# Adverb for fast? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 15, 2007, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adverb-for-fast/426605 "2007-11-15T22:27:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Tan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/charlie_tan/32/12582_2.png) [@Charlie\_Tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Tan)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2007, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adverb-for-fast/426605/1 "2007-11-15T22:27:47Z")
Help this non-native English speaker. I was about to write a sentence the other day and it ended up being “The car was going fastly.” I mean, one of the basic rules when I was taught English was to add -ly to the adjective to form the adverb. However, the sentence looked really strange, and when I voiced in my mind I realized I’d say “the car was going fast” if I was speaking, not writing. This in turn made me go to [dictionary.com](http://dictionary.com), which of course said that fastly is \Fast"ly, adv. Firmly; surely which, of course I knew. However, there’s no indication that fastly has anything to do with speed. So I guess, problem solved, though it still seems a bit strange to me. Now to the question - what other adverbs don’t have -ly\*, following the same pattern as fast, not counting such as good/well. \*oh, and let’s stay away from -ry. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2007, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adverb-for-fast/426605/2 "2007-11-15T22:31:11Z")
“Quickly”. And I had no idea you weren’t a native speaker! What’s your native language? ---
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2007, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adverb-for-fast/426605/3 "2007-11-15T22:31:11Z")
Quckly, rapidly Zev Steinhardt ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2007, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adverb-for-fast/426605/4 "2007-11-15T22:31:36Z")
The word you’re looking for is “quickly”. Technically, “The car was going fast” is bad grammar, but it’s a very, very common sentence, even among native speakers. But “The car was going quickly” is correct. “Fastly” is almost never used. If you want to say that a physical object is stuck very well; or it’s secure, just use “fast” , as in: “I tried to move it, but the paint had stuck the picture frame fast to the wall.” And you’re right, this appears to have nothing to do with the word “fast” meaning “of great speed”. ---
**Author:** ![Spavined\_Gelding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@Spavined\_Gelding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spavined_Gelding)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2007, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adverb-for-fast/426605/5 "2007-11-15T22:42:44Z")
Licitly-split. Hell for leather. Like, zoom, man. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2007, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adverb-for-fast/426605/6 "2007-11-15T22:43:08Z")
[QUOTE=WhyNot] And you’re right, this appears to have nothing to do with the word “fast” meaning “of great speed”. [/QUOTE] I’d WAG that this usage derives more from the word “fasten” than “fast” meaning “or great speed”. According to [dictionary.com](http://dictionary.com): [fasten](http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/fasten) > [@](#): > > [Origin: bef. 900; ME fastenen, OE fæstnian; c. ON fastna to betroth; akin to fast1] and [fast](http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=fast) > [@](#): > > [Origin: bef. 900; ME; OE fæst firm; c. D vast, ON fastr firm, G fest; akin to fast2] Then there is “fast” meaning to abstain from food… this is a complicated word! ---
**Author:** ![brewha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@brewha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brewha)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2007, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adverb-for-fast/426605/7 "2007-11-15T22:53:41Z")
I do not think he’s asking what you think he’s asking. Fast is an adjective Fastly is an adverb, but it does not mean quick, it means to secure or hold on to. Is there other words where their “ly” counterpart has a different meaning? Is what I think he’s asking. ---
**Author:** ![KlondikeGeoff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3e96dc/32.png) [@KlondikeGeoff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KlondikeGeoff)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2007, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adverb-for-fast/426605/8 "2007-11-15T23:00:09Z")
English can be a strange language! I am always angered by traffic signs reading, “Drive Slow.” Oh, yeah, then there is the sign “Slow Children Ahead.” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2007, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adverb-for-fast/426605/9 "2007-11-15T23:07:28Z")
[QUOTE=Charlie Tan] Now to the question - what other adverbs don’t have -ly\*, following the same pattern as fast, not counting such as good/well. [/QUOTE] How about “soon”—is that the kind of thing you’re looking for? ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2007, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adverb-for-fast/426605/10 "2007-11-15T23:15:05Z")
