Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
| Domain | Definition |
Tips from 1870 | Usage: Adjective or Adverb. There is often a doubt in the mind of the speaker whether to use the adjective or the adverb, and too frequently he reaches a wrong decision. When the limiting word expresses a quality or state of the subject or of the object of a verb, the adjective must be employed; but if the manner of the action is to be expressed, the adverb must be used. The verbs be, seem, look, taste, smell, and feel furnish many stumbling-blocks. "This rose smells sweetly." As the property or quality of the rose is here referred to, and not the manner of smelling, the adjective sweet should be employed, and not the adverb sweetly. "Thomas feels quite badly about it." Here, again, it is the condition of Thomas's mind, and not the manner of feeling, that is to be expressed; hence, badly should be bad or uncomfortable. "Didn't she look beautifully upon the occasion of her wedding?" No; she looked beautiful. "The sun shines brightly." Bright is the better word. "The child looks cold," refers to the condition of the child. "The lady looked coldly upon her suitor," refers to the manner of looking. "The boy feels warm" is correct. "The boy feels warmly the rebuke of his teacher" is equally correct. While license is granted to the poets to use the adjective for the adverb, as in the line: "They fall successive and successive rise," In prose the one must never be substituted for the other. "Agreeably to my promise, I now write," not "Agreeable to my promise." "An awful solemn funeral," should be "An awfully solemn funeral." "He acts bolder than was expected," should be "He acts more boldly." "Helen has been awful sick, but she is now considerable better." "Helen has been very ill, but she is now considerably better." Do not use coarser for more coarsely, finer for more finely, harsher for more harshly, conformable for conformably, decided for decidedly, distinct for distinctly, fearful for fearfully, fluent for fluently. Do not say "This melon is uncommon good," but "This melon is uncommonly good." The word ill is both an adjective and an adverb. Do not say "He can illy afford to live in such a house," but "He can ill afford." "That was a dreadful solemn sermon." To say "That was a dreadfully solemn sermon" would more grammatically express what the speaker intended, but very or exceedingly would better express the meaning. Source: Slips of Speech. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
Crosswords: ADJECTIVE OR ADVERB |
| English words defined with "ADJECTIVE OR ADVERB": compare ♦ dependent, dependent clause ♦ Positive degree ♦ subordinate, subordinate clause ♦ Un-. (references) |
| Etymologies containing "ADJECTIVE OR ADVERB": Alfresco ♦ Backjoint ♦ Nearhand ♦ Palterly ♦ Tilly-vally. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. |
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "a-a-b-c-d-d-e-e-e-i-j-o-r-r-t-v-v" | |
-5 letters: overdirected. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
Hexadecimal (or equivalents, 770AD-1900s) (references)41 44 4A 45 43 54 49 56 45 4F 52 41 44 56 45 52 42 |
| Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519; backwards) (references)
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Binary Code (1918-1938, probably earlier) (references)01000001 01000100 01001010 01000101 01000011 01010100 01001001 01010110 01000101 00100000 01001111 01010010 00100000 01000001 01000100 01010110 01000101 01010010 01000010 |
HTML Code (1990) (references)A D J E C T I V E   O R   A D V E R B |
ISO 10646 (1991-1993) (references)0041 0044 004A 0045 0043 0054 0049 0056 0045 004F 0052 0041 0044 0056 0045 0052 0042 |
Encryption (beginner's substitution cypher): (references)353844393754435639249522353856395236 |
| 1. Crosswords 2. Anagrams 3. Orthography 4. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
