B2 COURSE
Unit 12 - Adjectives & adverbs
Adjective:
An adjective is a word or set of words that modifies (i.e., describes) a noun or pronoun. Adjectives may
come before the word they modify.
Tom is a careful driver.
An adjective tells us more about a noun.
Be quiet.
Adjective We didn’t go out
We use adjectives before nouns and after a few
because of the heavy
verbs (especially be).
rain.
Tom drove carefully
An adverb tells us more about a verb.
along the narrow road
Adverb (not drove careful).
An adverb tells us in what way someone does
Speak quietly, please!
something or in what way something happens.
(not speak quiet).
Examples:
That is a cute puppy.
She likes a high school senior.
Adjectives may also follow the word they modify:
Examples:
That puppy looks cute.
The technology is state-of-the-art.
Adverb:
An adverb is a word or set of words that modifies verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. Adverbs
answer how, when, where, why, or to what extent—how often or how much (e.g.,daily, completely).
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B2 COURSE
Unit 12 - Adjectives & adverbs
Examples:
He speaks slowly (tells how)
He speaks very slowly (the adverb very tells how slowly)
She arrived today (tells when)
Jorge works out strenuously (tells to what extent)
Jorge works out whenever possible (this adverb phrase tells to what extent)
12.1. - Rule 1
Many adverbs end in -ly, but many do not. Generally, if a word can have -ly added to its adjective form,
place it there to form an adverb.
Examples:
She thinks quick/quickly. (How does she think? Quickly.)
She is a quick/quickly thinker. (Quick is an adjective describing thinker, so no -ly is attached.)
She thinks fast/fastly. (Fast answers the question how, so it is an adverb. But fast never has -
ly attached to it.)
We performed bad/badly. (Badly describes how we performed, so -ly is added.)
Adverbs and adjectives easily confused
Some adjectives and adverbs have the same form: fast, hard, late, early, daily, weekly, monthly:
Adjectives: Adverbs:
He caught the fast train. He ran fast to catch the train.
He caught the early train. He always arrives early.
She's a hard worker. She works hard.
The bus is always late. I arrived home late.
My daily newspaper is 50p. I swim daily.
12.2. - Rule 2
Adverbs that answer the question how sometimes cause grammatical problems. It can be a challenge
to determine if -ly should be attached. Avoid the trap of -ly with linking verbs such as taste, smell,
look, feel, which pertain to the senses. Adverbs are often misplaced in such sentences, which require
adjectives instead.
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B2 COURSE
Unit 12 - Adjectives & adverbs
Examples:
Roses smell sweet/sweetly. (Do the roses actively smell with noses? No; in this case, smell is a
linking verb—which requires an adjective to modify roses—so no -ly.)
The woman looked angry/angrily to us. (Did the woman look with her eyes, or are we describing her
appearance? We are describing her appearance (she appeared angry), so no -ly.)
The woman looked angry/angrily at the paint splotches. (Here the woman actively looked (used her
eyes), so the -ly is added.)
She feels bad/badly about the news. (She is not feeling with fingers, so no -ly.)
12.3. - Rule 3
The word good is an adjective, whose adverb equivalent is well.
Examples:
You did a good job. (Good describes the job)
You did the job well. (Well answers how)
You smell good today. (Good describes your fragrance, not how you smell with your nose, so using
the adjective is correct)
You smell well for someone with a cold. (You are actively smelling with your nose here, so use the
adverb)
12.4. - Rule 4
The word well can be an adjective, too. When referring to health, we often use well rather than good.
Examples:
You do not look well today.
I don’t feel well, either.
12.5. - Rule 5
When this, that, these, and those are followed by a noun, they are adjectives. When they appear
without a noun following them, they are pronouns.
Examples:
This house is for sale. (This is an adjective)
This is for sale. (This is a pronoun)
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B2 COURSE
Unit 12 - Adjectives & adverbs
12.6. - Rule 6
The following verbs can only be used with adjectives:
be
become
get
grow
keep
remain
seem
sound
stay
turn
THE ROYAL ORDER OF ADJECTIVES
Observation /
Eg. : genuine, fraud, expensive, watch, etc.
Opinion
Size Eg. : tiny, fat, etc.
Shape Eg. : square, round, etc.
Age Eg. : young, old, new, etc.
Colour Eg. : blue-green, yellow, etc.
Origin Eg. : Chinese, Indian, etc.
Material Eg. : silk, cotton, wooden, etc.
Qualifier Integral part of noun. Eg. : vacation resort, wedding dress, race car, etc.
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B2 COURSE
Unit 12 - Adjectives & adverbs
THE ROYAL ORDER OF ADVERBS
Manner Eg. : impatiently, enthusiastically, etc.
Place Eg. : in the pool, at home, in school, etc.
Frequency Eg. : every morning, afternoon, in a fortnight, etc.
Time Eg. : before dawn, after lunch, etc.
Purpose Eg. : to be in shape, to get better, to get success, etc.
