Loud vs. loudly

Question

Hello, teachers!

Are these all acceptable? If so, would you please tell me the difference in meaning between 'loud' and 'loudly'?

1. The students laughed out loud/loudly.
2. He spoke rather loud/loudly.

Thank you very much.
Peace!

Haoqide · Accepted Answer

Hello. The general difference is that "loud" is an adjective, while "loudly" is an adverb. Adjectives are used to describe nouns. Adverbs are used to describe, verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs.

1.) The students laughed out loud. - This seems to be one of the many exceptions to a rule in English. "Loud" is an adjective, but "out" is sort of serving as an adverb here to describe "loud", and the phrase "out loud" is describing how the students laughed. It's bizarre, but that's how it acts here. So in this case, "out loud" is kind of an adverbial phrase. Does that make sense?

2.) He spoke rather loudly. - "Loudly" is an adverb. It is describing how he spoke. A tip: Most words in the English language that end in "ly" are adverbs and need to be used as adverbs, as I outlined above.

Does that help? If you need more explanation, just ask! It's what we're here for

Anonymous · Answer

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00A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Please see below. If you'd like answers to questions like this, the Internet is woefully inadequate. Go to "Strunk & White" or "Words into Type" instead. Just because someone is a teacher doesn't mean that he or she is a qualified authority. 02br
00Yes, of course, the -ly form frequently distinguishes an adjectival from adverbial form. But in this case, both "loud "and "loudly" are acceptable adverbial forms. Consider also the adverb/adjective "seldom." There is no such word as "seldomly." There are cases, too, in which an adjective form is properly used in an adverbial sense. To wit: "I feel good," an utterance that refers to the speaker's sense of well-being. A person who says "I feel well" is speaking of his or her powers of perception. 02br
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00Kenneth G. Wilson 00(1923–).00 The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. 001993.02br
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01font00loud (01i00adv., adj.02i00), loudly (01i00adv.02i00)02font02td

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01i00Loud02i00 can be an adjective, as in 01i00He wore loud socks02i00 and 01i00She seems unnecessarily loud,02i00 or a flat adverb, as in 01i00Please play it loud. Loudly02i00 is also an adverb: 01i00The team clattered loudly into the locker room. He wore a loudly painted necktie.02i00 All these uses are Standard.02td

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Anonymous · Answer

Hi,

Could you help me with a similar problem? Which is correct to use :

I said, ´Hello´ again a bit louder / more loudly.

And why?

Thx a lot, lego

Anonymous · Answer

haoqideHello. The general difference is that "loud" is an adjective, while "loudly" is an adverb.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary lists "loud" itself as one of the acceptable adverb forms.

Mister Micawber · Answer

Yes, thank goodness that 'expert' haoqide be a-gone – lo! –these six years.

Could you help me with a similar problem? Which is correct to use: I said, ´Hello´ again a bit louder / more loudly.-- Both of these are fine and common, lego. 'More loudly' is more formal, that is all.

Awence · Answer

exactly, similar to the following example,

The food taste good. > good is describing the food and not serving as an adverb to taste.

You look gorgeous. > gorgeous is describing the subject and not serving as an adverb to look.

So, The students laughed out loud > can be interpreted as "The students laughed it out loud in which loud serves as an adjective for "it" (could be a joke or something)

Anonymous · Answer

Anonymous is right about "loud" and "loudly both being acceptable adverbial forms. That's good to remember.

But there's one mistake regarding "well."

When people say, "I feel well," or "I'm well," they're usually not talking about their powers of perception. In this situation "well" is an adjective, not an adverb.

It's confusing because most people know "well" as the adverbial form of "good." But there's also an adjectival "well." It means "in good health, free or recovered from illness."

So "I'm good," and "I'm well," are both grammatically correct and reasonable responses to "How are you?" The nuance is a little different though. "I'm good," is very general, while "I'm well," focuses a bit more on health/physical condition.

Anonymous · Answer

"Loud as an adverb is preferred to loudly." The former is the first entry in Webster's Eleventh.

Well is indeed an adjective in the phrase "I feel well." It is grammatically equivalent to "I feel good."

BUT the qestion "_How_ are you" logically requires a response with an adverb or prepositional phrase.

The proper answer, if one is a good frame of mind, is "I'm well" or "I'm fine."

In the above case, "I'm well" and "I'm fine" can be considered an eliptical response equating to "I'm doing well"/"I'm doing fine."

"I'm good," as an answer to "How are you," is equivalent to "I'm doing good" (substandard English). It used to be quite rare among educated people until about 10 years ago.

"I'm good" is properly a statement about one's moral or ethical quality.

Mister Micawber · Answer

Anonymous"I'm good" is properly a statement about one's moral or ethical quality.

Not anymore. It is a common response to 'How are you?' in contemporary informal English.

Fivejedjon · Answer

Mister Micawber Anonymous"I'm good" is properly a statement about one's moral or ethical quality.Not anymore. It is a common response to 'How are you?' in contemporary informal English.

I agree. I am old, and old-fashioned, enough not to like it, but I can't deny that it's fine - in contemporary informal American English. If I could manage to get my head out of the sand, I'd probably find that it was acceptable in contemporary informal British English.

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