CHAPTER SEVEN
Adjective and Adverb Modifiers
Adjectives and adverbs are describing words. Because they qualify in some way the meaning of other words, we say they modify other parts of speech.
Adjectives tell us what kind or how many. They include words such as big, little, beautiful, red, sunny, crazy, and important. We speak of the big house, or the little farm, or a beautiful day, or the red tulip, or the sunny weather, or the crazy joke, or the important plans.
Adverbs tell us where, when, why, and how. They include words such as quickly, yesterday, beautifully, crazily, and rightly. We say that the dog came quickly, or that she was sad yesterday, or that the dancing couples spun crazily around the room, or that he was rightly indignant about being ignored.
Some words can be both adverbs and adjectives and can have the same form in both instances. We speak of fast cars, and we say that someone can run fast. But most adverbs are formed by adding -ly to the end of the adjective form of the word. So we say “He weaves beautiful rugs” when we want to emphasize that the rugs are beautiful, but we say “He weaves beautifully” when we want to emphasize the techniques he uses as he weaves.
Adjectives modify nouns and pronouns; they do not modify anything else. Adverbs modify verbs (including verb phrases), adjectives, other adverbs, and sometimes whole sentences.
a Use adjectives to modify nouns or pronouns.
You can identify adjectives by locating words that answer one or more of these questions about nouns or pronouns: Which one? How many? What color? What size? What kind?
She was a brilliant architect and a good person.
[The adjective “brilliant” tells us what kind of architect, and the adjective “good” tells what kind of person.]
The road was long, hard, and twisting.
[These adjectives, coming after the verb, serve as subject complements and tell what kind of road.]
The red Buick belonged to my aunt.
[The adjective “red” tells what color Buick and distinguishes it from other Buicks by telling us which one.]
This six large men were brothers.
[The adjective “six” tells how many; the adjective “large” tells what size the men were. The combination of adjectives tells us which ones.]
Writing is always difficult.
[The adjective “difficult” tells us what kind and modifies the subject “writing,” which is a gerund.]
The American hockey team beat the Russians in the Olympics of 1980.
[The adjectives “American” and “hockey” tell what kind of team.]
You may use adjectives before of after the noun or pronoun they modify.
The building, ugly and tall, burned down last night.
The tall, ugly building burned down last night.
The old car, battered and rusty, finally died.
Present and past participles of verbs often serve as adjectives.
Running hard, the bank robber fired back over his shoulder at the police.
[“Running,” the present participle, modifies the subject, robber.]
The trip was both exhausting and rewarding.
[The present participles modify the subject, trip.]
The gathering night was filled with stars.
[The present participle, gathering, and the past participle, filled, both modify the subject, night.]
Buried alive for days, he survived to tell about the earthquake.
[“Buried,” the past participle, modifies the subject, he.]
Tired and discouraged, she dropped out of the marathon.
[The past participles modify the subject, she.]
A noun can be used as an adjective.
Cigarette smoking harms your lungs.
The energy crisis is not helped by people who drive six miles for a six-pack.
The Marshall Plan helped rebuild Europe after World War II.
On the other hand, however, adjectives can serve as nouns.
The unemployed are not always the lazy and the inept.
[The three words, the unemployed, the lazy, and the inept, are adjectives. But the sentence clearly means that the words modify an understood noun, people or persons, which can be left out, turning the adjectives into nouns.]
1 Use adjectives after linking verbs to modify the subject of the sentence.
A linking verb always links a subject with an adjective or a noun that adds to the description of the subject.
Charles was fast and reliable.
[Both adjectives modify the subject, Charles.]
The road became difficult.
[The adjective modifies the subject, road.]
2 Avoid using nouns as adjectives if an adjectival form conveys the same meaning or if a revision of the sentence makes the meaning clearer.
Bureaucratic jargon often uses many nouns as adjectives when perfectly good adjectives are available.
Jargon: An opposition education theory holds that children learn Latin best under strict discipline conditions.
Better: An opposing educational theory holds that children learn Latin best under strict disciplinary conditions.
b Use adverbs to modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs.
The child ran quickly into the house.
[The adverb “quickly” modifies the verb “ran.”]
The game was hotly contested.
[The adverb “hotly” modifies the adjective “contested.”]
He spoke more slowly at the end than at the beginning.
[The adverb “more” modifies the adverb “slowly.”]