[QUOTE=KlondikeGeoff] I am always angered by traffic signs reading, “Drive Slow.” [/QUOTE] Why? The Oxford English Dictionary has a series of cites for “slow” being used in this manner going back all the way to the year 1500. (And, for “fast” being used in an analogous manner, the series of cites goes back to 1205!). I think it would be more accurate to realize that the “-ly” forms aren’t actually required for this function in English than to pretend they are and that people are just overwhelmingly bad at speaking it. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Tan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/charlie_tan/32/12582_2.png) [@Charlie\_Tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Tan)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2007, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adverb-for-fast/426605/11 "2007-11-15T23:20:13Z")
[QUOTE=Thudlow Boink] How about “soon”—is that the kind of thing you’re looking for? [/QUOTE] Exactly! I knew quickly and rapidly ASF. What I’m looking for are other adjectives that are not following the pattern adjective+ _ly_ = adverb. There’s good/well of course, but that’s obvious\*, but soonly? Nah, that sounds too weird. Speaking of temporal adverbs, timely can’t be the adverb of time (as an adjective), so that’s another weirdo, only opposite from fast. \*It works the same in my native Swedish, which also answers a question above. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2007, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adverb-for-fast/426605/12 "2007-11-15T23:32:03Z")
[QUOTE=Charlie Tan] Exactly! I knew quickly and rapidly ASF. What I’m looking for are other adjectives that are not following the pattern adjective+ _ly_ = adverb. There’s good/well of course, but that’s obvious\*, but soonly? [/QUOTE] Soon already is an adverb. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adverb-for-fast/426605/13 "2007-11-16T00:55:08Z")
Many words that are both adjectives and adverbs: Last: “The last man” vs. “He entered last.” across-the-board: “An across-the-board reduction”; “Reductions will occur across the board” (hyphenated adjectives usually lose their hyphen when used as an adverb) worldwide: “Worldwide Pants.” vs. “He traveled worldwide.” hard: “A hard surface” vs. “He fell hard on the pavement.” non-stop: “A non-stop flight” vs. “We flew nonstop.” ---
**Author:** ![Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hypnagogic_jerk/32/4252_2.png) [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypnagogic_Jerk)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adverb-for-fast/426605/14 "2007-11-16T01:08:03Z")
[QUOTE=Indistinguishable] Why? The Oxford English Dictionary has a series of cites for “slow” being used in this manner going back all the way to the year 1500. (And, for “fast” being used in an analogous manner, the series of cites goes back to 1205!). [/QUOTE] I think you’re correct, I don’t know why “The car was going fast” wouldn’t be a correct sentence. It seems to me that the adverb formed with “fast” would be “fast”. I think it was on this board that someone mentioned the sentences “the dog smells badly” and “the dog smells bad”. They clearly have different meanings. ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adverb-for-fast/426605/15 "2007-11-16T01:49:19Z")
[QUOTE=KlondikeGeoff] Oh, yeah, then there is the sign “Slow Children Ahead.” 😃 [/QUOTE] I never too that as wrong. Traffic signs don’t have punctuation and I’ve always read that as: Slow! (a command) Children Ahead. (reason) ---
**Author:** ![Baffle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dec6dc/32.png) [@Baffle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baffle)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adverb-for-fast/426605/16 "2007-11-16T02:12:04Z")
A car going “fastly” would probably be stuck in place. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adverb-for-fast/426605/17 "2007-11-16T02:26:06Z")
A guide to the use of marine flags and semaphores has instructions for saying “I have come fast on an obstacle”. I always wonder how many people use this one because they can’t find one that says “I have come onto an obstacle slowly”. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adverb-for-fast/426605/18 "2007-11-16T02:55:29Z")
It’s a complete misconception that in English all adverbs end with -ly. Many do not. “Fast”, as one of its definitions (look in the American Heritage Dictionary, for example, but I’m sure they’ll all say the same) is an adverb meaning “quickly”. Ed ---
**Author:** ![WF\_Tomba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d9b06d/32.png) [@WF\_Tomba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WF_Tomba)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adverb-for-fast/426605/19 "2007-11-16T02:58:32Z")
[QUOTE=WhyNot] The word you’re looking for is “quickly”. Technically, “The car was going fast” is bad grammar, but it’s a very, very common sentence, even among native speakers. [/QUOTE] Other posters have already defended the use of _fast_ as an adverb, but out of curiosity I would like to know if you have a citation for its being considered incorrect. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adverb-for-fast/426605/20 "2007-11-16T03:05:59Z")
[QUOTE=WF Tomba] Other posters have already defended the use of _fast_ as an adverb, but out of curiosity I would like to know if you have a citation for its being considered incorrect. [/QUOTE] Do we have cites that aren’t from 1205? I know it from years of teachers correcting students, but find me a dictionary that lists fast as an adverbial form of fast, meaning swift, and then we’ll talk. I’ve looked in three so far and found nothing to support that contention. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adverb-for-fast/426605.md?page=2)