Adjectives and adverbs
Describe things with adjectives and actions with adverbs: a careful driver, she drives carefully.
In this lesson you will
- Form adverbs from adjectives
- Use adjectives with nouns and adverbs with verbs
- Learn irregular adverbs: well, fast, hard
Learn
Adjectives describe nouns: a quick* answer, she is careful. Adverbs of manner* describe how we do things: answer quickly, drive carefully**.
Form: adjective + -ly (slow → slowly); -y → -ily (easy → easily, happy → happily); -le → -ly (gentle → gently).
Irregular: good → well, fast → fast, hard → hard, late → late, early → early. (Hardly means almost not.)
After be, look, seem, feel, sound, taste use an adjective: You look tired. It sounds great.
Examples
- She’s a good singer. She sings well.
- Please speak slowly.
- He works hard and gets up early.
- This soup tastes delicious.
Vocabulary
carefully
with attention to avoid mistakes
quietly
making little noise
easily
without difficulty
well
in a good way (adverb of good)
hardly
almost not
“I hardly slept.”
Practice
He plays the piano very ___.
Speaking
Describe how people in your family do things: “My dad cooks well. My sister talks fast…” (six sentences).
Writing
Describe a good teacher or boss using at least four adjectives and four adverbs (50–70 words).
Lesson quiz
He speaks English ___.
Review
Key points
- Adjective → noun; adverb → verb.
- -ly, -ily, -ly (gentle → gently).
- good → well; fast, hard, late, early don’t change.
- be/look/feel + adjective.
What you learned
- ✓ I can form adverbs.
- ✓ I can choose adjective or adverb.
- ✓ I know irregular adverbs.
Grammar reference: Adjectives: position and order, Adverbs: manner and frequency