Collins Cobuild English Grammar (125 page)

He began to behave
more and more erratically
.
Omoro didn’t want to express it
any more strongly
.

the optional use of
the
with superlatives: see paragraph
2.117

His shoulders hurt
the worst
.
Old people work
hardest
.

the use of words like
much
or
a little
with comparatives and superlatives: see the section beginning at paragraph
2.157

The situation resolved itself
much more easily
than I had expected.
There the process progresses
even more rapidly
.

the use of
than
after comparatives: see paragraph
2.106

This class continues to grow
more rapidly than any other group
.
Prices have been rising
faster than incomes
.
You might know this
better than me
.

repeating comparatives to show changes in extent: see paragraph
2.161

He began to behave
more and more erratically
.

Adverbs of manner

adverbs of manner

6.36
    You often want to say something about the way something is done or about the circumstances of an event or situation. The most common way of doing this is by using
adverbs of manner
. Adverbs of manner give more information about the way in which an event or action takes place.

He nodded and smiled
warmly
.
She
accidentally
shot herself in the foot.

how something is done:
sing beautifully
,
walk briskly

6.37
    Many adverbs of manner are used to describe the way in which something is done. For example, in the sentence
He did it carefully
,
carefully
means
in a careful way
.

They think, dress and live
differently
.
He acted very
clumsily
.
You must be able to speak
fluently
and
correctly
.

6.38
    Here is a list of common
-ly
adverbs that describe the way in which something is done:

abruptly

accurately

awkwardly

badly

beautifully

brightly

brilliantly

briskly

carefully

carelessly

casually

cheaply

clearly

closely

clumsily

comfortably

consistently

conveniently

correctly

dangerously

delicately

differently

discreetly

distinctly

dramatically

easily

economically

effectively

efficiently

evenly

explicitly

faintly

faithfully

fiercely

finely

firmly

fluently

formally

frankly

freely

gently

gracefully

hastily

heavily

honestly

hurriedly

intently

meticulously

neatly

nicely

oddly

patiently

peacefully

peculiarly

perfectly

plainly

pleasantly

politely

poorly

professionally

properly

quietly

rapidly

readily

richly

rigidly

roughly

ruthlessly

securely

sensibly

sharply

silently

simply

smoothly

softly

solidly

specifically

splendidly

steadily

steeply

stiffly

strangely

subtly

superbly

swiftly

systematically

tenderly

thickly

thinly

thoroughly

thoughtfully

tightly

truthfully

uncomfortably

urgently

vaguely

vigorously

violently

vividly

voluntarily

warmly

widely

willingly

wonderfully

feelings and manner:
smile happily
,
walk wearily

6.39
    Adverbs formed from adjectives that describe people’s feelings, for example
happily
or
nervously
, indicate both the way in which something is done and the feelings of the person who does it.

For example, the sentence
She laughed happily
means both that she laughed in a happy way and that she was feeling happy.

We laughed and chatted
happily
together.
Gaskell got up
wearily
and headed for the stairs.
They looked
anxiously
at each other.
The children waited
eagerly
for their presents.
The children smiled
shyly
.