ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS

[Pages:26]GTC LEARNING SUPPORT ENGLISH 0096, 0097, 0988 GRAMMAR AND WRITING GUIDE

ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS

The Difference between Adjectives and Adverbs

THE BASIC RULES: ADJECTIVES

Adjectives modify nouns. To modify means to change in some way. For example:

? "I ate a meal." Meal is a noun. We don't know what kind of meal; all we know is that someone ate a meal.

? "I ate an enormous lunch." Lunch is a noun, and enormous is an adjective that modifies it. It tells us what kind of meal the person ate.

Adjectives usually answer one of a few different questions: "What kind?" or "Which?" or "How many?" For example:

? "The tall girl is riding a new bike." Tall tells us which girl we're talking about. New tells us what kind of bike we're talking about.

? "The tough professor gave us the final exam." Tough tells us what kind of professor we're talking about. Final tells us which exam we're talking about.

? "Fifteen students passed the midterm exam; twelve students passed the final exam." Fifteen and twelve both tell us how many students; midterm and final both tell us which exam.

So, generally speaking, adjectives answer the following questions:

? Which? ? What kind of? ? How many?

THE BASIC RULES: ADVERBS

Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. (You can recognize adverbs easily because many of them are formed by adding -ly to an adjective, though that is not always the case.) The most common question that adverbs answer is how.

Let's look at verbs first.

? "She sang beautifully." Beautifully is an adverb that modifies sang. It tells us how she sang. ? "The cellist played carelessly." Carelessly is an adverb that modifies played. It tells us how the cellist

played.

Adverbs also modify adjectives and other adverbs.

? "That woman is extremely nice." Nice is an adjective that modifies the noun woman. Extremely is an adverb that modifies nice; it tells us how nice she is. How nice is she? She's extremely nice.

? "It was a terribly hot afternoon." Hot is an adjective that modifies the noun afternoon. Terribly is an adverb that modifies the adjective hot. How hot is it? Terribly hot.

So, generally speaking, adverbs answer the question how. (They can also answer the questions when, where, and why.)

Page 1 of 26

GTC LEARNING SUPPORT ENGLISH 0096, 0097, 0988 GRAMMAR AND WRITING GUIDE

AVOIDING COMMON ADJ/ADV USAGE ERRORS

1. Bad or Badly? When you want to describe how you feel, you should use an adjective So you'd say, "I feel bad." Saying "I feel badly" would be like saying you play football badly. "I feel badly" would mean that you are unable to feel, as though your hands were numb. Here are some other examples: o "The dog smells badly." Here, badly means that the dog does not do a good job of smelling. o "The dog smells bad." Here, "bad" means that dog needs a bath.

- Sometimes people say "I feel badly" when they feel that they have done something wrong. Let's say you dropped your friend's favorite dish, and it broke into a million pieces. You might say, "I feel really badly about what happened."

2. Good or Well?

Good is an adjective, so you do not do good or live good, but you do well and

live well. Remember, though, that an adjective follows sense-verbs and be-verbs, so you also feel

good, look good, smell good, are good, have been good, etc. So:

"My mother looks good." This does not mean that she has good eyesight; it means that she appears healthy.

"I feel really good today." Again, this does not mean that I touch things successfully. It means rather that I am happy or healthy.

- Many people confuse this distinction in conversation, and that's okay. You will hear people say, "I feel well" when they mean that they feel good. However, if you're talking about action verbs, you'd say "well." "I did well on my exam." "She plays tennis well."

3. Sure or Surely? Sure is an adjective, and surely is an adverb. For example: o "He is sure about his answer." Sure describes he. o "The Senator spoke out surely." Here, surely describes how the senator spoke.

- Surely can also be used as a sentence-adverb. For example, "Surely, you're joking." Here, surely describes the entire sentence "you're joking." The sentence more or less means, "You must be joking."

4. Near or Nearly?

Near can function as a verb, adverb, adjective, or preposition. Nearly is used as an adverb to mean "in a close manner" or "almost but not quite." Here are some examples that demonstrate the differences between various uses of near and nearly.

o "I'll be seeing you in the near future." Here, near describes the noun "future." o "The cat crept near." Near is an adverb that describes where the cat crept. o "Don't worry; we're nearly there." Here, nearly describes how close we are.

Near can also be used as a verb and a preposition.

o "My graduation neared." Here, neared is the verb of the sentence. o "I want the couch near the window." Near is a preposition at the head of the phrase "near the

window."

Page 2 of 26

GTC LEARNING SUPPORT ENGLISH 0096, 0097, 0988 GRAMMAR AND WRITING GUIDE

COMMAS

COMMAS: QUICK RULES

The comma is a valuable, useful punctuation device because it separates the structural elements of sentences into manageable segments. The rules provided here are those found in traditional handbooks; however, in certain rhetorical contexts and for specific purposes, these rules may be broken.

The following is a short guide to get you started using commas.

1. Use commas to separate independent clauses when they are joined by any of these seven coordinating conjunctions: and, but, for, or, nor, so, yet.

2. Use commas after introductory a) clauses, b) phrases, or c) words that come before the main clause.

3. Use a pair of commas in the middle of a sentence to set off clauses, phrases, and words that are not essential to the meaning of the sentence. Use one comma before to indicate the beginning of the pause and one at the end to indicate the end of the pause.

4. Do not use commas to set off essential elements of the sentence, such as clauses beginning with that (relative clauses). That clauses after nouns are always essential. That clauses following a verb expressing mental action are always essential.

5. Use commas to separate three or more words, phrases, or clauses written in a series.

6. Use commas to separate two or more coordinate adjectives that describe the same noun. Be sure never to add an extra comma between the final adjective and the noun itself or to use commas with non-coordinate adjectives.

7. Use a comma near the end of a sentence to separate contrasted coordinate elements or to indicate a distinct pause or shift.

8. Use commas to set off phrases at the end of the sentence that refer back to the beginning or middle of the sentence. Such phrases are free modifiers that can be placed anywhere in the sentence without causing confusion.

9. Use commas to set off all geographical names, items in dates (except the month and day), addresses (except the street number and name), and titles in names.

10. Use a comma to shift between the main discourse and a quotation.

11. Use commas wherever necessary to prevent possible confusion or misreading.

Page 3 of 26

GTC LEARNING SUPPORT ENGLISH 0096, 0097, 0988 GRAMMAR AND WRITING GUIDE

MODIFIERS ?DANGLING AND MISPLACED

RULES FOR FINDING AND FIXING MISPLACED AND DANGLING MODIFIERS

A modifier is a word or phrase that adds detail or description to a sentence. In the example sentences below, the modifiers are underlined.

? I walked in and out of dozens of stores yesterday, searching for the perfect purse. ? Shopping with Lisa today, I found a great purse.

While modifiers add detail and interest to sentences, they must be used carefully so that the reader understands the details being added. Writers generally make two major modifier mistakes: dangling modifiers and misplaced modifiers.

A dangling modifier occurs when the subject of the modifier is unclear. Most dangling modifiers occur at the beginning of sentences, but they can also occur at the end. Consider the sentence below and its revision (the modifiers are underlined).

? INCORRECT: Having looked through the whole music store, the CD I wanted just wasn't there.

From the way this sentence is written, it actually looks like the CD has been looking through the whole music store. Even though readers can probably guess that it is the writer who has looked through the whole music store, the dangling modifier makes the sentence unclear. We can correct the dangling modifier and make the sentence clearer by adding a subject for the modifier.

? POSSIBLE REVISION: Having looked through the whole music store, I realized that the CD I wanted just wasn't there.

Misplaced modifiers occur when the subject of the modifier is unclear because the modifier is poorly placed. The reader may be unsure of what word the modifier is describing. The reader may even think the misplaced modifier is describing a different word than intended. Consider the sentence below and its revision (the modifier is underlined).

? INCORRECT: The jacket was just too small in the store.

The placement of the modifier in the store implies that the jacket was too small in the store. If the writer wants to convey that the jacket suddenly changed sizes when worn in other locations, then the modifier's placement in the sentence is correct. If the modifier is intended to specify that the author is talking about the jacket in the store, then this modifier should be moved.

? Possible revision: The jacket in the store was just too small.



Page 4 of 26

GTC LEARNING SUPPORT ENGLISH 0096, 0097, 0988 GRAMMAR AND WRITING GUIDE

PARALLELISM / FAULTY PARALLEL

STRUCTURE

Definition: Parallelism involves writing balanced sentences. Two or more ideas that are logically related should be expressed in grammatically similar constructions. Parallelism is a similarity of form in words, phrases, or clauses that have similar functions in a sentence or a paragraph. Faulty parallelism is the lack of parallel structure--it creates sentences without a sense of balance.

Below are some guidelines for when to use parallelism: 1. Items in Lists: Words, phrases, or clauses in a list or series should all have the same grammatical structure. (Ex: Erin likes surfing the net, working out, and visiting her family.) 2. Items Joined by Coordinating Conjunctions: Words or phrases joined by coordinating conjunctions should have the same structure. (Ex: Chocolate and peanut butter taste great together.) 3. Elements joined by correlative conjunctions, such as " both/and, either/or, neither/nor, whether/or, not/but, not only/ but also" should be parallel. (Ex: We could go fishing or go bicycling.) 4. Two elements that are compared or contrasted should be expressed in parallel structures. (Ex: I like blue cars as opposed to red cars.)

