She hurried off … and came back.

Analyze the question: The sentence needs a word that describes how she hurried off. That is an adverb of manner. The question is which form is correct in standard English.

Explain the concept: In English, fast is a special word. It works as both an adjective and an adverb, and it keeps the same form in both uses.

• Adjective: "a fast car"
• Adverb: "She ran fast."

The word "fastly" does not exist in standard English. This is a common trap in JAMB. Other words like this include hard (not "hardly," which means something different), late, and early.

Step-by-step solution:

1. The blank needs an adverb to modify "hurried off."
2. Check each option: • A. fastly: not a word in standard English ✗ • B. as fastly: built on "fastly," so it is also wrong ✗ • C. fast: correct adverb form ✓ • D. very fastly: again uses the non-existent "fastly" ✗
3. The complete sentence is: "She hurried off fast and came back."

Answer: C. fast

Exam tip: Whenever you see "fastly" in an option list, eliminate it straight away. Remember that fast is both adjective and adverb. Also remember that "hardly" is not the adverb of "hard," so watch out for that trap as well.