Why do you spell basically with ally and not ly?

You're right, "basically" is spelled with "ally" and not "ly". This is because it comes from the word "base", meaning "foundation" or "fundamental", and "ally" is a suffix used to form adverbs.

Here's the breakdown:

* Base (noun): The foundation or fundamental part of something

* Basically (adverb): In a fundamental way; essentially

The "ly" suffix is usually used to form adverbs from adjectives, like "happy" becoming "happily". However, "basically" follows a different pattern because it's derived from a noun and not an adjective.