# Adverb for fast?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adverb-for-fast/426605>\
**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:** 4\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\
**Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adverb-for-fast/426605/41 "2007-11-16T21:59:50Z")

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[QUOTE=severus]  
No problem. This said, is there an adverb formed with “timely”?  
[/QUOTE]

Well, “timely” as an adjective doesn’t really mean “quickly”. It comes closest to meaning “fortuitous” in a chronological context. “You arrival was timely” doesn’t mean, “You got here quickly.” It means “Your arrival at that particular moment was fortuitous.” It’s actually a fairly complex adjective when you analyze it.

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**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, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adverb-for-fast/426605/42 "2007-11-16T23:16:20Z")

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Of course, but an adverb formed with “timely” could be useful as well in some cases. “He arrived in a timely manner” = “He arrived \<…\>”. I guess we could say “He arrived opportunely”, but that sounds wrong, or to use your suggestion, “He arrived fortuitously”, which I figure is right but is rather long. Maybe there just isn’t any adverb that can be formed from this adjective.

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**Author:** ![Triskadecamus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b19c9b/32.png) [@Triskadecamus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Triskadecamus)\
**Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adverb-for-fast/426605/43 "2007-11-16T23:18:18Z")

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“. . . he arrived punctually.”

Tris

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**Author:** ![Alive\_At\_Both\_Ends](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Alive\_At\_Both\_Ends](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alive_At_Both_Ends)\
**Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adverb-for-fast/426605/44 "2007-11-16T23:21:19Z")

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Even if you add -ly to an adjective it doesn’t always result in an adverb. “Shortly” means “soon”. It does not mean “in a short manner”.

[Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adverb-for-fast/426605.md?page=2)