Is “fastly” the adverb of “fast”?
written by Lilian Ndongmo. ESL Teacher
Question: To form an adverb from an adjective, the rule says to add –ly at the end of the adjective. If I add –ly after the word ‘fast’, is fastly correct?
Answer: NO. Fastly is not the adverb of fast. In fact, there is no word like fastly in English. A long time ago, fastly was used as an adverb, but not anymore , so please remove it from your vocabulary.
The adverb of fast is fast
Examples: Tommy is fast. He finished his exam in less than 30 minutes. (fast = adjective)
Usain Bolt runs very fast. (fast = adverb)
More meanings of fast used as an adverb
1. The baby is fast asleep. (soundly; deeply)
2. The door was shut fast. (tightly; firmly)
3. Your clock is running fast. (in advance of the correct time)
4. The river flows fast. (quickly; rapidly; swiftly)