1 Use adverbs to answer the questions When? Where? How? How often? How much? To what degree? and Why?
Yesterday she was in Chicago
[“Yesterday,” an adverb, modifies the verb “was” and answers the question “when?”]
The lamp is right there.
[The adverb “there” modifies the verb “is” and answers the question “where?”]
He came painfully to the door.
[The adverb “painfully” modifies the verb “came” and tells how he came to the door.]
She seldom comes to visit any more.
[The adverb “seldom” modifies the verb “comes” and answers the question “how often?”]
We were greatly relieved to receive your letter.
[The adverb “greatly” modifies the adjective “relieved” and tells how much we were relieved.]
She was completely surprised at the results.
[The adverb “completely” modifies the adjective “surprised” and tells to what degree she was surprised.]
Dickens mixed humor and pathos better than any other English writer after Shakespeare; consequently he is still read by millions.
[The adverb “consequently” tells why Dickens is read.]
Most adverbs are formed by adding -ly to the adjective form, but adverbs may also end in -wise, -where, or -ward. And many adverbs lack any special ending. Among them are anew, soon, never, ever, almost, already, well, very, often, rather, yesterday, and tomorrow.
The surest way to recognize adverbs is not by looking at their endings but by understanding how they work in a sentence.
2 Use adverbs correctly as transitional expressions to carry readers smoothly from the ideas of one sentence or paragraph to the ideas of another.
Adverbs may help you tie your thoughts together from one part of your paper to another. Such transitional adverbs include:
accordingly, also, anyway, besides, consequently, finally, furthermore, hence, however, incidentally, indeed, instead, likewise, meanwhile, moreover, nevertheless, next, nonetheless, otherwise, still, then, thereafter, therefore, and thus
These transitional adverbs can introduce sentences, but they cannot be used as conjunctions. Misuse of such transitional adverbs leads to the error called a comma splice.
Comma Splice: The Appalachian region is rugged and mountainous, moreover, it is covered with forests and is rich in coal.
Standard: The Appalachian region is rugged and mountainous. Moreover, it is covered with forests and is rich in coal.
[In the standard version, the writer has made two sentences. The transitional adverb begins the second sentence.]
or
Standard: The Appalachian region is rugged and mountainous, and, moreover, it is covered with forests and is rich in coal.
[In this version, the coordinating conjunction “and” has been inserted after the first independent clause and before the transitional adverb “moreover.”]
or
Standard: The Appalachian region is rugged and mountainous; moreover, it is covered with forests and is rich in coal.
[A semicolon has been inserted before the transitional adverb “moreover,” replacing the comma.]
c Be cautious when you use adverbs to modify whole sentences.
Sometimes adverbs may seem to modify whole sentences:
Unfortunately, the Quiz Kids lost its popularity as an afternoon game show.
Presumably, the climber was killed in an avalanche three years ago, although his body was never found.
Some authorities maintain that these adverbs modify the entire sentence, while others insist that these adverbs modify only the verbs in the clauses where they appear. In either case, the meaning of these sentences is clear. But other adverbs are much more ambiguous when they are used to modify full sentences. In common speech people often say things like this: “Hopefully, I will ride my bike to San Francisco San Francisco San Francisco
This confusion leads many people to reject the use of “hopefully” to mean “I hope” or “they hope” or “she hopes.”
Hopefully, he will change his job before this one gives him an ulcer.
[Who is doing the hoping? Is it the person who speaks the sentence or the person who is the subject of the sentence? The adverb “hopefully” does not tell us clearly. But if we say, “My children and I hope that my husband will change his job before this one gives him an ulcer,” the source of the hope is clear.]
Similar confusions occur when other adverbs are used to modify whole sentences:
Briefly, he was the source of the trouble.
[Does this sentence mean that the writer wishes to say briefly that the subject “he” was the source of the trouble? Or does it mean that he was briefly the source of the trouble and that he then changed and was no longer such a source?]
Happily, the mad dog fell dead before it could bite anybody.
[Grammatically, this sentence means that the mad dog fell dead very happily before it could bite anybody. The writer probably means that people on the street were happy that the mad dog fell dead before it could bite one of them. Why not write that?]
It is better to revise such sentences to avoid confusion and the air of loose construction that such use of adverbs conveys:
To put it briefly, I think he was the source of the trouble.
The mad dog fell dead before it could bite anybody.
[Readers do not need to be told that this was a fortunate occurrence.]
d Do not use adjectives when adverbs are clearly called for.
In common speech we sometimes use adjectival forms in an adverbial way; in writing, this colloquial usage should be avoided.
Nonstandard: He hit that one real good, Howard.
[Both “real” and “good” are adjectives, but they are used here as adverbs, “real” modifying “good” and “good” modifying the verb “hit.”]
Nonstandard: She sure made me work hard for my grade.
[The adjective “sure” here tries to do the work of an adverb modifying the verb “made.”]
Both these nonstandard usages can be revised simply by changing the improperly used adjectives to adverbs. Thus, “He hit that one really well, Howard,” and “She surely made me work hard for my grade” would substitute correctly for the nonstandard sentences above. But a better solution is to rethink the sentences to make them stronger. Improperly used adjectives are often a sign of a general vagueness of thought, and you can make better sentences by being more concrete:
He hit that one to the warning track, Howard.
She made me write a five-page paper every week.
e Use adverbs and adjectives correctly with verbs of sense and with certain other linking verbs.
Verbs of sense (smell, taste, feel, and so on) can be linking or nonlinking. You must decide whether the modifier after a verb of sense serves the verb or the subject. Study the following examples:
Adverb: The dog smelled badly.
[The adverb “badly” modifies the verb “smelled” and tells us that the dog had lost its sense of smell and could not track anything.]
Adjective: The dog smelled bad.
[The dog needed a bath. Mentally you can say, “The dog smelled as if it had been in something bad.”]
Adverb: I felt badly.
[My sense of touch was bad, perhaps because my fingers were numb.]
Adjective: I felt bad because she heard me say that her baby looked like a baboon.
[Mentally in this expression the person is saying, “I felt that I was bad because she heard me make such a terrible remark.” A similar expression would be this: “I felt guilty because she heard me make that remark.” You would not say, “I felt guiltily because I hurt her feelings.”]
Adverb: He looked calmly to the crowd.
[The adverb modifies “looked” and describes the way that he swept his eyes over the crowd, perhaps waiting for some new response from them.]
Adjective: He looked calm to the crowd.
[The adjective shows the opinion of the crowd; the people in it thought he was calm.]
f Learn the words that have the same spelling in the adjectival and adverbial forms.
As you know, not every adverb is formed by tacking -ly onto the end of an adjective. In standard English, many adverbs do not require the -ly, and some words have the same form whether they are used as adjectives or adverbs. When you are in doubt, consult your dictionary.
Adjective Adverb
fast fast
hard hard
only only
right right or rightly
straight straight
Exercise 1. In each of the following sentences, locate the words misused as adjectives and put the proper adverbs in their place or vice versa. You may simplify the sentence by eliminating the misused adjective or adverb.
1. I felt badly because he took my advice about the horse race and lost all his money.
2. He did terrific on the exam, and I sure was unhappy about his success.
3. Jack felt real good because he ran so fast in the race.
4. McDonald looked greedy at the fried chicken on his neighbor’s plate and decided he would go to Kentucky
5. She sat still while the poisonous snake twined silent in the arbor just over her head, but her heart beat hard, and she was real scared.
6. She thought she had done good in the lacrosse game, and hopefully she would make the team.
7. Briefly, the speech went on for three hours, and I don’t remember a word of it.
8. Interestingly, he turned out to be a bore, although he was supposed to be a fine writer.
9. Hopefully they would never see her again.
g Learn to use correctly the three degrees of adjectives and adverbs¾the positive, the comparative, and the superlative.
Adjectives and adverbs are often used to compare. Usually an -er or an -est ending on the word or the use of “more” or “most” along with the word indicates degrees of amount or quality.
The simplest form of the adjective or the adverb is the positive degree, the form of an adjective or adverb used when no comparison is involved. This is the form you find in the dictionary.
Positive: The dog ran quickly out of the house.
[The running of the dog is not being compared with anything else, so the adverb “quickly” is used in the positive degree.]
Positive: The dog was quick.
[A simple statement is being made about the dog; the dog is not being compared with anything else, so the adjective “quick” is used in the positive degree.]
In the comparative degree, two things are being compared. For many adjectives the comparative degree is formed by adding the suffix -er, but the comparative degree can also be formed by using the secondary adverb “more” or “less.” For most adverbs the comparative is also formed by using the adverb “more” or “less.”
Comparative: The dog was quicker than the rabbit.
[The adjective “quicker” is used to make a comparison between the dog and the rabbit.]
