In this lesson you will learn all about adverbs of manner in German. You can search for adverbs ending in – weise, – halber, – falls. Here you can find and learn what adverbs are that serve as enhancers or softeners of meaning. How these adverbs are built and how they function in a sentence.
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What are adverbs of manner
Use of adverbs of manner
Adverbs of manner of a subjective character
Adverbs of manner expressing measure and time in the accusative case.
Adjectives as adverbs of manner
How sure are you?
Adverbs in -er + -weise
Adverbs + -halber ili -falls
What are adverbs of manner?
Adverbs of manner in German indicate how, in what manner and with what intensity something happens.
Here are some of the adverbs of manner with translation:
irgendwie (somehow), so (so), ebenso (like, likewise), genauso (same so), folgendamsemen (as follows) , anders (differently), gern(e) (gladly), allein (only), zusammen (together) , durcheinander (messed up), umsonst ( in vain, in vain)
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Grammar Contents
Use of adverbs of manner
The following adverbs of manner give a certain direction or tone to an utterance. Most refer to the adverb they are in front of. So I can:
- They intensify the meaning: sehr (very), besonders (especially, especially), sicher (sure), bestimmt (sure), gewiss (certainly), ganz (completely, quite, whole)
- Izraze ograničenje: allerdings* (mada), natürlich (naravno), tatsächlich (zapravo), wenigstens (barem), mindestens (barem), höchstens (maksimalno, ne više od), genug (dosta)
- Expressions of limitation: allerdings* (although), natürlich (of course), verschätzlich (actually), attsingen (at least), mindestens (at least), höchschens (maximum, no more than), genug (enough)
- Softens the meaning: fast (almost), kaum (barely), beinahe** (almost), ganz (quite, relatively), recht (quite), ziemlich (pretty much)
- Intensify negation: gar nicht /kein (not at all + negation), überhaupt nicht (not at all), keineswegs (not at all), keinesfalls (under no circumstances)
* allerdings is used as an emphatic positive answer, especially when the interlocutor raises a doubt, surprise
the like: Hast du das gewusst? – Allerdings! (Did you know that? – Of course!)
**. fast and beinahe have the same meaning, only beinahe is learned much later, at the B1 level.
See some combinations of adverbs with other sentences:
- sehr + adjective intensifies the meaning.
For example:
Das Essen war sehr gut. – The food was very good.
Ihr neues Kleid ist sehr schön. – Your new dress is very beautiful.
- so + adjective intensifies the meaning.
For example:
Ich bin ja so froh! – I am so happy!
Der Laptop ist so teuer. – The laptop is so expensive. - so + verb has the meaning “in this way”.
For example:
So sieht das gut aus. – That looks good.
So geht das nicht. – That’s not how it works. - besonders + adjective meaning especially, exceptionally
For example:
Das Buch ist besonders interessant. – The book is particularly interesting.
Diese Jacke ist besonders schön. – This jacket is particularly beautiful. - ganz + adjective can limit the positive meaning, besides, the ganz in speech is not stressed.
For example:
Er ist ja ganz nett, aber ziemlich langweilig. – He’s quite nice, but pretty boring. - ganz + adjective can limit both positive and negative meaning BUT here ganz in speech is stressed.
For example:
Das Wasser ist ganz warm. (= es ist sehr warm) The water is completely warm. (= it is very warm)
Das Wasser ist ganz warm. (= es ist ziemlich warm) – The water is really warm. (= it is quite warm) - zu + adjective expresses something unexpected, exaggerated, very often negative
For example:
Er kam zu früh. – He came too early.
Der Mantel ist zu groß. – The coat is too big.
Das ist mir zu wenig! – That’s not enough for me! - gar + negation intensifies negation
For example:
Das ist gar nicht wahr. – That’s not true at all.
Heute hat gar niemand angerufen. – Nobody called today at all.
- gern + verb expresses special affection
For example:
Mia spiet gern Fußball. – Mia likes to play football. (That’s her hobby.)
Anna isst gern Pizza. – Anna likes to eat pizza. (This is her favourite food.) - adjective + genug is used to express that the property mentioned in the adjective is sufficiently present:
For example:
Sie ist schon alt genug, um das zu verstehen. – That’s bad enough!
Es ist noch nicht warm genug für kurze Hose. – It’s not yet warm enough for shorts. - adjective + genug is used to intensify a negative statement.
