Adverbs
Adverbs of manner describe how something happens or how someone does something. They describe the manner in which a verb happens.
He drives carefully.
She speaks English well.
In the first example above, the adverb "carefully" shows the way he drives. In the second example, the adverb "well" describes the manner in which she speaks English. Most adverbs of manner often come after the verb (or verb phrase).
In most cases, we add "-ly" to an adjective to form an adverb.
Some adverbs do not follow this pattern. They are irregular.
Words like "very", "really", and "incredibly" are modifying adverbs. They are used before an adjective or another adverb to show the degree or intensity of that adjective or adverb.
They were very friendly.
He was driving incredibly fast.
In the first example above, "very" is describing the degree of the adjective "friendly". In the second example, "incredibly" is describing the intensity of the adverb "fast"
Exercises
Choose the correct word printed in italics.
1.She plays the guitar beautiful / beautifully.
She plays the guitar beautifully.
2.My brother is a careful / carefully driver.
My brother is a careful driver.
3.He always speaks polite / politely to everyone.
He always speaks politely to everyone.
4.My friend can run very fast / fastly.
My friend can run very fast.
5.The landscape was incredible / incredibly beautiful.
The landscape was incredibly beautiful.
6.She wears casual / casually clothes everywhere.
She wears casual clothes everywhere.
7.He finished the test slow / slowly but got all the answers right.
He finished the test slowly but got all the answers right.