English Grammar

Adverbs of Manner

Adverbs of manner say how something happens or is done.

Examples are: happily, angrily, slowly, carefully, fast etc.

• She walked slowly.
  
• John drove carefully.
  
• The soldiers fought bravely.
  

Position

Adverbs of manner normally go in end position (at the end of a clause).

• She sang well.
  
• He talked loudly.
  
• She walked slowly.
  
• He managed it skillfully.
• She speaks English well.

An adverb of manner modifying an adjective or another adverb normally goes before it.

• She is seriously ill.
  
• I was terribly busy.
  

Points to be noted

1. Adverbs of manner can come in mid position if the adverb is not important to the meaning of the verb.

• She angrily tore up the letter. (The manner in which she tore up the letter is not important.)
  
• His health slowly began to improve.
  

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

• The man walked happily towards his home.
  
• The man walked towards his home happily.
  

3. To emphasize the point, sometimes, an adverb of manner is placed before the main verb.

• He gently woke up the woman.

4. Some writers put adverbs of manner at the beginning of a sentence to catch our attention.

• Happily Tom went home.
  
• Slowly he walked away.
  

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