ADVERBS OF MANNER

Rule

Adverbs of manner tell us how something happens. They are usually placed after the main verb or after the object.

Examples:

  • He swims well(after the main verb)
  • He ran… rapidly, slowly, quickly..
  • She spoke… softly, loudly, aggressively..
  • James coughed loudly to attract her attention.
  • He plays the flute beautifully. (after the object)
  • He ate the chocolate cake greedily.

BE CAREFUL!

The adverb should not be put between the verb and the object:

Examples

  • He ate greedily the chocolate cake [incorrect]
  • He ate the chocolate cake greedily [correct]

Rule

If there is a preposition before the object, e.gattowards, we can place the adverb either before the preposition or after the object.

Examples

  • The child ran happily towards his mother.
  • The child ran towards his mother happily.

Rule

Sometimes an adverb of manner is placed before a verb + object to add emphasis:

Examples

  • He gently woke the sleeping woman.

Some writers put an adverb of manner at the beginning of the sentence to catch our attention and make us curious:

Examples

  • Slowly she picked up the knife.

Rule

(We want to know what happened slowlywho did it slowlywhy they did it slowly)

However, adverbs should always come AFTER intransitive verbs (=verbs which have no object).

Examples

  • The town grew quickly
  • He waited patiently

Also, these common adverbs are almost always placed AFTER the verb:

  • well
  • badly
  • hard
  • fast

Rule

The position of the adverb is important when there is more than one verb in a sentence. If the adverb is placed after a clause, then it modifies the whole action described by the clause.

Notice the difference in meaning between the following pairs of sentences:

  • She quickly agreed to re-type the letter (= her agreement was quick)
  • She agreed to re-type the letter quickly (= the re-typing was quick)
  • He quietly asked me to leave the house (= his request was quiet)
  • He asked me to leave the house quietly (= the leaving was quiet)