AEE 2444: Grammar That Breaks the Rules Part 1: Adjectives That End in “LY”

Summary

Podcast Summary: All Ears English Podcast - AEE 2444: Grammar That Breaks the Rules Part 1: Adjectives That End in “LY”

In Episode 2444 of the All Ears English Podcast, hosts Lindsay McMahon and Michelle Kaplan embark on an enlightening exploration of English grammar, specifically addressing adjectives that end in "ly" yet defy the conventional rule of transforming into adverbs. This episode serves as the first installment in a three-part series aimed at intermediate to advanced English learners seeking to enhance their fluency and avoid common grammatical pitfalls.

---

Introduction to the Grammar Topic

The episode kicks off with Lindsay challenging a widely held belief among English learners: adding "ly" to any adjective will convert it into an adverb. She states,

“Is every word that ends in ly an adverb? Nope.”
(00:56)

This sets the stage for a deeper dive into exceptions that can trip up even seasoned English speakers.

---

Exploring Adjectives Ending in “LY” That Remain Adjectives

1. Chill vs. Chilly

Chill is a versatile adjective in contemporary slang, often used to describe someone who is relaxed or easygoing. Lindsay explains,

“If you get nervous easily, if you worry a lot, you might feel like you're not very chill.”
(03:20)

However, when "ly" is added to form chilly, the word remains an adjective but shifts in meaning to describe coldness, either in weather or demeanor.

Michelle adds further context:

“There are people who I sometimes wonder if they're chilly or if maybe you just don't know them.”
(07:17)

This highlights the importance of understanding context to discern the intended meaning.

2. Sick vs. Sickly

The adjective sick can indicate illness, as in:

“I feel sick after that roller coaster ride.”
(07:59)

When transformed into sickly, the word remains an adjective but takes on the meaning of appearing unhealthy or frail. Lindsay notes,

“Their daughter was a sickly child.”
(09:38)

This term is often seen in older literature and is less commonly used in modern conversation.

3. Dead vs. Deadly

Dead is straightforward, denoting the absence of life or functionality:

“The phone battery is completely dead.”
(10:29)

Adding "ly" forms deadly, which intensifies the severity, implying something or someone is capable of causing death or is extremely dangerous.

Lindsay elaborates,

“We really just use this if it really is that dangerous that you could die.”
(11:21)

Additionally, deadly can describe an extreme level of seriousness, such as in phobias:

“I'm deathly afraid of spiders.”
(12:02)

4. Live vs. Lively

The adjective live has dual meanings: something happening in real-time or something full of energy.

For example,

“We're watching a live broadcast.”
(13:11)

When transformed into lively, it remains an adjective but shifts to describe something as energetic and full of life.

“The party was very lively and fun.”
(13:59)

Lindsay points out the potential confusion,

“It's definitely an adjective without lyrics. And then we add ly, and it's another adjective.”
(13:59)

---

Practical Application: Role-Play Scenario

To illustrate the discussed grammar points, Lindsay and Michelle engage in a role-play set in a park. This segment demonstrates the practical usage of the adjectives in everyday conversation.

Excerpt from the Role-Play:

• Lindsay: “Oh, man, it's chilly out here.”
  (14:43)

• Michelle: “I kind of love it. The air is fresh. The vibe is chill.”
  (14:50)

• Lindsay: “Yeah, well, it helps that you're wearing, like, five layers. I bet I look sickly shivering like this.”
  (15:00)

• Michelle: “Oh, you do look a little pale. Are you actually sick?”
  (15:04)

This interaction showcases how "chilly," "chill," and "sickly" are used contextually, enhancing listener understanding through real-life dialogue.

---

Conclusion and Upcoming Topics

As the episode wraps up, Lindsay emphasizes the series' structure, ensuring listeners stay tuned for the forthcoming parts.

“This is going to be a great series.”
(05:51)

She outlines the next topics:

• Part 2: Nouns that become adjectives when "ly" is added.
• Part 3: Adjectives that transform into adverbs with entirely new or unexpected meanings.

Michelle echoes the sentiment,

“This is really important. [...] This is going to be super useful.”
(18:31)

---

Key Takeaways

• Not all adjectives ending in "ly" become adverbs. Understanding exceptions is crucial for fluency.
• Context matters significantly. Words like "chill" and "sick" can have varied meanings based on usage.
• Practical application through role-play aids in solidifying grammatical concepts.

---

Notable Quotes

• Lindsay: “Is every word that ends in ly an adverb? Nope.”
  (00:56)

• Michelle Kaplan: “There are people who I sometimes wonder if they're chilly or if maybe you just don't know them.”
  (07:17)

• Lindsay: “English is always playing tricks on us.”
  (05:24)

• Michelle Kaplan: “I'm so glad that we are learning this, because I can't.”
  (13:59)

---

This episode is a valuable resource for ESL learners aiming to master the subtleties of English adjectives and their transformations. By highlighting exceptions to common grammar rules, Lindsay and Michelle provide listeners with the tools to speak more naturally and confidently.

---

Stay tuned for Part 2 of this series in the upcoming episodes of the All Ears English Podcast, where further grammatical intricacies will be unraveled to aid your journey towards fluent American English.

Transcript

[Michelle Kaplan]

This is an All Ears English podcast. Episode 2444 Grammar that breaks the rules Part 1 Adjectives that end in Ly.

[Aubrey Carter]

Welcome to the All Ears English Podcast, downloaded more than 200 million times. Are you feeling stuck with your English? We'll show you how to become fearless and fluent by focusing on connection, not perfection, with your American host, Michelle Michelle Kaplan, the New York Radio Girl, and Aubrey Carter, the ielts whiz coming to you from Arizona and New York City, usa. And to get your transcripts delivered by email every week, go to allearsenglish.com subscribe.

[Lindsay]

Is every word that ends in ly an adverb? Nope. Today, in the first installment of this three part series, we share exceptions to this English grammar rule so that you can avoid this common pitfall. Do you ever freeze up in conversation? Even when you know the words, you pause, correct yourself and suddenly your confidence disappears. You're not alone at at the B1 level, many English learners struggle with fluency, not just vocabulary. That's why we created our B1 English fluency course. Now with new opportunities to get immediate and unlimited AI pronunciation feedback to help you speak naturally without overthinking every sentence. Join hundreds of learners building real confidence through smart, simple speaking. Practice in B1 English fluency and join our weekly Open Conversation Club for live practice. This week only you can save $50 off the normal price. Go to allearsenglish.com B1 offer expires July 20th at midnight. Hello Michelle, how are you?

[Michelle Kaplan]

I'm good. Aubry, how are you today? I'm happy to see you.

[Lindsay]

Yes, you too. Lindsay is out this week, but Michelle and I are excited to bring you some fun episodes. I'm cur Michelle to start us out here, do you feel like you're a pretty chill person?

[Michelle Kaplan]

I think I am chill in the way of like, I don't get really angry at people or I don't let like too much get me upset in that way. But I do think I'm nervous, so I don't know if that counts.

[Lindsay]

It's interesting. It depends on how you think about this word. Chill, right?

[Michelle Kaplan]

Exactly.

[Lindsay]

People who do get angry easily or easily frustrated, they'll say, I have no chill. I'm not super chill. But I would say you're definitely a chill person based on my interactions with you.

[Michelle Kaplan]

But I think you're chill too.

[Lindsay]

I think so, yeah. Pretty laidback, right? This is kind of slang to mean laid back, easygoing. We'll say chill, but it's true. If you get nervous easily, if you worry A lot. You might feel like you're not very chill.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Right, Right. But you might put off a different vibe than what you're actually feeling, which is funny.

[Lindsay]

Exactly. So the reason we're talking about chill in our Q and A, a student was talking about this word chill. Right. They said, I know I can use ch. Describe someone as laidback. And then they said, is the adverb, Chili? They said, I feel like I can add ly to any word pretty much, and it becomes an adverb. And it was an interesting discussion because unfortunately, no, that's not true. If you learned that rule, add ly to an adjective and it becomes an adverb. That's not always the case. Right. So, for example, a lot of adjective. Well, the words that do follow the rules. First of all, because this is common. Right. An adjective like soft. If we. We add ly. Yes. That's the adverb. Softly or slow. We add ly slowly. What's another one, Michelle?

[Michelle Kaplan]

Warm and warmly. So that would be to form the adverb. Right? Exactly. But again, Aubrey, as you said, it's not always the case. And if you think of this as just this hard and fast grammar rule, you're gonna find yourself in trouble because it's not always that way. Right, Aubrey?

