Short-Form Adverbs — Faster, Harder, Later, Earlier
Practice the small group of adverbs identical to their adjective form (fast, hard, late, early) that take -er/-est directly, unlike regular -ly adverbs.
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She runs ___ than her brother.
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faster
The adverb 'fast' has the same form as the adjective — comparative 'faster', no 'more'.
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He works ___ than anyone in the office.
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harder
The adverb 'hard' takes -er — 'harder'. 'Hardly' means 'almost not' and is unrelated.
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She arrived ___ than the others.
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later
'Late' is a short adverb — comparative 'later'.
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She arrived ___ than the meeting started.
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earlier
'Early' is a short adverb — comparative 'earlier'.
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He runs much ___ than me.
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faster
'Fast' takes -er — 'faster'. There is no 'fastly'.
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He works ___ than anyone else on the team.
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harder
'Hard' takes -er — 'harder'. 'Hardly' means 'almost not' (a different word).
Short-Form Adverbs: Same as the Adjective
A closed set of common adverbs — fast, hard, late, early — has exactly the same form as the corresponding adjective, with no -ly ending at all. These adverbs form their comparative and superlative directly with -er/-est, exactly like short adjectives, not with more/most.
He works harder than anyone in the office.
She arrived earlier than the meeting started.
The most common error is applying the -ly-adverb rule (more/most) to this group by analogy, producing 'more fastly' or 'more hardly' — forms that do not exist. 'Hardly' in particular is a trap: it looks like the adverb of 'hard', but it is an entirely separate word meaning 'almost not' ('I hardly know him'), with no comparative form of its own. When the meaning is 'with more effort or force', the correct comparative is simply 'harder'.
Common Mistakes
✗ He works more hardly than anyone else. → ✓ harder. ('hardly' ≠ comparative of 'hard')
Last updated: · Satori Editorial