Spelling Rules for Adding -ly

To form a regular adverb we simply add –ly to the corresponding adjective.

However in some cases adding –ly is not a straightforward matter and a few changes are required.

Spelling Rules

• -ic

With adjectives ending in –ic you need to add al before you add -ly

• -le

With adjectives ending in –le you need to check first if there is a consonant before –le. If there is, simply change the final e into y.

If instead there is a vowel before –le then simply add -ly to the adjective.

Exception

With the adjective whole, you need to remove the final e before adding -ly

• -ll

With adjectives ending in –ll you only need to add -y

• -ue

With adjectives ending in –ue you need to drop the final –e before adding -ly

• -y

With adjectives ending in –y you need to check first if there is a consonant before –y. If there is, simply change the y into i before adding -ly.

Exception

shy and sly don't require any changes. Simply add -ly

If instead there is a vowel, simply add -ly to the adjective.

Exception

With gay you need to change y into i and then add -ly

See Also

Spelling