[Lindsay]

Exactly. Right. So we're going to do a three part series here. Make sure that you follow right here on the Allers English podcast so you don't miss any of them today. In part one, we're talking about adjectives that we add ly and it becomes another adjective instead of an adverb. And then part two, we're talking about nouns that we add ly and they become an adjective. I know, so tricky. And then part three, we're talking about adjectives that do become an adverb when we add ly, but with an entirely new meaning, like an unexpected meaning. So, like hard and hardly, these words. Yeah. So this is going to be a great series.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yeah. Oh, my gosh. And so useful. Because I'm sure these things can be very, very confusing if you just hear ly is adverb and then. Yeah. It's just, it's. Unfortunately, it's not that simple.

[Lindsay]

Exactly. Right. English is always playing tricks on us. Yes. And this can hurt our connections if we're taking something and thinking it's a hard and fast rule. There are no exceptions. Then when we hear something that sounds like a mistake, it might throw us off or if we're concerned about something. So it always helps to know these details, to know a Lot of these exceptions so that you recognize that this is something we don't need to stress out about.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Exactly. All right, so should we talk about chill?

[Lindsay]

Yeah. So first. Right. Often when we add ly to an adjective, it remains an adjective, but with a different meaning. So chill is tricky because of course, we have the meaning of something being like, cool. Especially the verb like I'm going to chill. Something in the fridge means I'm going to cool it down. So then we have the adjective chili, which means something is cold. We'll usually use this to describe weather as chili. But what makes this makes this especially tricky is that slang, meaning that chill also can mean relaxed or calm.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Right, right, right, right, right. So for example, he's such a chill guy, nothing bothers him.

[Lindsay]

Yes. But when we add ly, this does not become an adverb. It actually has nothing really related to being laid back. But it also has two interesting meanings. The first one I shared. If it's weather, right. It's getting chilly outside. Grab a sweater. And we'll also describe personalities as chili. Do you know anyone who's chilly?

[Michelle Kaplan]

There are people who I. You sometimes wonder if they're chilly or if maybe you just don't know them. Like sometimes you. Somebody might give off a certain impression, but then you have to realize it might not actually be the reality.

[Lindsay]

Right, right. We also use cold to describe people. Right. Someone might come off as cold or chill if they're not extremely friendly, or maybe their facial expressions aren't extremely friendly. But that's a good point, Michelle, that this can actually hurt connection if you assume someone is cold, chilly, unfriendly, when that's just their face. And if you, you know, start a conversation, you might find that they're super warm and friendly.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Exactly, exactly. All right, so should we do another one?

[Lindsay]

Yeah. We're going to share a few of the most common examples here of similar words where it's an adjective without lyrics. And then we add ly, and it's a new meaning, but still an adjective. So what's our first one, Michelle?

[Michelle Kaplan]

Okay, so we have sick. Okay, so sick. This is an adjective to mean maybe ill or nauseated. So I felt sick after that roller coaster. Actually, Aubry. Recently I took my daughter to, like, a little kids amusement park. And they had this teacup type, one of those types of rides. And I went on one of them, and I was okay on the second one. There was just this point in the ride where I felt, I don't like this, but I was okay. But yeah.

[Lindsay]

And I Don't know about you, but when that happens to me, I'm, like, done for a while. If I feel sick after the teacups, it's gonna be hours before I feel like going on another ride. Yeah.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yeah.

[Lindsay]

We also have slaying for this word. Right. Also means something is really cool or impressive. Like, you might say, oh, that was sick. I've never been able to backflip like that. If someone does a cool backflip. So this is slaying as well, which makes it doubly tricky. Sometimes you're not sure. You have to know the context to know what exactly.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yes, you have. Yeah. Aubry, do you use sick and a slang?

[Lindsay]

I do sometimes. Yeah. If my. One of my kids will do, like, a fun trick in the pool, I might say, like, oh, sick. That was sick. My kids say it a lot. It is more. I feel like slang used by the younger generations more often. That might be a word that. I'll say it. And my kids are like, mom, you're too old to say that.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Well, Dan says sick a lot, and I always kind of. I. I don't say it. It's not that there. I think there's anything wrong with it, but I. It always kind of. It's. It's. It makes me laugh when he says it for some reason.

