Grammar Info

N4 Lesson 4: 6/19

く・に~ly (Describing verbs), Adverbs

Structure

[い]Adjective[] + Verb
[な]Adjective + + Verb

Exceptions:
いい→

Details

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About く・に

Adverbs can be used before verbs to indicate the way in which an action is being done. This is translated in a similar way to '~ly' in English, where the adjective 'quick' would become 'quickly' when describing a verb.

Both い-Adjectives and な-Adjectives have different rules for being used adverbially. For い-Adjectives, remove the い and replace it with く. This is also known as the conjunctive form. For な-Adjectives, に will be added directly after.

In most cases, adverbs that are modifications of an い-Adjective or a な-Adjective should come directly before the verb they are modifying.

Caution

There are many adverbs in Japanese that are modifications of neither い-Adjectives nor な-Adjectives. For ease, we will call these 'true adverbs'. True adverbs may appear in different parts of the sentence depending on the information they are conveying. However, this is an advanced topic that will be covered at another stage.

Examples

--:--

    文字(もじ)丁寧(ていねい)()く。

    I write characters neatly.

      (かれ)彼女(かのじょ)(あま)(はな)しかけた。

      He spoke to her sweetly.

        (かぜ)(はげ)しく()いている。

        The wind is blowing fiercely.

          子供(こども)(しず)かに(あそ)んでいる。

          The child is playing quietly.

            (かれ)自慢話(じまんばなし)(あつ)(かた)った。

            He passionately told his boastful story.

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