Adjectives & adverbs · CEFR A2 · Everyday
Adverbs of manner — English adjectives and adverbs
How something is done — slowly, carefully, well.
The shape
adjective + ly
Say how something was done.
In Hindi
काम किस तरह हुआ — धीरे, ध्यान से, अच्छे से।
CoCap explains every structure in both languages, because a rule you understand in Hindi is a rule you can use in English.
The mistake to fix first
The sentence Indian-English speakers actually produce, and the reason it is wrong.
| Commonly said | Correct English |
|---|---|
He speaks very good English fluent. | He speaks English fluently. Describing the verb needs the -ly form. |
Adverbs of manner examples
Easiest first. Every sentence is authored, with the Hindi it comes from.
I speak slowly.
मैं धीरे बोल{ता|ती} हूँ।
She sings well.
वह अच्छा गाती है।
Dogs run fast.
कुत्ते तेज़ दौड़ते हैं।
He speaks very fast.
वह बहुत तेज़ बोलता है।
He speaks very slowly.
वह बहुत धीरे बोलता है।
She speaks very well.
वह बहुत अच्छा बोलती है।
You walk very fast.
तुम बहुत तेज़ चलते हो।
I listen carefully.
मैं ध्यान से सुन{ता|ती} हूँ।
I am learning slowly.
मैं धीरे-धीरे सीख {रहा|रही} हूँ।
Please cross the road carefully.
कृपया ध्यान से सड़क पार कीजिए।
Easy to confuse with
Close enough to be mixed up with this one. Knowing the difference is most of knowing either.
- seem, look, feel, soundA2Say how something seems without sounding certain
- Where an adverb goesB1Put an adverb where an English speaker would put it
Questions people ask
- What is the adverbs of manner used for?
- How something is done — slowly, carefully, well. In practice: say how something was done.
- How do you form the adverbs of manner?
- adjective + ly.
- What is the most common mistake with the adverbs of manner?
- Saying “He speaks very good English fluent.” instead of “He speaks English fluently.”. Describing the verb needs the -ly form.
Where adverbs of manner fits
Where this structure sits in the ladder, and what surrounds it.
Adverbs of manner is a CEFR A2 structure — the everyday band — and it belongs to adjectives & adverbs. CoCap’s syllabus files every structure this way so you can learn in order instead of jumping between whatever a search happened to return.
Reading it is not the same as saying it.
CoCap turns this page into practice: Hindi sentence in, English sentence out, corrected one thing at a time. Free, no card.
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