[Lindsay]

But this is interesting. If you add ly, it does not become an adverb, like, you might assume. Right. It's still an adjective that means looking weak or unhealthy. You. Their daughter was a sickly child. You'll often especially see this in, like, older books. That's what I was thinking. Older. It's a little bit outdated to call someone sickly. We would probably just say they look ill. They look like they don't feel well.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Exactly. Yeah, I agree with that.

[Lindsay]

But interestingly, you cannot. So this other meaning that Dan says a lot when we say something's cool, it's sick. We do not add an ly to describe how someone does that. We don't use it as an adverb to be like, he did sickly. Right. We don't do that. Just sick.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Just sick. Let's move on to dead.

[Lindsay]

Nice. All right. So dead as an adjective, of course, means no longer alive or functioning. We often use this to describe, like, technology. You might say, the phone battery is completely dead. Means it's not functioning. Functioning at all.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Exactly. Exactly. Oh, I hate that.

[Lindsay]

Right. That happens to the best of us. I. I need to get one of those mob chargers where if I'm out and About I can just attach it to my phone to get it to power back on. Yeah, yeah.

[Michelle Kaplan]

I also need that because I run into trouble sometimes. But when you add ly, again, it doesn't become an adverb. It still can be an. It's still an adjective. So deadly is able to cause death or extremely serious. So they were exposed to a deadly poison. Oh, right.

[Lindsay]

That would be bad. Exactly right. This is not an adverb. It's another adjective with a similar meaning. But yeah, it means that it is extremely serious. Could be deadly, could have disastrous results. Maybe like a ski slope, a really dangerous ski hill could be described as deadly. Especially. And this is pretty literal, we don't really use this to exaggerate or describe something that's not actually deadly as just extremely. Like, we really just use this if it really is that dangerous that you could die.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Or actually, we also sometimes will say there's death and deathly. Right. So like, I'm deathly afraid of spiders.

[Lindsay]

Or something like that. Yes, those are very similar. Exactly right. So death, but then also deathly. Again, an adjective. Right. To describe how extreme it is. Yes.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Close your eyes, exhale, Feel your body relax, and let go of whatever you're carrying today.

[Lindsay]

Well, I'm letting go of the worry that I wouldn't get my new contacts in time for this class. I got them delivered free from 1-800-contacts. Oh, my gosh, they're so fast. And breathe. Oh, sorry. I almost couldn't breathe when I saw the discount they gave me on my first order. Oh, sorry.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Namaste.

[Lindsay]

Visit 1-800-contacts.com today to save on your first order. 1-800-contacts. All right, let's move on to live and lively. So live is an adjective that means two things, either happening in real time, right? A live recording, a live video stream, or also full of energy. And often we'll say like a live wire. So this is like wiring going through a house that has electricity going through it. But we also use this metaphorically to describe, like a party as live.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Right?

[Lindsay]

We have live. Oh, so like, for example, we're watching a live broadcast or like live streaming. Right?

[Michelle Kaplan]

So sorry, I lost my place for just a second. Yes. And now we have lively. So again we add the ly and it's an adjective. And this means full of life and energy. So the party was very lively and fun. Right. You. You could describe a person as like, oh, I love. She has such a lively personality. Right?

[Lindsay]

Absol if they're very energetic and fun to be around. Right. But this I can definitely see how this could be tricky if you see the word lively and assume it's an adverb because so many adverbs end in ly, but it's not. It's an adjective. For all of these today, we add ly, and it's another adjective.

[Michelle Kaplan]

I'm so glad that we are learning this, because I can't. This is really important. Right. This is what is really going to help our listeners connect with others more confidently. Right. Take out a little bit more of the guesswork because this is one of those gray, sticky areas that could really trip people up. So I'm so glad that you're bringing this to us, Aubrey.

[Lindsay]

Yes, absolutely. Right. We don't want you to be confused by English. It can be confusing if you're just seeing adjectives that end in ly and we don't understand why or we're assuming it's an adverb. So I'm glad we're able to clear this up, share some of the most common words we use that. That ly still is an adjective. Let's do a role play here, Michelle.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Okay, awesome. So I like this. We are walking in a park. Yeah.

[Lindsay]

I'll start us out. Oh, man, it's chilly out here.

[Michelle Kaplan]

I kind of love it. The air is fresh. The vibe is chill.

