German Adverbs of Manner
Turn any adjective into an adverb, say what you like doing with gern and add feeling with leider and zum Glück.
Adverbs of manner say how something happens. In German most of them are simply adjectives used without an ending.
Add a few special words like gern and leider and you can describe almost anything you do.
Adjectives work as adverbs
Use the plain adjective to say how something is done. German has no extra ending like English -ly.
Sie spricht sehr gut Deutsch.
She speaks German very well.
Fahr bitte langsam!
Please drive slowly!
Er hat das Problem schnell gelöst.
He solved the problem quickly.
gern: liking to do something
Verb + gern means you like doing it; nicht gern means you don't. Lieber and am liebsten say what you prefer.
gern and its forms
- like doinggern
- don't like doingnicht gern
- preferlieber
- like mostam liebsten
Ich koche gern.
I like cooking.
Wir fahren lieber mit dem Zug.
We'd rather go by train.
Everyday manner words
Some adverbs comment on the whole sentence, others say how much. Both are extremely common in speech.
Manner and comment
- Bad newsleiderunfortunately
- Good newszum Glückluckily
- Maybevielleichtmaybe, perhaps
- This waysolike this, so
- Other wayandersdifferently
- With otherszusammentogether
- On your ownalleinalone
How much
- Strongsehrvery
- Mediumziemlichquite, fairly
- Too muchzutoo
- Fullyganzquite, completely
- Nearlyfastalmost
Leider habe ich heute keine Zeit.
Unfortunately, I don't have time today.
Wir wohnen seit einem Jahr zusammen.
We've lived together for a year.
Das Wasser ist zu kalt.
The water is too cold.
Common mistakes
✗
Ich mag zu kochen.✓ Ich koche gern.
mögen takes no zu; for activities, use verb + gern.
✗
Ich spreche Deutsch gut sehr.✓ Ich spreche sehr gut Deutsch.
sehr goes directly before the word it strengthens.
✗
Leider ich habe keine Zeit.✓ Leider habe ich keine Zeit.
After leider in position 1, the verb comes next.
Questions learners ask
How do you make an adverb from an adjective in German?
You don't change anything: schnell means both fast and quickly. Only adjectives before a noun take endings.
Is it gern or gerne?
Both are correct and mean the same. Gerne sounds a little softer and is very common in speech: Danke! – Gerne!