Study the following examples.

Unparallel: Last summer I learned tennis, to swim, and riding a horse.

Parallel:

Last summer I learned to play tennis, swim, and ride a horse.

Last summer I learned to play tennis, to swim, and to ride a horse.

Last summer I learned tennis, swimming, and horseback riding.

Unparallel: She was not only beautiful but also a spoiled child.

Parallel:

She was not only beautiful but also spoiled.

She was not only a beautiful child but also a spoiled one.

Unparallel: A math book with practice problems and having a good index is useful.

Parallel:

A math book with practice problems and a good index is useful.

A math book with practice problems and with a good index is useful.

A math book having practice problems and a good index is useful.





Page 5 of 26

GTC LEARNING SUPPORT ENGLISH 0096, 0097, 0988 GRAMMAR AND WRITING GUIDE

PRONOUNS



USING PRONOUNS CLEARLY

Because a pronoun REFERS to a noun or TAKES THE PLACE OF that noun, you have to use the correct pronoun so that your reader clearly understands which noun your pronoun is referring to. Therefore, pronouns should: 1. Agree in number If the pronoun takes the place of a singular noun, you have to use a singular pronoun. If a student parks a car on campus, he or she has to buy a parking sticker. (INCORRECT: If a student parks a car on campus, they have to buy a parking sticker.) Remember: the words everybody, anybody, anyone, each, neither, nobody, someone, a person, etc. are singular and take singular pronouns. Everybody ought to do his or her best. (INCORRECT: Everybody ought to do their best.)

Page 6 of 26

GTC LEARNING SUPPORT ENGLISH 0096, 0097, 0988 GRAMMAR AND WRITING GUIDE Neither of the girls brought her umbrella. (INCORRECT: Neither of the girls brought their umbrellas.)

NOTE: Many people find the construction "his or her" wordy, so if it is possible to use a plural noun as your antecedent and thus you can use "they" as your pronoun, it may be wise to do so. If you do use a singular noun and the context makes the gender clear, then it is permissible to use just "his" or "her" rather than "his or her."

2. Agree in person

If you are writing in the first person (I), don't confuse your reader by switching to the second person (you) or third person (he, she, they, it, etc.). Similarly, if you are using the second person, don't switch to first or third.

When a person comes to class, he or she should have his or her homework ready.

(INCORRECT: When a person comes to class, you should have your homework ready.)

3. Refer clearly to a specific noun.

Don't be vague or ambiguous. INCORRECT: Although the motorcycle hit the tree, it was not damaged.

(Is "it" the motorcycle or the tree?)

INCORRECT: I don't think they should show violence on TV. (Who are "they"?)

INCORRECT: Vacation is coming soon, which is nice. (What is nice, the vacation or the fact that it is coming soon?)

INCORRECT: George worked in a national forest last summer. This may be his life's work.

(What word does "this" refer to?) INCORRECT: If you put this sheet in your notebook, you can refer to it.

(What does "it" refer to, the sheet or your notebook?)

PRONOUN CASE

Pronoun Case is really a very simple matter. There are three cases.

? Subjective case: pronouns used as subject. ? Objective case: pronouns used as objects of verbs or prepositions. ? Possessive case: pronouns which express ownership.

The pronouns This, That, These, Those, and Which do not change form.

Some problems of case:

1. In compound structures, where there are two pronouns or a noun and a pronoun, drop the other noun for a moment. Then you can see which case you want.

Page 7 of 26

GTC LEARNING SUPPORT ENGLISH 0096, 0097, 0988 GRAMMAR AND WRITING GUIDE Not: Bob and me travel a good deal. (Would you say, "me travel"?) Not: He gave the flowers to Jane and I. (Would you say, "he gave the flowers to I"?) Not: Us men like the coach. (Would you say, "us like the coach"?) 2. In comparisons. Comparisons usually follow than or as: He is taller than I (am tall). This helps you as much as (it helps) me. She is as noisy as I (am). Comparisons are really shorthand sentences which usually omit words, such as those in the parentheses in the sentences above. If you complete the comparison in your head, you can choose the correct case for the pronoun. Not: He is taller than me. (Would you say, "than me am tall"?) 3. In formal and semiformal writing: Use the subjective form after a form of the verb to be. Formal: It is I. Informal: It is me. Use whom in the objective case. Formal: To whom am I talking? Informal: Who am I talking to?

SENTENCES & CLAUSES

Definition: A sentence is a set of words that is complete in itself, typically containing a subject and predicate, conveying a statement, question, exclamation, or command, and consisting of a main clause and sometimes one or more subordinate clauses.

Page 8 of 26

 ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download