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Word Study · Suffixes and spelling

Suffix -ly: Quick to Quickly, Happy to Happily, Gentle to Gently

Learn how the suffix -ly turns adjectives into adverbs, and the spelling rules for happily, gently, truly, carefully and finally. Then practise spelling them.

Grades 3–5 · 19 practice questions · Original material
Learning objectiveExplain that the suffix -ly usually turns an adjective into an adverb that tells how something is done, spell words such as quickly, carefully, happily, gently, truly and finally using the add, change y to i, drop le and double l patterns, and tell adverbs from -ly adjectives such as friendly.

The idea

The suffix -ly is one of the most useful word endings in English. It often turns an adjective into an adverb. An adjective describes a noun, as in a quick runner. An adverb often tells how an action is done, as in She ran quickly.

The simplest rule: add -ly to the end of the word. Quick becomes quickly, slow becomes slowly, loud becomes loudly and sad becomes sadly. Keep the e in polite + ly = politely, because the e is not part of an -le ending.

If the word ends in consonant + y, change the y to i before -ly: happy becomes happily, easy becomes easily and angry becomes angrily. If the word ends in -le, drop the le and add -ly: gentle becomes gently, simple becomes simply and terrible becomes terribly.

If the word already ends in l, keep it and add the l of -ly, so there are two l's: careful becomes carefully, final becomes finally and full becomes fully (full drops one l, so it is fully and not fullly). Words that end in -ic usually take -ally: basic becomes basically.

A few words are exceptions. True becomes truly, with no e. Not every word ending in -ly is an adverb: friendly, lovely, lonely and lively are adjectives. And a few adverbs, such as fast and hard, stay the same. Hardly is a different word: it means almost not at all.

When you proofread, ask: What word is this adverb made from? Then check the ending. The pattern tells you how to spell it, and the suffix tells you how it works in the sentence.

Word bank

quickly

adverb · KWIK-lee

adds -ly to quick: in a fast way

Example: She quickly packed her bag.

slowly

adverb · SLOH-lee

adds -ly to slow: in a slow way

Example: The turtle walked slowly.

loudly

adverb · LOWD-lee

adds -ly to loud: in a loud way

Example: The crowd cheered loudly.

sadly

adverb · SAD-lee

adds -ly to sad: in a sad way

Example: He sadly waved goodbye.

politely

adverb · puh-LYTE-lee

keeps the e: polite + ly; in a polite way

Example: She politely said thank you.

carefully

adverb · KAIR-ful-lee

careful + ly, so it has -fully; with great care

Example: Carry the glass carefully.

fully

adverb · FUL-lee

full + ly drops one l; completely

Example: The jar is fully open.

happily

adverb · HAP-ih-lee

change y to i, then add -ly; in a happy way

Example: The puppy wagged its tail happily.

easily

adverb · EE-zih-lee

change y to i, then add -ly; without trouble

Example: She solved the puzzle easily.

angrily

adverb · ANG-grih-lee

change y to i, then add -ly; in an angry way

Example: He angrily slammed the door.

gently

adverb · JENT-lee

drop the e of -le, then add -ly; in a soft way

Example: Pat the cat gently.

simply

adverb · SIM-plee

drop the e of -le, then add -ly; in an easy way, or only

Example: Simply add water.

terribly

adverb · TAIR-ih-blee

drop the e of -le, then add -ly; very badly

Example: The soup tasted terribly salty.

truly

adverb · TROO-lee

true drops its e; really and honestly

Example: I truly love this book.

finally

adverb · FY-nuh-lee

final + ly, so it has two l's; at last

Example: The bus finally arrived.

basically

adverb · BAY-sik-lee

basic + ally; in the main way

Example: Basically, the plan is simple.

Worked examples

Example 1 · Just add -ly

Make an adverb from quick.

  1. Quick ends in a consonant (k), not in y or le.
  2. Add -ly to the end: quick + ly.
  3. Check the meaning: quickly tells how someone moves.

quickly

Example 2 · Change y to i

Make an adverb from happy.

  1. Happy ends in consonant + y.
  2. Change y to i: happi.
  3. Add -ly: happily.

happily

Example 3 · Drop the le

Make an adverb from gentle.

  1. Gentle ends in -le.
  2. Drop the le: gent.
  3. Add -ly: gently.

gently

Example 4 · Two l's

Make an adverb from careful.

  1. Careful already ends in l.
  2. Add -ly after it: careful + ly.
  3. The word ends in -fully, which has two l's.

carefully

Example 5 · Drop the e in true

Make an adverb from true.

  1. True ends in silent e.
  2. This is an exception: the e is dropped.
  3. Add -ly: truly.

truly

Example 6 · Adverb or adjective?

Is the word friendly an adverb in "a friendly dog"?

  1. Ask what the word describes.
  2. Friendly describes a noun (dog), not an action.
  3. So it is an adjective, even though it ends in -ly.

No. Friendly is an adjective here.

Common mistakes

Writing “happyly”, “easyly” or “angryly”.

Why this fails: When a word ends in consonant + y, change the y to i before -ly: happily, easily, angrily.

Writing “gentlely”, “simplely” or “terriblely”.

Why this fails: Words that end in -le drop the le and take -ly: gently, simply, terribly.

Writing “carefuly” or “finaly” with one l.

Why this fails: The word already ends in l and -ly begins with l, so both stay: carefully, finally. Full is the exception: fully.

Writing “truely”.

Why this fails: True drops its e before -ly: truly.

Using an adjective instead of an adverb: “He walked slow.”

Why this fails: In school writing, use the adverb that tells how: He walked slowly.

Thinking every word that ends in -ly is an adverb.

Why this fails: Friendly, lovely, lonely and lively are adjectives. Ask what the word describes: a noun or an action.