Comparative: The dog ran more quickly than the rabbit.
[Here the adverb “more” modifies the adverb “quickly” to form the comparative of “quickly.”]
Comparative: The rabbit ran less quickly than the dog.
[Here the adverb “less” modifies the adverb “quickly” to form the comparative of “quickly.”]
Use the superlative degree for both adjectives and adverbs when you compare more than two things. The superlative degree of adjectives may be formed by adding the suffix -est to the positive form. It also may be formed by using the adverb “most” or “least” with the positive form. The superlative degree of adverbs is formed by using the adverb “most” or “least” with the positive form.
Superlative: She was the happiest of the three women.
[More than two women are being compared, so the superlative degree is used. The superlative degree, happiest, is formed by adding -est to the end of the adjective “happy.”]
Superlative: They sang most happily when they had eaten well.
[The superlative degree of the adverb “happily” is formed by using the adverb “most.”]
Compendium
Rule Add the suffix -er to form the comparative and the suffix -est to form the superlative of modifiers with one or two syllables.
In some cases, to form the comparative modifier correctly, you must drop a final -e, double a final consonant, or change a final -y to -i before adding the suffix.
Modifiers
Positive Comparative Superlative
short shorter shortest
funny funnier funniest
Rule Use “more” to show the comparative degree and “most” to show the superlative degree in three instances: with all three-syllable words, with two-syllable words that would otherwise be difficult to pronounce, and with adverbs ending in -ly.
Modifiers Using “More” and “Most”
Positive Comparative Superlative
serious more serious most serious
dreadful more dreadful most dreadful
restfully more restfully most restfully
Rule Use “less” and “least” to form the comparative and the superlative degrees of comparisons showing less amount or quality.
Comparisons Using “Less” and “Least”
Positive Comparative Superlative
humorous less humorous least humorous
hopeful less hopeful least hopeful
ambitiously less ambitiously least ambitiously
Remember, also, that some modifiers are irregular and do not form comparisons in a standard way. You should memorize them to be able to use them correctly.
Irregular Comparisons
Positive Comparative Superlative
good better best
well better best
many more most
much more most
little less least
bad worse worst
ill worse worst
far farther farthest
far further furthest
Rule Avoid double comparisons. Use either the word “more” or “most” or else the appropriate suffix; do not combine the two.
Incorrect: I think that Charlie Chaplin was the most funniest actor who ever lived.
Correct: I think that Charlie Chaplin was the funniest actor who ever lived.
Rule Avoid incomplete comparisons by clearly indicating the things being compared.
When you compare one member of a group with the rest of the group, you can avoid being unclear or misleading by using the comparative degree and the word “other” or “else.”
Unclear: The Little Tramp is more popular than any movie in the film festival. [This sentence says either that The Little Tramp is more popular than any movie in the festival including itself, or that it is not included in the festival and is more popular than the movies that are included.]
Clear: The Little Tramp is more popular than any other movie in the film festival. [The Little Tramp is the most popular movie in the festival.]
Rule Use the words “as . . . as” or “as . . . as . . . than” to complete a compound comparison.
A compound comparison really makes two statements by using both the positive and the comparative degrees of a modifier. The positive degree shows that the things being compared are at least equal or similar; the comparative degree shows that they may, in fact, be different. Because you would still have a complete sentence if you removed the second, or parenthetical, part of the comparison, use commas to set off the parenthetical part from the rest of the sentence.
Watching the space shuttle land was as exciting as, if not more exciting than, watching it take off.
Watching the space shuttle land was as exciting as watching it take off, if not more exciting.
Rule Avoid making comparisons that are illogical because of missing or faulty elements or because no comparison can be made.
To avoid having your reader or listener misunderstand your meaning, rephrase the comparison to include all of the important words.
Illogical: Elizabeth Elizabeth
Logical: Elizabeth Elizabeth
Illogical: Building houses with brick is harder than lumber. [What is being compared here? Is the act of building harder than the thing we call lumber? The comparison is illogical because acts are different from things and cannot be compared in a sentence like the one above.]
Logical: Building houses with brick is harder than building them with lumber. [Now it is clear that the comparison is between two acts of building, not between an act and a thing.]
Illogical: Mr. Lincoln’s speech was shorter than Mr. Everett. [In this sentence, one might suppose that Mr. Everett was six feet tall but that Mr. Lincoln’s speech was only five feet.]
