Why does "excessively" have only one L while "physically" has two Ls? — Priya, India
Answer
Adding -ly to an adjective makes an adverb. Excessively has one L because the base word is excessive and -ly is added to the end. Physically has two Ls because the base word is physical which ends with an L and then -ly is added.
When an adjective ends in a consonant, you can just add -ly to make it an adverb. If the consonant it ends in is L then you end up with a double L. Below are more examples:
masterful --> masterfully
expert --> expertly
practical --> practically
beneficial --> beneficially
clever --> cleverly
disastrous --> disastrously
official --> officially
cruel --> cruelly
usual --> usually
If a word ends in -ble then the -e is dropped before adding -ly:
profitable --> profitably
acceptable --> acceptably
agreeable --> agreeably
audible --> audibly
forcible à forcibly
If a word ends in -y and has more than one syllable then the -y changes to -i before adding -ly:
happy --> happily
bouncy --> bouncily
sturdy --> sturdily
easy --> easily
If a word ends in -y and has only one syllable then just add -ly:
