Adjective or Adverb worksheet for students to identify and classify -ly words in sentences.

Let's solve this worksheet step by step.

Understanding the Task:

The goal is to:
1. Circle the word ending in -ly in each sentence.
2. Determine whether that word is an adjective or an adverb.
3. Write "adjective" or "adverb" on the line next to each sentence.

> 🔍 Key Rule:
> - An adverb describes a verb, adjective, or another adverb (often answering *how*, *when*, *where*, or *to what extent*).
> - An adjective describes a noun (what kind? which one? how many?).
> - Many adverbs end in -ly, but some words ending in -ly are actually adjectives (e.g., "friendly", "elderly").

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Now, let’s go through each sentence:

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1. The smelly trash was in the kitchen for days.
- smelly → describes "trash" (a noun) → adjective
✔ Answer: adjective

2. The girls ran quickly from the room.
- quickly → describes "ran" (a verb) → adverb
✔ Answer: adverb

3. Hank burst into the room quite suddenly.
- suddenly → describes "burst" (a verb) → adverb
✔ Answer: adverb

4. I made friends with the friendly giraffe.
- friendly → describes "giraffe" (a noun) → adjective
✔ Answer: adjective

5. The baby slept peacefully in his crib.
- peacefully → describes "slept" (a verb) → adverb
✔ Answer: adverb

6. The elderly man is always in a poor humor.
- elderly → describes "man" (a noun) → adjective
✔ Answer: adjective

7. Celia admired her friend’s curly hair.
- curly → describes "hair" (a noun) → adjective
✔ Answer: adjective

8. The boys fought bravely side by side.
- bravely → describes "fought" (a verb) → adverb
✔ Answer: adverb

9. The sun shone brightly all afternoon.
- brightly → describes "shone" (a verb) → adverb
✔ Answer: adverb

10. The cuddly teddy bear was a great comfort.
- cuddly → describes "teddy bear" (a noun) → adjective
✔ Answer: adjective

11. The woman looked at me strangely.
- strangely → describes "looked" (a verb) → adverb
✔ Answer: adverb

12. He peered slyly around the corner.
- slyly → describes "peered" (a verb) → adverb
✔ Answer: adverb

13. Jill gestured sadly when they said goodbye.
- sadly → describes "gestured" (a verb) → adverb
✔ Answer: adverb

14. She tread softly up the stairs.
- softly → describes "tread" (a verb) → adverb
✔ Answer: adverb

15. The woman’s hand gently rocked the cradle.
- gently → describes "rocked" (a verb) → adverb
✔ Answer: adverb

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✔ Final Answers:

| Sentence | Word circled | Part of Speech |
|--------|--------------|----------------|
| 1 | smelly | adjective |
| 2 | quickly | adverb |
| 3 | suddenly | adverb |
| 4 | friendly | adjective |
| 5 | peacefully | adverb |
| 6 | elderly | adjective |
| 7 | curly | adjective |
| 8 | bravely | adverb |
| 9 | brightly | adverb |
| 10 | cuddly | adjective |
| 11 | strangely | adverb |
| 12 | slyly | adverb |
| 13 | sadly | adverb |
| 14 | softly | adverb |
| 15 | gently | adverb |

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📝 Summary:

- Words ending in -ly are often adverbs, but not always.
- If the -ly word describes a noun, it’s an adjective (like "friendly", "elderly", "cuddly").
- If it describes a verb, it’s an adverb (like "quickly", "peacefully", "gently").

This exercise helps reinforce understanding of part of speech function rather than just spelling patterns.

Let me know if you'd like this as a printable answer key!