Foundation

Foundation practice

See what -ly does and add it to simple words.

Add -ly

1. Add -ly to quick to make an adverb that tells how someone runs: quick + ly = ___.

  1. quicky
  2. quickly
  3. quickley
  4. quicly
What does -ly do?

2. What job does the suffix -ly usually do when it is added to an adjective like slow?

  1. It makes an adverb that tells how something is done.
  2. It makes a plural noun.
  3. It makes the word mean the opposite.
  4. It makes a word that means before.
Adjective or adverb?

3. Which word is the adverb in this sentence? "The kitten slept peacefully."

  1. The
  2. kitten
  3. slept
  4. peacefully
Choose the word

4. Which sentence is correct in school writing?

  1. He walked slowly to the door.
  2. He walked slow to the door.
  3. He walked slowness to the door.
  4. He walked slowful to the door.
Build it

5. Add -ly to loud to tell how the crowd cheered: loud + ly = ___.

Practice

Practice practice

Spell -ly words that change y to i, drop le, or double the l.

Change y to i

6. Add -ly to happy. Which spelling is correct?

  1. happyly
  2. happly
  3. happily
  4. happiely
Change y to i

7. Which spelling means "in an angry way"?

  1. angryly
  2. angrily
  3. angryily
  4. angrilly
-le words

8. Add -ly to gentle. Which spelling is correct?

  1. gentlely
  2. gentley
  3. gentily
  4. gently
-le words

9. Which spelling is correct for "in a simple way"?

  1. simply
  2. simplely
  3. simpley
  4. simplily
-ful words

10. Which spelling is correct for "with care"?

  1. carefuly
  2. carefully
  3. carefulely
  4. carefulyl

Think

Think practice

Use the drop-e, keep-e and two-l patterns, and spot adjectives that end in -ly.

Drop the e

11. Which spelling of true + ly is correct?

  1. truely
  2. truley
  3. truly
  4. truelly
Keep the e

12. Which spelling of polite + ly is correct?

  1. politely
  2. politly
  3. polilly
  4. polytely
Two l's

13. Which spelling of final + ly is correct?

  1. finaly
  2. finally
  3. finnally
  4. finnaly
Pick the right spelling

14. Which is the correct spelling for the adverb from easy?

  1. easyly
  2. easly
  3. easily
  4. easeily
Is it an adverb?

15. Which word ending in -ly is NOT an adverb? It is an adjective that describes a noun.

  1. friendly
  2. quickly
  3. happily
  4. gently
Hard and hardly

16. In "She worked hard," the word hard tells how she worked. What does hardly mean in "I could hardly see"?

  1. very hard
  2. in a hard way
  3. in a careful way
  4. almost not at all
Odd one out

17. Which word is spelled wrong?

  1. truly
  2. fully
  3. truely
  4. finally

Challenge

Challenge practice

Fix and write sentences with -ly words.

Fix the sentences

18. Correct the three spelling mistakes: “She carefuly opened the box and happyly smiled at the gentlely folded paper.”

Write it

19. Write two sentences. Use one adverb that changes y to i and one that comes from a word ending in -le.

Answer key

  1. 1. quickly
    Quick ends in a consonant, so just add -ly: quick + ly = quickly. The k stays, and the other spellings lose or change letters.
  2. 2. It makes an adverb that tells how something is done.
    Slow describes a noun, and slowly tells how a verb happens: She walked slowly. The other jobs belong to -s, un- and pre-.
  3. 3. peacefully
    Peacefully ends in -ly and tells how the kitten slept. Kitten is a noun and slept is a verb.
  4. 4. He walked slowly to the door.
    The verb walked needs an adverb that tells how, and slowly is the adverb. Slow is an adjective, and the other endings do not make an adverb.
  5. 5. loudly
    Loud ends in a consonant, so just add -ly: loudly.
  6. 6. happily
    When a word ends in consonant + y, change y to i before -ly: happy becomes happily.
  7. 7. angrily
    Angry ends in consonant + y, so change y to i and add -ly: angrily.
  8. 8. gently
    Gentle ends in -le, so drop the le and add -ly: gentle becomes gently. Gentlely keeps the le and repeats the ly.
  9. 9. simply
    Simple ends in -le, so drop the le and add -ly: simply. Do not write simplely.
  10. 10. carefully
    Careful already ends in l, and -ly adds another: careful + ly = carefully, with two l's at the end.
  11. 11. truly
    True drops its e before -ly: truly. It is one of a few exceptions, along with whole and wholly.
  12. 12. politely
    Polite keeps its e because the e comes before -ly and not -le: polite + ly = politely. The word does not follow the -le rule.
  13. 13. finally
    Final already ends in l, and -ly begins with l, so both l's stay: finally. Finaly is missing one l.
  14. 14. easily
    Easy ends in consonant + y, so change y to i and add -ly: easily.
  15. 15. friendly
    Friendly describes a noun, as in a friendly dog. Quickly, happily and gently tell how something is done. Lovely, lonely and lively are also adjectives.
  16. 16. almost not at all
    Hardly is not hard + ly in the usual way. It means almost not at all. Hard can be an adverb without -ly, and so can fast.
  17. 17. truely
    True drops its e: truly. The other words are spelled correctly: full + ly drops one l, and final + ly keeps two.
  18. 18. She carefully opened the box and happily smiled at the gently folded paper.
    Careful + ly has two l's at the end: carefully. Happy changes y to i: happily. Gentle drops the le and takes -ly: gently.
  19. 19. The children ran happily across the field. She gently put the egg in the nest.
    Answers vary. Check that happily (or easily, angrily) is spelled with i, and that gently, simply or terribly is spelled with -ly and not -lely.

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