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Adjectives and Adverbs
Definition - Adjectives are words that describe nouns or pronouns. They might come ahead of the word they describe (This is certainly a lovely puppy.) or they may follow the word they describe (That puppy is cute.).
Adverbs are words that modify everything but nouns and pronouns. They modify adjectives, verbs, and other adverbs. A word is an adverb if it answers how, when, about his or where.
The adverbs that are only cause grammatical problems are the ones that answer the question how, so we will focus on these.
He speaks slowly.
Answers the question how.
He speaks very slowly.
Answers the question how slowly.
Generally, if a expressed word answers the question how, it is an adverb. If it can have an ly added to it, put it there.
She thinks slow/slowly.
She thinks how? slowly.
She actually is a slow/slowly thinker.
Slow does not answer how so no ly is attached. Slow is an adjective here.
She thinks fast/fastly.
Fast answers the question how, so it is an adverb. But fast never has an ly attached with it.
We performed bad/badly.
Badly describes exactly how we performed.
A particular ly rule applies when four regarding the senses - taste, smell, look, feel - would be the verbs. Try not to ask if these senses answer the question how to ly determine if must be attached. Instead, ask in the event that sense verb is being used actively. If so, make use of the ly.
Roses smell sweet/sweetly.
Perform some roses actively smell with noses? No, so no ly.
The lady looked angry/angrily.
Did the woman actively look with eyes or are we describing her appearance?
We have been only describing appearance, so no ly.
The lady looked angry/angrily at the paint splotches.
Here the girl did look with eyes actively so the ly is added.
She feels bad/badly about the news.
This woman is not feeling with fingers, so no ly.
The phrase good is an adjective while well is an adverb answering the question how.
You did a job that is good.
Good describes the task.
You did the job well.
Well answers how.
Today you smell good.
Describes your odour, not the way you smell along with your nose, so follow using the adjective.
You smell well for someone with a cold.
You are actively smelling with a nose here so follow using the adverb.
When talking about health, always utilize well.
Examples I do not feel good.
That you don’t look well today.
You might use good with feel if you are not talking about health.
Personally I think good about my decision to master Spanish.
A error that is common using adjectives and adverbs arises from using not the right form for comparison. For example, to spell it out a very important factor we might say poor, as with, “She is poor.” To compare a couple of things, we have to say poorer, such as, “this woman is the poorer for the two women.” To compare a lot more than two things, we ought to say poorest, as with, “She is the poorest of them all.”
- Sweet
- Bad
- Efficient*
- Sweeter
- Worse
- More efficient*
Three or even more
- Sweetest
- Worst
- Most efficient *
*Usually with words of three or more syllables, do not add -er or -est. Use more or most in the front of the words.
Never drop the ly from an adverb while using the comparison form.
She spoke quickly.
She spoke more quickly than he did.
She spoke quicker than he did.
Talk quietly.
Talk more quietly.
When this, that, these, and people are accompanied by nouns, they are adjectives. Them, they are pronouns when they appear without a noun following.
This house is for sale.
It is an adjective here.
This is on the market.
This might be a pronoun here.
This and that are singular, if they are now being used as adjectives or as pronouns. This points to something nearby while that points to something “over there.”
This dog is mine.
That dog is hers.
That is mine.
This is certainly hers.
These and people are plural, whether they are being used as adjectives or as pronouns. These points to something nearby while those points to something “over there.”
These babies have already been smiling for a long time.
These are mine.
Those babies have already been crying for hours.
Those are yours.
Use rather than show comparison. Use then to resolve the relevant question when.
I might rather go skiing than rock climbing.
First we went skiing; then we went rock climbing