Words finishing in ly

msd · Dec 30, 2012

I wanted to leave a comment on the post listed below but I guess I would need special privileges to do so. So I’m leaving the comment here.

http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11653

Thank you for the software you generously provide for free. Your hard work is truly appreciated.

I do have a beginner’s question. I did not study to be a writer so this is probably a dumb question.

You said that among other things the Adverb Eliminator will check every word to see if it ends in ly
Why would I want to know if any of my words end in ly?

alleycat · Dec 30, 2012

Adverbs often end in ly. So, software designed to search out adverbs would naturally check for such words.

Deleted member 42 · Dec 30, 2012

Adverbs are sometimes over used, and sometimes, they point to a deeper problem with sentence.

Sometimes they're used unnecessarily as dialog tags (she said helpfully).

So flagging adverbs so you can ask yourself "Is this what I really want to write? Is there a better way to write this?" in each instance may be helpful.

wazzujim · Jan 10, 2013

Medievalist said:
Adverbs are sometimes over used, and sometimes, they point to a deeper problem with sentence.

Sometimes they're used unnecessarily as dialog tags (she said helpfully).

So flagging adverbs so you can ask yourself "Is this what I really want write? Is there a better way to write this?" in each instance may be helpful.

And then ask yourself if there is an action verb you can use instead of the adverb...

blacbird · Jan 10, 2013

msd said:
Why would I want to know if any of my words end in ly?

If you don't care about use of adverbs, you don't need to.

However, if you do, this: ~98% of common-usage English words ending in -ly are adverbs.

~98% of adverbs end in -ly.

Just for fun, try seeing how many common-usage words ending in -ly are other than adverbs. I'll provide a quick starter list:

fly -- noun or verb
silly -- adjective
sly -- adjective
frilly -- adjective
ply -- noun or verb
ally -- noun or verb
jolly -- adjective
folly -- noun
golly -- nerdy exclamation
sully -- verb
gully -- noun or verb
belly -- noun or verb
jelly -- noun or verb
dolly -- noun

uh . . . uh . . . . . . .

frustratedly, caw

absitinvidia · Jan 10, 2013

Friendly.

Deleted member 42 · Jan 10, 2013

-ly is a reduced form of -lich in Middle English.

Lich = like

Stupidly = "stupid like"

Freindly = "friend like"

Dolly = "doll like"

You see where I'm going with this . . .

blacbird · Jan 10, 2013

Medievalist said:
Dolly = "doll like"
.

Well, it can also mean a wheeled cart used for transporting boxes of things, which is the meaning I had in mind.

Golly.

caw

Deleted member 42 · Jan 10, 2013

blacbird said:
Well, it can also mean a wheeled cart used for transporting boxes of things, which is the meaning I had in mind.

Generally believed to have been used to refer to manequins on wheeled platforms as in the Mystery Cycle, and thence to wheeled platforms used for hauling/moving objects.

blacbird said:
Golly.

Derived from godlich, or Godly, and then masked for purposes of euphuism along the lines of ods bodkins, etc.

evilrooster · Jan 11, 2013

Medievalist said:
-ly is a reduced form of -lich in Middle English.

-lijk, in modern Dutch. Pronounced "lick".

But, ironically, -lijk words are used both adjectivally and adverbially. So "natuurlijk" means both "natural" and "naturally".

Using adjectives in adverbial positions is one of the tells of a Dutch native speaker.

Jamesaritchie · Jan 11, 2013

It's always a good idea to look for ly words, but unless you know which ones to keep, which ones to get rid of, and why, such programs aren't very helpful.

Roger J Carlson · Jan 11, 2013

msd said:
I wanted to leave a comment on the post listed below but I guess I would need special privileges to do so. So I’m leaving the comment here.

http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11653

Thank you for the software you generously provide for free. Your hard work is truly appreciated.

I do have a beginner’s question. I did not study to be a writer so this is probably a dumb question.

You said that among other things the Adverb Eliminator will check every word to see if it ends in ly
Why would I want to know if any of my words end in ly?

I didn't see this thread before.

Thanks, I had fun creating them.

Others have explained about the -ly thing. Hope they prove useful for you.

Jamesaritchie said:
It's always a good idea to look for ly words, but unless you know which ones to keep, which ones to get rid of, and why, such programs aren't very helpful.

Perhaps not, but it can make adverbs easier to find, and that's really its only purpose.

Jamesaritchie · Jan 11, 2013

Roger J Carlson said:
Perhaps not, but it can make adverbs easier to find, and that's really its only purpose.

Sure, and that's pretty much what I said. Trouble is, if you don't know why you're finding adverbs, finding them does you no good at all. If you do know why you're finding adverbs, you probably won't use them poorly in the first place, and won't need the program.

blacbird · Jan 11, 2013

Jamesaritchie said:
if you don't know why you're finding adverbs, finding them does you no good at all. If you do know why you're finding adverbs, you probably won't use them poorly in the first place, and won't need the program.

If you don't understand the oft-expressed objections to overuse of adverbs, one of the ways to get a handle on it is to search your own writing for the frequency and manner of adverb-usage. I suspect through doing that a few times, anybody will improve their understanding of how they work, and how they don't, and when they don't, and how best to fix such problems. When that understanding develops, you won't need the program, but until then, it could be damn useful.

That said, you can do all this pretty easily just with your word-processor. Searching for the string "ly " (with a space after the "ly") will grab most of them, and "ly." and "ly," will get most of the rest.

And also remember that nobody here advocates eliminating all adverbs. I usually use adverbs sparingly and I normally really think not particularly badly.

caw

JimHeskett · Mar 2, 2013

adverbs aren't always weak writing, but they do need to be scrutinized. always look for a stronger action verb, if possible.

Words finishing in ly

msd

alleycat

Still around

Deleted member 42

wazzujim

blacbird

absitinvidia

A bit of a wallflower

Deleted member 42

blacbird

Deleted member 42

evilrooster

Wicked chicken

Jamesaritchie

Roger J Carlson

Moderator In Name Only

Jamesaritchie

blacbird

JimHeskett

Writers gon write.