Logical: Mr. Lincoln’s speech was shorter than that of Mr. Everett. [Now it is clear that Mr. Lincoln’s speech is being compared with Mr. Everett’s speech and not with Mr. Everett himself.]
Rule Avoid adding an unnecessary adverb to the superlative degree of adjectives.
Not: She was the very brightest person in the room.
But: She was the brightest person in the room. [The superlative degree of an adjective ending in -est does not take a supporting adverb.]
Not: The interstate was the most shortest way to Nashville
But: The interstate was the shortest way to Nashville
Rule Do not use the comparative and superlative degrees with absolute adjectives.
Absolutes are words that in themselves mean something complete or ideal, word like unique, infinite, impossible, perfect, round, square, destroyed, demolished, dead, full, and empty.
If something is “unique,” it is the only one of its kind. So we cannot say, “Her dresses were more unique than his neckties.” Either something is unique or it is not. We should not say, “The answer to your question is more impossible than you think.” Something is either possible or impossible; it cannot be more or less impossible.
Rule Avoid using the superlative when you are not making a comparison with anything.
Dracula is the scariest movie! [The scariest movie ever filmed? The scariest movie you have ever seen? The scariest movie ever shown in town?]
In common speech, we frequently use expressions like “scariest movie” or “silliest thing” when we are not in fact comparing the movie or the thing with anything else. In writing, such expressions lack the vocal emphasis we can give them when we speak. They become merely wordy and imprecise, taking up space without conveying any meaning.
Rule Avoid overusing adjectives.
Using too many adjectives in any one sentence will weaken the force of a statement. Strong writers put an adjective before a noun or pronoun only when the adjective is truly needed. They rarely put as many as three adjectives before a noun unless they need to create some special effect or unless one of the adjectives is a number.
Study the following paragraphs.
I had imagined Siberia as having been filled up by waves of settlers, much as the American West. But what impressed me most on that train trip was the sparseness of humanity and the enormous emptiness of the land. Cities would suddenly loom up without the warning of suburbs and then, after we stopped briefly, would vanish just as suddenly. The petty barter from ship-to-shore marked the progress of our voyage across the continent. The dining car left Moscow
Hendrick Smith
The jet has radically altered the rate at which Western technology and culture have spread. When a ten thousand foot runway is constructed in some hitherto remote spot, life in that area will begin to change at once—probably faster than at any time since it was last invaded in war. And because the modern traveler demands as far as possible the comfort and lifestyle of his home, it becomes increasingly difficult to wake up in a hotel anywhere in the world and know, instantly, where you are. Local customs and the physical shape of the environment are changed to meet the requirements of visitors. The rate at which this is happening has increased with the construction of widebody jets, each capable of carrying nearly four hundred people. As the standard of living in the West has risen steadily since the end of the last world war, with a consequent increase in disposable income, the numbers of people able to afford holidays by air have risen too. Because the new jets operate more efficiently than their predecessors, costs have fallen and this has acted as a further stimulus to travel.
James Burke
In the first paragraph, in 131 words we find only fifteen adjectives. In the second paragraph, we have 190 words and only eighteen adjectives. Different writers will, of course, use adjectives at different rates. But it will help you limit your own use of adjectives if you study examples of writing you like to read and notice how economical good writers are in their use of adjectives.
Exercise 2. On your paper, write the correct form of the modifier given in parentheses. Identify the degree of comparison of each correct modifier.
SAMPLE Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s presidency lasted (longer, more long) than twelve years.
ANSWER longer—comparative
1. He began law school in 1904 but soon thought that he would be (happier, more happier) as a politician.
2. As a New York State
3. In 1913 Roosevelt was appointed to a (powerful, most powerful) position as assistant secretary of the navy.
4. In August of 1921, Roosevelt became crippled by polio; this was the (worse, worst) setback of his life.
5. By exercising with special equipment, Roosevelt made his arms and shoulders (more powerful, most powerful) than before.
6. As governor of New York , Roosevelt devised a (better, best) plan than the previous governor’s to help the unemployed.
7. When he became President in 1933, Roosevelt ’s popularity was much (greater than the former President, greater than the former President’s).
8. During Roosevelt ’s presidency, the government controlled businesses (more strongly, most strongly) than before.
9. Within his first three months in office, Roosevelt went (more far, further) than any previous President in direct action to help the country out of its economic depression.
10. One of 
Няма коментари:
Публикуване на коментар