John is tall. (Tall is an
adjective that describes John.)
John dances wonderfully. (Wonderfully
is an adverb that describes the way John dances.)
John is desperately ill. (ill
is an adjective describing John. Desperately is an adverb that describes
ill.)
John cleaned the car extremely
well today. (Extremely is an adverb that describes well. Well
is
an adverb that describes cleaned.)
2. Adverbs DO NOT
modify or describe nouns!
Correct:
Incorrect: She is a frustratingly woman.
Correct: Jan has a beautiful house.
Incorrect: Jan has a
beautifully house.
3. Adjectives DO NOT modify or describe verbs!
Correct:
Pete is eating
regularly
again after his
illness. (regularly
is an adverb that describes the verb eating)
Incorrect:
Pete is eating
regular
again after his illness. (regular is an adjective; it cannot describe the
verb eating)
Correct:
Rhonda sings
wonderfully.
(wonderfully
is an adverb and modifies the verb sings)
Incorrect:
Rhonda sings
wonderful.
(wonderful is an adjective and cannot modify the verb sings.)
4.
Adjectives always follow a form of the verb be when they modify the
noun that comes before that verb.
Clarise was happy. (was
is the past
tense of be; happy=adjective describing Clarise)
She has been happy for days now.
(has been is have + a form of be;
happy
is an adjective describing She)
Be sweet to your cousin.
(be is the verb; sweet is an adjective modifying the implied subject
You)
Marlys and Sally were muddy.
(were is a form of be; muddy is an adjective describing
Marlys and Sally)
Dinner smells great! (great is an adjective describing the noun dinner. The verb smells is one of sense)
The melon smells rotten.
(rotten is an
adjective modifying melon. You shouldn’t use rottenly,
because that would mean that the melon has a sense of smell)
He does his work badly when he is tired. (badly is an adverb modifying does. Badly is the way he does his work.
In English only one negative is used at a time. Since scarcely and hardly are already negative adverbs, you do not add another negative (no, not, none, no one, nobody, etc). (See Adverbs)
Correct: There were hardly any sandwiches left when Peter arrived at the picnic.
Incorrect: There were hardly none left when Peter...
Correct: Scarcely anyone alive still remembers World War One.
Incorrect: Scarcely no one alive...
When something happens do you feel bad or badly? When something is not good, how do you describe it--bad or badly? Bad is an adjective; badly is an adverb. Use the same guidelines as with good and well and use bad after linking verbs and verbs having to do with the five senses. However, people sometimes use "badly" when they feel guilt or sorrow about something. "I feel badly about your accident." Strictly speaking this is not correct, but it is acceptable common usage.
He smelled bad. (If you said, “He smelled badly” you
would be saying he had trouble with his sense of smell.)
John plays the harp badly. (He can’t play!)
Jerry never smells bad.
(He takes a shower daily.)
Sally looks bad in that outfit. (She isn’t attractive when she wears that dress.)
Good is an adjective and modifies or describes nouns. Well is an adverb and modifies or describes verbs. That seems simple enough, but misusing these two words is one of the most common errors in spoken and written English. Remember: if you are using a *linking verb or a verb that has to do with the human senses (feel, taste, sight, hearing, smell) you use the adjective: good. If you are using an action verb (do, play, talk, run, dance, etc., use the adverb: well.
This tastes good.
What smells so good?
I feel good, thanks..
Shirley plays poker well.
Jack ran well in the race, didn't he?
Well and good may both be used after verb relating to health, and this is perfectly correct.
How is your mother? She is well, thank you.
It's been three months
since she felt really good, hasn't it?
*(Linking verbs do not express action and are sometimes called “state-of-being” verbs. The most common linking verbs are: be, am, is, are, was, were, being, been, and verb phrases ending in be, being, and been such as could be, would have been, etc. Other common linking verbs are: become, grow, seem, stay, remain. A good way to see if a verb is a linking verb is to substitute “is” or “was” for the verb and see if the sentence still makes sense. You cannot use “is” or “was” in place of an action verb.)
Correct: I don't swim very well.
Incorrect: I don't swim very good.
BUT: I am not a good swimmer.
Correct: Jenny speaks French well.
Incorrect: Jenny speaks French good.
BUT: Jenny speaks good French.
Correct: She dances well.
Incorrect: She dances good.
BUT: She is a good dancer.
Nearly is an adverb meaning "almost". Near means "proximate" or "close by" and can be used as a verb, adverb, adjective, or preposition.
Real is an
adjective and modifies nouns or pronouns. Really is an
adverb and modifies verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs.
(Notice the ly ending—a good hint that the word could be
an adverb)
Sure is an adjective meaning to be certain and describes nouns and pronouns. Surely is an adverb also meaning certainty and describes adjectives, verbs, and other adverbs. (The idiom sure to be means without a doubt, certain.)
Surely may also describe an entire sentence:
Sometimes it seems to make no sense as to why we say things in English the way we do. Somewhere, someone who has studied grammar for years and years may know the reasons, but we will just tell you that: "This is just the way we say it." So look at the examples to learn how it is said in conversational American English.