[Lindsay]

Yeah, well, it helps that you're wearing, like, five layers. I bet I look sickly shivering like this.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Oh, you do look a little pale. Are you actually sick?

[Lindsay]

I'm just tired. I was up all night watching that live nature documentary. You know, the one with the wolves?

[Michelle Kaplan]

Oh, yeah. I watched part of it. Give me a clear idea of how deadly it would be to live in the Arctic. A lot of time just waiting for something to happen. Though not exactly lively, huh?

[Lindsay]

Exactly. It was beautiful, but slow. I drifted off halfway through, and now I feel half dead. Oh, you're, like, so tired trying to hang out with a friend, but you didn't sleep well. It's so tough. Like, I just need a nap. Nap.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Oh, my gosh. I've been needing more naps recently.

[Lindsay]

That's because you have small children, right? Yeah, when they nap. Yeah.

[Michelle Kaplan]

They don't nap, so. Okay. Awesome. So you said, oh, man, it's chilly out there, so. Right. There's a little bit of a breeze, a little bit cold, Right?

[Lindsay]

Exactly. So I'm not talking about a person who is acting chilly. This is the weather. Right. I'm just describing the weather is a little bit cool, a little bit cold. It's chilly out here, and Then you said, I love it. The air's fresh. The vibe is chill. So it's. We describe people as chill, having chill, and we'll also describe a vibe as chill. Right. If it's just relaxed and calm.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yeah, exactly. And then you said, I bet I look sickly, shivering like this. So again, we, you know, you look like you're feeling sick. You know, we already mentioned we're using this for the role play to show you how it works. But again, you might see this more written in older books or even in an older. In a movie about a time in the past. Right. You probably wouldn't say this very frequently, but it's good to know.

[Lindsay]

Yeah, it's a little bit outdated, for sure. You might hear it. It's good to know what it means. But there are other ways we would say this instead. We just might say, I bet I look sick, you know, I bet I look pale, however you say it. Or, you know, I bet I look like I'm feeling well, if you're there shivering.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Exactly.

[Lindsay]

And then you said, you do look a little pale. Are you actually sick?

[Michelle Kaplan]

Right.

[Lindsay]

So you're asking me if I actually don't feel well.

[Michelle Kaplan]

And then you said, I'm just tired. I was up all night watching that live nature documentary. So it's being broadcast. It was live.

[Lindsay]

Exactly right. Someone's filming animals live and you're able to watch like a live streaming of that. And then you said, oh, yeah, I watched part of it. It gave me a clear idea of how deadly it would be to live in the Arctic. So this means, like, it, your life could be at risk for the animals or anyone living in the Arctic, that it's a dangerous place. We would call it deadly.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yep, exactly. And then you said, it was beautiful but slow. I drifted off halfway through, and now I feel half dead. So you felt very tired, basically.

[Lindsay]

Right. And this is interesting. You know this is not literal. Right. We use this metaphorically, right, to say that we don't feel well. Oh, I feel dead. I feel half dead. Of course you don't real. I mean, you can't really feel dead because you're not dead. But we use this to exaggerate how badly we feel.

[Michelle Kaplan]

It's definitely an exaggeration. Well, Aubry, this is great. I'm really looking forward to the rest of the episodes in this series. This is going to be so helpful and a lot of fun and very interesting because this is not something that you're going to see in a textbook. I think in the textbook it's going to show you. Oh, ly. Adverb. Right.

[Lindsay]

Exactly right. Add ly to a word, it becomes an adverb. And I even native English speakers, I think make this mistake. You see, ly at the end of a word, you're going to assume adverb. It's really good to know the exceptions, to know when this isn't the case so that you don't fall for these pitfalls.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Absolutely. All right. I love it. Well, Aubrey, it was nice hanging out with you today and thanks for having me. Thanks for bringing all of this really important information to us, guys. This is going to be super useful. And Aubrey, I'll see you next time.

[Lindsay]

Yes. Awesome. Be sure to hit follow for the rest of the series. Guys, I'll see you next time.

[Michelle Kaplan]

All right, bye.

[Aubrey Carter]

Thanks for listening. To all ears English. Would you like to know your English level? Take our 2 minute quiz, go to allearsenglish.com and if you believe in connection not perfection, then hit subscribe now to make sure you don't miss anything. See you next time.

[Lindsay]

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