Adverbs of Manner: Meaning, Examples, and Usage

Adverbs of manner tell us how something happens. Words such as carefully, quietly, slowly, well, fast, and hard are common examples.

Hannah folded the letter carefully.

The audience listened quietly.

The runner pushed hard during the final lap.

Asking how? can help, but it is only a clue. The answer may be a single adverb, a phrase, or another kind of adverbial expression.

Adverbs of manner are one of the main types of adverbs.

Manner vs Degree

Manner and degree can appear together, but they do different jobs.

Elena spoke quietly.

Quietly shows how she spoke, so it expresses manner.

Elena spoke very quietly.

Quietly still expresses manner. Very makes that meaning stronger.

Another example:

The machine operated smoothly.

Smoothly shows the way the machine operated.

The machine operated extremely smoothly.

Extremely strengthens the meaning of smoothly.

For more on words such as very, almost, completely, and extremely, see adverbs of degree.

Common Adverbs of Manner

These groups are simply a useful way to organize the vocabulary.

The same type of manner can appear in very different situations.

The receptionist answered politely.

The old engine continued to run smoothly.

Marcus handled the equipment skillfully.

The team worked hard to finish before the deadline.

How Adverbs of Manner Are Formed

Many manner adverbs are easy to recognize because they are formed with -ly.

Some spellings change along the way. For example, happy becomes happily, while gentle becomes gently.

But English does not use this pattern every time.

Fast and Hard

Fast and hard can work as manner adverbs without adding -ly.

The cyclist rode fast.

Everyone worked hard.

We do not normally use fastly to mean “at high speed.”

Hardly is a different word in meaning. It usually means almost not, not with great effort.

Good and Well

Good is usually an adjective. When you want to describe how something is done, well is often the form you need.

Priya is a good pianist.

Priya plays the piano well.

What About Friendly?

Friendly ends in -ly, but it is normally an adjective.

We received a friendly welcome.

To express manner, English often uses a phrase:

The receptionist spoke in a friendly way.

The broader difference between adjective and adverb forms is explained in adjective vs adverb.

Where Do Adverbs of Manner Go in a Sentence?

Adverbs of manner often appear after the verb or after its object. They can also come before the main verb and, in some cases, at the beginning of the sentence.

After a Verb

If the verb has no direct object, the adverb often comes straight after it.

The baby slept peacefully.

Everyone listened carefully.

The machine operated smoothly.

After the Object

With a direct object, the adverb usually comes after the object.

Mia closed the window quietly.

The accountant checked the figures carefully.

Leo answered the question honestly.

A manner adverb normally does not come between an ordinary verb and its direct object.

Natural:

She opened the parcel carefully.

Natural:

She carefully opened the parcel.

Usually unnatural:

She opened carefully the parcel.

In most cases, it sounds more natural to keep the verb and its object together.

Before the Main Verb

Many manner adverbs can also appear before the main verb.

She gently placed the glass on the shelf.

The guard quietly opened the gate.

Putting the adverb before the verb can give it more emphasis or make its connection to the action clearer.

At the Beginning of a Sentence

A manner adverb can sometimes appear at the front.

Carefully, Daniel lifted the damaged photograph from the box.

Slowly, the fog began to clear.

This works, but many manner adverbs sound more natural closer to the verb.

How Position Can Change Which Action the Adverb Describes

When a sentence contains more than one action, moving the adverb can change which action it describes.

Compare:

Nina quietly asked Ben to leave.

Here, quietly describes the way Nina asked.

Now:

Nina asked Ben to leave quietly.

This time, quietly describes the way Ben should leave.

The adverb itself has not changed, but its position has. Keeping it close to the intended action usually makes the meaning clearer.

When the Same Adverb Is Not Expressing Manner

Some adverbs describe the manner of an action in one sentence but comment on the whole statement in another.

Clearly

Daniel explained the problem clearly.

In this sentence, clearly describes how Daniel explained the problem.

Now look at:

Clearly, Daniel misunderstood the problem.

Here, clearly means something closer to obviously. It comments on the whole statement rather than the manner of misunderstanding.

Honestly

Maya answered honestly.

In this sentence, honestly describes the way Maya answered.

Honestly, I don’t remember his name.

Here, it comments on what the speaker is saying rather than describing the act of remembering.

The same contrast appears with frankly:

He spoke frankly about the problem.

but:

Frankly, the proposal needs more work.

In the first sentence, frankly describes how he spoke. In the second, it gives the speaker’s viewpoint on the whole statement.

This is why the same word should not automatically be treated as a manner adverb every time it appears.

Adverbs of Manner and Linking Verbs

A manner adverb usually describes an action. After a linking verb, however, we often need an adjective that describes the subject instead.

Compare:

The fabric feels rough.

Rough describes the fabric.

Now:

Maya felt the fabric carefully before choosing it.

Here, felt is an action, and carefully tells us how Maya did it.

Verbs such as look, feel, smell, sound, and taste can work as linking verbs in one sentence and action verbs in another.

The distinction is explained in adjective vs adverb.

Not Every Manner Expression Is an Adverb

The question how? can point you toward information connected with an action, but it does not tell you what grammatical structure you are looking at.

Ava answered calmly.

Calmly is an adverb of manner.

Now compare:

Ava answered with great care.

This also describes how she answered, but with great care is a prepositional phrase functioning adverbially.

Some answers to how? express a related meaning such as means or instrument rather than manner.

Ethan travelled by train.

By train tells us the means of travel.

She opened the door with a key.

With a key identifies the instrument used.

These expressions are not single adverbs of manner, even though a how? question can lead to them.

English can also express manner with a larger phrase:

Ethan spoke in a polite way.

This has a similar meaning to:

Ethan spoke politely.

An adverb can also head a larger adverb phrase:

She answered very calmly.

The phrase very calmly expresses manner. Calmly is the main adverb, while very modifies it.

A useful way to think about this is to separate two questions:

What meaning does this expression add?

and:

What grammatical structure is expressing that meaning?

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