Adverbs of manner

To describe how someone performs an action—like dancing "wildly" or singing "powerfully"—you use an adverb of manner. Let's set the stage for the talent show audition:

The audition for the talent show is starting now.
Áheyrnarprufan fyrir hæfileikakeppnina byrjar núna.

Forming Adverbs from Adjectives

In Icelandic, forming an adverb of manner is simple: just use the neuter singular form of the adjective.

  • hár (loud) → hátt (loudly)
  • villtur (wild) → villt (wildly)
  • kraftmikill (powerful) → kraftmikið (powerfully)
  • falskur (out of tune) → falskt (out of tune)

Playing Instruments (spila á)

To say you are playing an instrument, Icelandic uses að spila á (to play on). Let's see this combined with our new adverbs modifying the verb:

I hear the boy playing the drum loudly.
Ég heyri strákinn spila hátt á trommuna.
The woman plays the violin wildly, but the man plays the keyboard.
Konan spilar villt á fiðluna en maðurinn spilar á hljómborðið.

Adverbs in Action

Here are more examples of performers singing and dancing:

One dances powerfully, but another hits the drum.
Einn dansar kraftmikið en annar slær trommuna.
Someone is singing out of tune in the audition.
Einhver syngur falskt í áheyrnarprufunni.
We need to sing powerfully for the talent show.
Við þurfum að syngja kraftmikið fyrir hæfileikakeppnina.

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