an adverb.
The city has a lively atmosphere.
В городе оживленная атмосфера.
"Lively" is an adjective despite ending in "-ly".
She felt lonely after moving away.
Она чувствовала себя одинокой после переезда.
"Lonely" is an adjective.
That was a silly mistake.
Это была глупая ошибка.
"Silly" is an adjective, not an adverb.
My elderly neighbor lives alone.
Мой пожилой сосед живет один.
"Elderly" is an adjective.
The design is ugly but practical.
Дизайн некрасивый, но практичный.
"Ugly" ends in "-ly" but is an adjective.
He gave me a manly smile.
Он улыбнулся по-мужски.
"Manly" is an adjective formed with the suffix "-ly".
Some adjective-adverb pairs differ significantly in meaning.
Examples include hard and hardly, late and lately, near and nearly, and short and shortly.
He works hard every day.
Он усердно работает каждый день.
"Hard" means with a lot of effort.
I could hardly hear her.
Я едва мог ее слышать.
"Hardly" means almost not and is not simply the adverbial form of "hard".
He arrived late.
Он приехал поздно.
"Late" means after the expected time.
I have not seen him lately.
Я не видел его в последнее время.
"Lately" means recently.
The hotel is near the station.
Отель находится недалеко от станции.
"Near" expresses physical proximity.
I nearly missed my flight.
Я чуть не опоздал на свой рейс.
"Nearly" means almost.
The meeting ended shortly after noon.
Встреча закончилась вскоре после полудня.
"Shortly" means soon or after a short time.
The trip was short.
Поездка была короткой.
"Short" is an adjective here, not the adverb "shortly".
Some flat adverbs are standard in all varieties of English, while others are mainly informal or dialectal.
Compare work hard (standard) with drive slow (informal in some varieties).
You should drive slowly in the rain.
В дождь следует ехать медленно.
"Slowly" is the standard adverb in careful written English.
Drive slow and watch the road.
Езжай медленно и следи за дорогой.
"Drive slow" occurs in informal English, especially in some varieties.
Please speak clearly.
Пожалуйста, говорите четко.
"Clearly" is the standard adverb in careful speech and writing.
He worked hard all night.
Он усердно работал всю ночь.
"Hard" is a standard flat adverb and is not informal.
She arrived late.
Она приехала поздно.
"Late" is a standard flat adverb.
The children ran fast.
Дети быстро бежали.
"Fast" is a standard flat adverb.
Come quick!
Иди скорее!
"Quick" is used as a flat adverb in informal speech, especially in commands.
Think carefully before you answer.
Подумай внимательно, прежде чем отвечать.
"Carefully" is preferred in standard formal English.
English forms adverbs through derivation, conversion and fixed expressions.
Understanding these processes improves vocabulary development.
She spoke softly.
Она говорила тихо.
"Softly" is formed by derivation from the adjective "soft".
He answered correctly.
Он ответил правильно.
"Correctly" is derived from "correct".
They arrived early.
Они приехали рано.
"Early" is an adverb formed without the productive "-ly" suffix.
She works hard.
Она усердно работает.
"Hard" is a converted flat adverb with the same form as the adjective.
Fortunately, we found the keys.
К счастью, мы нашли ключи.
"Fortunately" is a derived sentence adverb expressing the speaker's attitude.
She sings beautifully.
Она прекрасно поет.
"Beautifully" is derived from the adjective "beautiful".
He came home late.
Он пришел домой поздно.
"Late" is an independent lexical adverb with the same form as the adjective.
She almost fell down.
Она чуть не упала.
"Almost" is an independent lexical adverb rather than a regular "-ly" derivation.
Not every adjective has a corresponding adverb, and many common adverbs are independent lexical items.
These exceptions reflect the historical development of English rather than productive word-formation rules.
He is a good singer, and he sings well.
Он хороший певец и хорошо поет.
"Well" is the conventional adverb corresponding to "good".
She arrived early.
Она приехала рано.
"Early" has no corresponding regular adverb form ending in "-ly".
He worked hard all weekend.
Он усердно работал все выходные.
"Hard" functions as an independent lexical adverb.
She knows the city well.
Она хорошо знает город.
"Well" is an independent lexical item rather than a regular "-ly" form.
The children ran fast.
Дети быстро бежали.
"Fast" is a lexicalized flat adverb.
She came straight home.
Она сразу пошла домой.
"Straight" functions as an adverb without "-ly".
He arrived shortly after the meeting ended.
Он приехал вскоре после окончания встречи.
"Shortly" has a specialized meaning that cannot be predicted simply from "short".
I have seen her lately.
Я видел ее в последнее время.
"Lately" has a meaning different from the adjective "late".
Many irregular and flat adverbs preserve older stages of English.
Understanding their history helps explain why modern adverb formation is not completely regular.
He works hard.
Он усердно работает.
"Hard" preserves an older flat-adverb pattern that remains standard in modern English.
She arrived early.
Она приехала рано.
"Early" preserves the same form for adjective and adverb inherited from older English usage.
The car was moving fast.
Машина двигалась быстро.
"Fast" is another historical flat adverb retained in modern English.
The road continues straight.
Дорога продолжается прямо.
"Straight" functions as an adverb without "-ly".
She knows him well.
Она хорошо его знает.
"Well" developed as an independent adverb rather than through the modern productive "-ly" pattern.
He arrived late.
Он приехал поздно.
"Late" retains a form shared by the adjective and adverb.
The plane flew high above the clouds.
Самолет летел высоко над облаками.
"High" functions as a historical flat adverb.
The birds flew low over the water.
Птицы летели низко над водой.
"Low" is a flat adverb with the same form as the adjective.
Distinguish correctly between adjectives and adverbs when forming words.
Common mistakes include using adjectives instead of adverbs, adding -ly to irregular forms, assuming every -ly word is an adverb, misidentifying -ly adjectives and confusing pairs such as hard/hardly, late/lately and near/nearly.
She sings beautifully.
Она прекрасно поет.
Use the adverb "beautifully", not the adjective "beautiful", to modify "sings".
He speaks English well.
Он хорошо говорит по-английски.
Use irregular adverb "well", not "good", after the verb.
She works hard every day.
Она усердно работает каждый день.
Use "hard", not "hardly", when you mean with a lot of effort.
I have not seen him lately.
Я не видел его в последнее время.
"Lately" means recently; it does not simply mean "late".
I nearly missed the bus.
Я чуть не опоздал на автобус.
"Nearly" means almost; it has a different meaning from "near".
She arrived early.
Она приехала рано.
The standard adverb is "early", not "earlily".
The children ran fast.
Дети быстро бежали.
The standard flat adverb is "fast"; do not normally use "fastly".
She is very friendly.
Она очень дружелюбная.
"Friendly" ends in "-ly" but is an adjective, not an adverb.