Through a Glass Fastly: Adverbs

Let's get it out of the way before we start: 'fastly' is not a word. It's one of the most common mistakes I hear with early learners of English, and it comes from the idea that to create an adverb you just need to add '-ly'. Whilst this is very often true (quickly, stupidly, surreptitiously), it is far from being the whole story.

Adverbs, most of the time, give us more information about a verb (doing word). They tell us when, in what way, where, how much and how often a verb takes place. For example:

I went running yesterday. (when)

I ran quickly. (in what way)

When I got there, I jumped in the water. (where)

I really enjoyed my run. (how much)

I go running often. (how often)

But that's not it....

Adverbs can do so much more than just describe verbs. We can also use adverbs to add more information to an adjective, another adverb, a clause or a whole sentence and, less commonly, a noun phrase.

The lake is quite beautiful. (describing an adjective)

I am almost always correct. (describing another adverb)

Surprisingly, I won the race convincingly. (a whole sentence)

Remember...

Ernest Hemingway hated adverbs. He thought they made writing clunky and overly descriptive. They are not something we want to overuse. The sentence "He talked extremely very too much" is obviously clunky because of their over use. However, adverbs are extremely useful, versatile words. Used right, they make your writing and speech more precise, more accurate, and more beautiful. Knowing how to use them is essential to being able to write and speak English fluently.