For example:
Das Problem ist schwierig genug. – The problem is difficult enough.
Das ist schlimm genug! – That’s bad enough!
Adverbs of the manner of a subjective character
The following adverbs of manner are used when commenting and at the same time express the subjective attitude of the speaker.
auchtenlich (obviously, seems), echt (real, really), hoffentlich (hopefully, in all likelihood), leider (unfortunately), meinetwegen (for me), natürlich (of course), offenbar (obviously), sicher (certainly), sowieso (and anyway), überhaupt (at all), übrigens (amongst other things, otherwise), vielleicht (maybe), wohl (well, altogether), kuykklicherweise (luckily), komischerweise (strange), …
Examples in sentences:
Er hat mich anscheinend missverstanden. – He obviously misunderstood me.
Das hast du echt toll gemacht! – You did a really great job.
Hoffentlich ist ihr nichts passiert. – I hope nothing happened to her.
Leon hat übrigens geheiratet. – By the way, Leon got married.
Adverbs of manner expressing measure and time in the accusative case.
For example:
alt – Das Baby ist erst einen Monat alt.
breit – Der Tisch ist einen Meter breit.
dick – Das Kabel ist 5 mm dick.
hoch – Die Kommode ist einen Meter hoch.
tief – Der See ist zehn Meter tief.
lang – Das Zimmer ist 4 Meter lang.
schwer – Der Sack ist 20 Kilo schwer.
weit – Er springt sechs Meter weit.
wert – Das alte Handy ist 100 Euro wert.
Adjectives as adverbs of manner
Almost all adjectives can also serve as adverbs of manner.
For example:
Mia ist anscheinend krank. – Mia is apparently ill.
Sie fragte ihn freundlich. – She asked him kindly.
Es geht mir schlecht. – I’m feeling bad.
In this function, they cannot be declined, but they can be compared.
How sure are you?
The following adverbs express how sure you are:
About 50% = vielleicht/eventuell/ möglicherweise
About 570 % = vermutlich / wahrscheinlich
About 595% = sicher/ bestimmt
For example:
Wo ist Nina? – Where is Nina?
Sie ist vielleicht krank. – She may be ill.
Sie ist vermutlich noch immer zu Hause. Gestern klagte sie über Übelkeit. – She is probably still at home. Yesterday she complained of nausea.
Sie ist sicher noch immer im Stau. Am Morgen ist immer sehr viel Verkehr. – I’m sure she’s still stuck in a traffic jam. There is always a lot of traffic in the morning.
Adverbs in -er + -weise
A certain group of adverbs ends with the prefix – weise. We often add the suffix –er BEFORE –weise, but this does not always have to be the case. This type of adverb is formed from adjectives and nouns.
For example:
normal + er + weise= normalerweise –normal, usual
möglich +er + weise = möglicherweise – possible
die Ausnahme +s + -weise = ausnahmsweise – exceptionally, as an exception
See the lesson: Adverbs in -weise in German/ Adverbien mit -weise
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Grammar Contents
Adverbs + -halber or -falls
Adverbs of manner are used to indicate reasons or conditions and can be built with the endings – halber or – falls.
Suffix – halber has the meaning:
for = deutlichkeitshalber – for clarity
for = gesundheitshalber – for illness
For example:
Ich habe vorsichtshalber einen Regenschirm mitgenommen. – I took an umbrella with me as a precaution.
Das Geschäft ist ferienhalber geschlossen. – The shop is closed for the holidays.
Examples with suffix – halber:
sicherheitshalber (for safety), anstandshalber (for decency), ferienhalber (for holidays), umzugshalber (for moving), beispielhalber (for example), interessehalber (for interest), probehalber (for trial testing), gesundheitshalber (for health), geschäftehalber (for business reasons), studienhalber (for studies), umständehalber (for circumstances)
Adverbs with – falls are derived from adjectives and pronouns.
For example:
Diesem Vorschlag werde ich keinesfalls (auf keinen Fall) zustimmen. – I will not under any circumstances agree to this proposal.
Die Mannschaft kann bestenfalls (im besten Fall) einen mittleren Platz erreichen. – In the best-case scenario, the team could finish in mid-table.
Examples with suffix -falls:
gleichfalls (also), ebenfalls (also, likewise), anderenfalls (otherwise/ in another way), bestenfalls (at best), höchstenfalls (mostly), günstigenfalls (at best), keinesfalls (never)
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