95944
These constructions both have Google hits: [もっと早く **に**
言う](https://www.google.com/search?q=%22%E3%82%82%E3%81%A3%E3%81%A8%E6%97%A9%E3%81%8F%E3%81%AB%E8%A8%80%E3%81%86%22)
and
[もっと早く言う](https://www.google.com/search?q=%22%E3%82%82%E3%81%A3%E3%81%A8%E6%97%A9%E3%81%8F%E8%A8%80%E3%81%86%22).

They seem to mean more or less the same thing. But what exactly does this に
mean and when can we use に after an adverb?

I don't think we can say stuff like *`強くに叩く` for just any adverb.

Maybe it adds some temporal nuance, like までに expressing a deadline? Is this
phenomenon limited to 早くに?
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2022-08-21T21:52:16.497
95942
2022-08-25T00:54:59.983
16052
question
particle-に adverbs
Meaning of に in 早くに
早く in 早く言う is (functioning as) an adverb (or, the adverbial form of the
i-adjective 早い.)  
早く in 早くに言う is a noun (the noun form of the i-adjective 早い --
形容詞「早い」の連用形「早く」が名詞になったもの). So 「早く+に」 is literally "at + an early time".

Similar examples of this noun form:

>   * 遅く -- こんな **遅く** に何の用だ
>   * 遠く -- **遠く** で雷が鳴っている
>   * 近く -- **近く** まで来た
>   * 深く -- 海の **深く** に沈む
>

Not all i-adjectives work like this (eg 美しく, 明るく, 大きく can not be a noun.) Only
several i-adjectives expressing the degree of time and space have this noun
form (eg 遅く, 早く, 近く, 遠く, 深く, 古く, 高く, 低く).
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-08-22T01:02:34.010
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2022-08-25T00:54:59.983
2022-08-25T00:54:59.983
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answer