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How to Use Adverbs of Manner for English

Updated: Jan 10, 2022

The Explanation


Adverbs of manner are the specific kind of Adverbs that are used to tell us the way or how something is done. An adverb of manner can be added to a verb / Adjective / another Adverb to modify its meaning. e.g.: Sadly, Happily, Rudely, Angrily, Rapidly etc

Let’s understand this with the help of an example-

"Laura plays guitar"

In the above sentence, an adverb of manner can be added to the verb (play) to modify its meaning and give us more information on how Laura plays the piano.

e.g.:

  • Laura plays guitar softly

  • Laura plays guitar beautifully

  • Laura plays guitar interestingly

  • Laura plays guitar terribly




How to form the Adverb of Manner

Below are the various ways to form the Adverb of Manner and their usage-

1. Adverbs of manner are usually placed after the main verb or after the object.

  • e.g.: He left the school quickly

2. Adverbs of manner can also be used before the verb.

  • e.g.: He quickly left the school.

3. An adverb of manner cannot be put between a verb and its direct object. It must be placed either before the verb or at the end of the clause.

e.g.:

  • He ate greedily the pizza [incorrect usage]

  • He ate the pizza greedily. [correct usage]

  • He greedily ate the pizza. [correct usage

4. Adverbs of manner should always come immediately after verbs that have no object (intransitive verbs).

  • e.g.: He waited patiently for his son to arrive.

It is important to note that the position of the adverb is important when there is more than one verb in a sentence. If the adverb is placed before or after the main verb, it modifies only that verb. If the adverb is placed after a clause, then it modifies the whole action described by the clause.

e.g.:

  • Jim quickly agreed to drive the car (here the agreement is quick)

  • Jim agreed quickly to drive the car (here the agreement is quick)

  • Jim agreed to drive the car quickly (here the driving is quick)

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

e.g.:

  • He gently pushed the door open

  • She angrily slammed the door

6. In literary writing, the writer put an adverb of manner at the beginning of the sentence to catch the attention of the readers and make them curious.

e.g.:

  • Slowly she picked up the gun

  • Roughly he grabbed the keys










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