Most of us, when we think of -ly words, think of adverbs. It’s common, after all, to transform an adjective into an adverb by adding -ly:

But it’s a mistake to associate -ly words with adverbs all the time. First, too many adverbs don’t end in ly:

• well
• very
• often
• tomorrow
• never
• soon, etc.

Why does this matter?

I’m not sure it matters much at all, frankly, but it argues once again for teaching grammar and conventions thoroughly, rather than just shortcuts. Equating adverbs with -ly words is likely to cause confusion when students encounter adverbs that don’t end in -ly or -ly words that do not function as adverbs.

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