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Flat adverb
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Flat adverb
In English grammar, a flat adverb, bare adverb, or simple adverb is an adverb that has the same form as the corresponding adjective, so it usually does not end in -ly, e.g. "drive slow", "drive safe", "dress smart", etc. The term includes words that naturally end in -ly in both forms, e.g. "drive friendly". Flat adverbs were once quite common but have been largely replaced by their -ly counterparts, with comparative (e.g., "run quicker") and superlative forms (e.g., "run quickest") converted to periphrasis (e.g., "run more quickly" and "run most quickly"). In the 18th century, grammarians believed flat adverbs to be adjectives, and insisted that adverbs needed to end in -ly. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, "It's these grammarians we have to thank for ... the sad lack of flat adverbs today". There are now only a few flat adverbs, and some are widely thought of as incorrect. Despite bare adverbs being grammatically correct and widely used by respected authors, they are often stigmatized. There have even been public campaigns against street signs with the traditional text "go slow" and the innovative text "drive friendly."
For most bare adverbs, an alternative form exists ending in -ly (slowly). Sometimes the -ly form has a different meaning (hardly, nearly, cleanly, rightly, closely, lowly, shortly), and sometimes the -ly form is not used for certain meanings (sit tight, sleep tight).
The adverb seldom is a curious example. It dates back to Anglo-Saxon times, but starting in the 1960s the same word began appearing in English books as seldomly. It has been hypothesized that the decline in usage of seldom in English, combined with the 18th century insistence on adverbs ending in -ly, resulted in its occasionally used -ly form.
Similarly, usage of the word "thus" has fallen since 1800, while usage of an -ly form, thusly, has spiked recently.
Numerical adjectives (first, second, last) rarely are used in an -ly form despite having a valid alternative. While words like firstly and lastly exist, their flat form is much more commonly used. Here, in contrast to other flat adverbs such as good ("they cook good"), the flat form is universally accepted in English as proper speech.[citation needed]
Some bare adverbs do not alternate, e.g., fast, straight, tough, far, low. In addition, the ending -ly is also found on some words that are both adverbs and adjectives (e.g. friendly) and some words that are only adjectives (e.g. lonely).
Nearly all irregular comparative adjectives in English can take on adverbial form and never use the -ly. Some examples are good, bad, little, much, and far – and their comparative forms (e.g. better and best).
My best number was the one I'd practiced least.
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Flat adverb
In English grammar, a flat adverb, bare adverb, or simple adverb is an adverb that has the same form as the corresponding adjective, so it usually does not end in -ly, e.g. "drive slow", "drive safe", "dress smart", etc. The term includes words that naturally end in -ly in both forms, e.g. "drive friendly". Flat adverbs were once quite common but have been largely replaced by their -ly counterparts, with comparative (e.g., "run quicker") and superlative forms (e.g., "run quickest") converted to periphrasis (e.g., "run more quickly" and "run most quickly"). In the 18th century, grammarians believed flat adverbs to be adjectives, and insisted that adverbs needed to end in -ly. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, "It's these grammarians we have to thank for ... the sad lack of flat adverbs today". There are now only a few flat adverbs, and some are widely thought of as incorrect. Despite bare adverbs being grammatically correct and widely used by respected authors, they are often stigmatized. There have even been public campaigns against street signs with the traditional text "go slow" and the innovative text "drive friendly."
For most bare adverbs, an alternative form exists ending in -ly (slowly). Sometimes the -ly form has a different meaning (hardly, nearly, cleanly, rightly, closely, lowly, shortly), and sometimes the -ly form is not used for certain meanings (sit tight, sleep tight).
The adverb seldom is a curious example. It dates back to Anglo-Saxon times, but starting in the 1960s the same word began appearing in English books as seldomly. It has been hypothesized that the decline in usage of seldom in English, combined with the 18th century insistence on adverbs ending in -ly, resulted in its occasionally used -ly form.
Similarly, usage of the word "thus" has fallen since 1800, while usage of an -ly form, thusly, has spiked recently.
Numerical adjectives (first, second, last) rarely are used in an -ly form despite having a valid alternative. While words like firstly and lastly exist, their flat form is much more commonly used. Here, in contrast to other flat adverbs such as good ("they cook good"), the flat form is universally accepted in English as proper speech.[citation needed]
Some bare adverbs do not alternate, e.g., fast, straight, tough, far, low. In addition, the ending -ly is also found on some words that are both adverbs and adjectives (e.g. friendly) and some words that are only adjectives (e.g. lonely).
Nearly all irregular comparative adjectives in English can take on adverbial form and never use the -ly. Some examples are good, bad, little, much, and far – and their comparative forms (e.g. better and best).
My best number was the one I'd practiced least.