sadly
sadly — adverb
1. showing unhappiness or sorrow through your expression, voice, or the way you beh
showing unhappiness or sorrow through your expression, voice, or the way you behave or perform an action.
Ilan looked at the broken toy and smiled sadly, knowing it could not be fixed.
smiled sadly — verb + sadly for showing sorrow in expression
The old pianist played the final piece slowly and sadly, lost in memory.
Nia shook her head sadly when the vet said her rabbit could not be saved.
The crossing guard waved sadly as the last child walked through the school gate.
- mournfully
stronger sense of grief; more literary or poetic
- sorrowfully
more formal and intense; often used in writing
- woefully
can imply pitiable inadequacy rather than pure sadness
文法句型
verb + (object) + sadly
sadly + verb of expression
用法筆記
Manner adverb: modifies the verb to describe the emotional quality of the action. Common with verbs of speech (say, speak, whisper), facial expression (smile, look, gaze), and gesture (shake one's head, nod, wave).
常見錯誤
2. used to express regret or disappointment about a situation, especially one that
used to express regret or disappointment about a situation, especially one that is unfortunate or hard to change.
Sadly, the old community centre had to close because there was not enough money.
sentence-initial position: "Sadly, + full clause"
The research team was sadly unable to find enough volunteers for the study.
Apinya had saved for months to visit her grandmother, but sadly the flight was cancelled.
The shelter had room for only ten dogs, but sadly over thirty needed a home.
- unfortunately
more common in everyday speech; same syntactic role
- regrettably
more formal; often used in official announcements
- alas
archaic or literary; rare in modern serious writing
- fortunately
direct opposite; expresses relief about a situation
- happily
also used as a sentence adverb expressing satisfaction
文法句型
Sadly, + full clause
subject + sadly + verb phrase
用法筆記
Sentence adverb: modifies the whole clause and expresses the speaker's attitude of regret. Commonly placed at the start of a sentence followed by a comma, or mid-sentence after a conjunction such as 'but' or 'and'. More common in writing than in casual conversation, where 'unfortunately' tends to be preferred.