Primary English | Adverbs of Manner Lesson Prep Guide (for tutors) | Three Spelling Groups, Two Positions, 15 Items

2026-11-08

Tutor lesson-prep guides · Primary English

Students write “He runs quick” because Chinese uses one word for both jobs. English splits the work: an adjective describes a noun, an adverb describes an action.

Objectives — Students can: (1) explain the adjective and adverb split with one sentence each; (2) turn 24 adjectives into adverbs using the three spelling groups; (3) place an adverb in either legal position and score at least 12 of 15 in the diagnostic.

01 Prerequisites (3-minute check)

If any of these fails, fix it before the lesson starts.

Skill	Quick check	Pass mark
Adjectives	They sit before a noun	a quick runner
Present simple	Subject plus verb	He runs.
Spelling of y endings	How a final y changes	happy becomes happily

02 Lesson flow (45 minutes)

Time	Stage	Tutor does	Student does
0-6 min	Diagnostic	Sentences such as He runs quick; students judge each	Tick or cross
6-16 min	Two jobs	Adjective for a noun, adverb for an action	One sentence each
16-28 min	Three groups	12 direct, 6 y to ily, 6 irregular	Three per group
28-36 min	Two positions	After the verb or object; at the front with a comma	Same sentence twice
36-43 min	15-item diagnostic	12 right out of 15, that is 80 per cent	Self-mark
43-45 min	Exit check	Three items collected and marked	Work alone

03 Teaching script (read it out)

Scene 1: Two jobs: adjective and adverb

One meaning, two jobs: an adjective describes a noun (a quick runner) and an adverb describes an action (He runs quickly).
Chinese uses one word for both, so students translate word for word and write He runs quick. Give them one question to ask after every sentence: am I describing a person or thing, or an action?

Ask students: write one sentence with quick and one with quickly, naming what each describes.

Scene 2: Three spelling groups, not just add -ly

Group one, add -ly: quickly, slowly, loudly, quietly and 12 in all.
Group two, y becomes ily: happily, easily, angrily, hungrily, noisily, busily, 6 words; happyly is wrong.
Group three, irregular: well, fast, hard, late, early, high, 6 words. Good becomes well, not goodly; fast and hard do not change at all. Note that hardly means almost not, the opposite of hard.

Ask students: turn happy, easy and good into adverbs and name the group for each.

Scene 3: Two positions, and a third that always fails

Position one, after the verb or its object: She sings beautifully. Position two, at the front with a comma: Slowly, he opened the door.
The position that always fails is between verb and object: He plays very well the piano is wrong. Of the 15 diagnostic items, 3 are missed, mostly on position and on the y to ily group.

Ask students: write one sentence two ways, the adverb at the back and at the front.

04 Question types and worked steps

Type	Example	Steps	Answer
Spelling	happy, easy and good	Decide the group first	Name the group
Gap fill	An adverb after a verb	Find the verb	Adjective or adverb
Error correction	He runs quick.	Ask what is being described	Give the reason
Position rewrite	Adverb at the front	A comma follows	Both versions must read well

Sanity check (teach this): Sanity checks: the adverb of good is well, and goodly does not exist; hard and hardly mean opposite things; fast never becomes fasterly; an adverb cannot sit between verb and object; 12 of 15 is 80 per cent.

05 Independent practice (3 questions)

Question	Answer	What to watch
Three groups	Three words each	Is the group named correctly
Five corrections	One change per sentence	Is the described word named
Position rewrite	Three sentences with a front adverb	Is the comma there
Scene sentences	Five actions, one adverb each	Does the pairing make sense

06 Common mistakes and what to say

Mistake	Student writes	Say this
Adjective used as adverb	He runs quick.	Quick describes a noun; for an action write quickly: He runs quickly.
y kept before -ly	She smiled happyly.	The y becomes ily: happily, not happyly.
goodly invented	He sings goodly.	The adverb of good is well; goodly does not exist.
Adverb inside the verb phrase	He plays very well the piano.	Put the adverb after the object: He plays the piano very well.

07 Homework (paper, section and question numbers)

Primary English chapter index — Every chapter in the subject
All prep guides — Parallel chapters
Redo this chapter — Redo items 1 to 8 and name the spelling group

08 Exit check (last 5 minutes)

Question	Answer	Decision
The adverb of good	well	Saying goodly means redo act three
The adverb of happy	happily	Saying happyly means redo act three
The two legal positions	After the verb or object, and at the front with a comma	Saying inside the verb phrase means redo act four

09 Tutor FAQ

Must all 24 words be memorised?

No. Learn the three groups and every new adjective can be converted on the spot.

How do quickly and fast differ?

They are close in meaning, but fast is both adjective and adverb, so He runs fast is correct and fastly does not exist.

Is hardly the same as hard?

No. Hardly means almost not, so He hardly works and He works hard say opposite things.

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A TutorZone lesson-prep guide. Written by the TutorZone team; questions and lesson flow are original and are not taken from any school or publisher material.