Recognize -ly Adjectives

Skill

Recognize -ly Adjectives

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Generally when a word ends in -ly in English, it is an adverb. However, there are a few words ending in -ly that are adjectives, and these -ly adjectives can cause confusion in written expression questions on the TOEFL test.

Example:

  • The manager turned in his weekly report.

Explanation: In this example, weekly appears in front of the noun report. However, weekly is an adjective that describes the noun report.

The following chart lists common -ly adjectives that can appear in English:

-LY ADJECTIVES

  • costly
  • early
  • friendly
  • kindly
  • likely
  • lively
  • lonely
  • manly
  • daily
  • hourly
  • monthly
  • nightly
  • quarterly
  • weekly
  • yearly
  • lovely
  • northerly
  • easterly
  • southerly
  • westerly

Exercise

Complete the following exercises to reinforce what you’ve learned:

Each of the following sentences contains at least one adjective or adverb ending in -ly. Circle the -ly words, and label them as either adjectives or adverbs. Draw arrows to the words they describe. Then indicate if the sentences are correct (C) or incorrect (I).

  1. Federal taxes are yearly taxes which must be paid every April.
  2. At the fashion show, the new seasonally fashions will be shown.
  3. Do you want to go to the early movie or the lately movie?
  4. She offered me some friendly advice about how to deal with the terribly problem.
  5. The quarterly reports need to be turned in at the next weekly meeting.
  6. He did not have a manly reaction to the negatively comments.
  7. The likely outcome of the purchase of the costly car is that he will not be able to pay his monthly bills.
  8. The days she spent at the beach house were lonely and solitarily.
  9. She takes her daily medication on a regularly schedule.
  10. The kindly neighbor paid hourly visits to her unhealthily friend.

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