Adverbs of Manner - Explore Meaning, Definition and Examples

“I fell down on the way to college.” If you say something like this to your friend, the first question would be “how?” That is how it is. As human beings, we are interested in knowing how something happened, and describing how something happened is done using adverbs of manner. Check out the topics below to have an in-depth understanding of how they can be used in sentences.

Table of Contents

• Adverb of Manner – What Is It?
  • Definition of an Adverb of Manner
• Examples of Adverbs of Manner
  • List of Adverbs of Manner
• Check Your Understanding of Adverbs of Manner
• Frequently Asked Questions on Adverbs of Manner in English

Adverb of Manner – What Is It?

Adverbs of manner are employed in sentences to provide the reader or listener with more information about the action being done by the subject in a sentence. It is usually identified by asking the question ‘how’.

Definition of an Adverb of Manner

The Macmillan Dictionary defines an adverb of manner as “an adverb that shows how someone does something or how something happens. For example, in the sentences ‘Drive carefully’, ‘He talks too fast’, ‘The moon shone brightly’, and ‘I accidentally deleted the file’, ‘carefully’, ‘fast’, ‘brightly’ and ‘accidentally’ are manner adverbs.” The word ‘manner’, according to the Cambridge Dictionary, is defined as “the way in which something is done.” So an adverb of manner can be said to be one which depicts the way in which an action is done.

Examples of Adverbs of Manner

Take a look at the following examples to learn how you can use adverbs of manner effectively.

• Deepika deeply regretted the damage caused by her son.
• They waited eagerly for their semester exam results.
• Monica and Rachel happily agreed to be Phoebe’s bridesmaids.
• I can write and listen to music simultaneously.
• We left the room quietly as we did not want to wake up the baby.

List of Adverbs of Manner

Here is a list of examples of adverbs of manner that you can use in your daily conversation.

Check Your Understanding of Adverbs of Manner

Fill in the blanks by choosing the most appropriate adverbs of manner from the list given below:

(poorly, well, repeatedly, purposefully, perfectly, accidentally, seriously, carefully, unexpectedly, regularly)

1. Do you know him_______?

2. Did he do it __________?

3. We met with our old school friends _____________.

4. My mother asked us to take the responsibility given to us ___________.

5. We buy fresh milk from the man across the street __________.

6. See to it that you cross the road __________.

7. I __________ understand what you are going through.

8. George __________ dropped the keys somewhere in the supermarket.

9. The event was ________ managed.

10. Ravi kept reminding Shiv ________ to talk to the people incharge before it is too late.

Check your answers:

1. Do you know him well?

2. Did he do it purposefully?

3. We met with our old school friends unexpectedly.

4. My mother asked us to take the responsibility given to us seriously.

5. We buy fresh milk from the man across the street regularly.

6. See to it that you cross the road carefully.

7. I perfectly understand what you are going through.

8. George accidentally dropped the keys somewhere in the supermarket.

9. The event was poorly managed.

10. Ravi kept reminding Shiv repeatedly to talk to the people incharge before it is too late.