Adjective or Adverb?

The Difference between Adjectives and Adverbs

The Basic Rules: Adjectives

Adjectives modify nouns. By modifying, 

adjectives give a more detailed sense of the noun. For example:

• "I ate a meal." Meal is a noun. The reader does not know what kind of meal this is, leaving a lot of room open for interpretation.

• "I ate an enormous meal." Meal is a noun, and enormous is an adjective that modifies it. It tells us what kind of meal the person ate. By using adjectives, the writer gives the reader a better understanding of the noun.

Adjectives clarify the noun by answering one of the following different questions: "What kind?" or "Which?" or "How many?" For example:

• "The tall girl is riding her bike." Tall tells the reader which girl the writer is talking about.

• “Our old van needs to be replaced soon.” Old tells the reader what kind of van the writer is describing.

• "The tough professor gave us the final exam." Tough tells the reader what kind of professor the writer is talking about. Final tells us which exam.

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

Adjectives cannot modify verbs, adjectives, and adverbs.

• The sentence, She ate her lunch quick, does not make sense.

• The correct sentence should say, She ate her lunch quickly, because the adverb, quickly, modifies the verb, ate. How did she eat? Quickly.

• She ate the quick lunch. In this case, quick modifies the noun, lunch. What kind of lunch was it? A quick lunch.

So, generally speaking, adjectives answer the following questions:

• Which?
• What kind of?
• How many?

Some Other Rules for Adjectives

Most of the time, adjectives come before nouns. However, some adjectives actually come after the nouns they modify. An adjective follows a sense verb or verb of appearance when it modifies the noun before the verb. These adjectives will most often follow a verb form of the following:

• be
• feel
• taste
• smell
• sound
• look
• appear
• seem

Some examples:

• "Brian seems sad." Sad describes the noun, Brian, not the verb, seems. Sad answers the question: which way does Brian seem?

• "The milk smells rotten." What kind of smell does the milk have? A rotten one.

• "The speaker sounds hoarse." Hoarse answers the question: which way does the speaker sound?

• “The ice-cream looks melted.” Here, melted does not describe the verb, looks. It describes the noun, ice cream. What kind of ice cream does it look like? Melted ice cream.

• “Alex feels sleepy.” What kind of way does Alex feel? Sleepy.

Likewise, an adjective always follows a form of the verb, “to be.” Here are some examples of “to be” verbs: am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been.

• "The dog is black." Black is an adjective that modifies the noun dog, but it comes after the verb, is. What kind of dog is it? A black dog.

• “I was nervous.” Nervous modifies the noun, I. Which way was I feeling? Nervous.

• “She has been sick all week.” Here, sick modifies the noun, She. Which way has she been feeling all week? She’s been sick.

• “They tried to be helpful.” In this case, helpful modifies the noun, they, not the verb, tried. What kind of people are they?Helpful people.

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.

Adverbs answer the question how . They can also answer the questions when , where , and why .

• “She arrived late.” Late describes when she arrived.

• “They all went there for the party.” There is where they all went to the party.

• “The swim team practices every morning to develop good habits.” To develop good habits acts as an adverbial infinitive phrase that explains why the swim team practices every morning. Answering the question why usually requires an infinitive phrase.

Adverbs cannot modify nouns, as you can see from the following incorrect sentences.

• The sentence, “He is a quietly man,” does not make sense.

• The correct sentence should be written as “He is a quiet man” because quiet modifies the noun, man, not the verb is. What kind of man is he? A quiet man.

• The sentence, “I have a happily dog,” does not make sense.

• The correct sentence should say,” I have a happy dog” because happy modifies the noun, dog, instead of the verb have. What kind of dog is it? A happy one.

In general, adverbs answer the following questions:

• How?
• When?
• Where?
• Why?

Examples of Differences between Adjectives and Adverbs

The following examples explain the differences between adjectives and adverbs:

• “Sharon's cough sounds bad.” In this case, bad is an adjective that modifies the noun, cough.

• If you wrote “Sharon’s cough sounds badly,” it would not make sense, because badly would be an adverb modifying the verb, sounds, meaning that her cough isn't very good at sounding.

• “She seems unhappy today.” Here, unhappy is an adjective that modifies the pronoun, she.

• If you wrote “She seems unhappily today,” unhappily would not make sense, because it would mean that the verb, seems, is unhappy when you want to say that the noun, she, is unhappy.

• “Your dog smells carefully.” Here, carefully is an adverb that modifies the verb, smells.

• The sentence, “Your dog smells careful,” would not make sense because it would mean that the dog gives off an odor of carefulness.

Be sure to note the differences between the following examples:

"The dog smells clean." Here, clean describes the dog itself. It's not that he smells something clean; rather, he's had a bath and does not stink. Clean describes what kind of smell comes from the dog making it an adjective .

"The dog smells carefully." Here, carefully describes how the dog smells, making it an adverb . We imagine the dog sniffing cautiously.

Or:

“Kai dressed for the quick recital.” Here, quick describes the noun, recital, making it an adjective . What kind of recital? A quick one.

“Kai dressed quickly for the recital.” Quickly describes the way Kai dressed, making it an adverb because it modifies the verb, dressed. How did Kai dress? Quickly.

Or:

“Look at the nice bed.” Nice modifies the noun, bed, in this sentence, making it an adjective .

“Look at the nicely made bed.” Nicely modifies the adjective, made, in this sentence, making it an adverb .

Or:

“Richard is careless.” Here, careless is an adjective that modifies the proper noun, Richard. What kind of person is Richard? A careless one.

“Richard talks carelessly.” Here, carelessly is an adverb that modifies the verb, talks. How does Richard talk? Carelessly.

In general, when a word has the ending “-ly,” it will act as an adverb. Pay close attention to how the noun is modified, as this is the final criteria when deciding between an adjective and adverb.

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

Avoiding Common Errors

1. Bad or Badly ?

   When you want to describe how you feel, you should use an adjective. You might 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:

   • "The dog smells badly." Here, badly means that the dog does not do a good job of smelling.
   • "The dog smells bad." Here, "bad" means that dog needs a bath.

   N.B. 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.

   N.B. 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 would 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:

   • "He is sure about his answer." Sure describes he.
   • "The Senator spoke out surely." Here, surely describes how the senator spoke.

   N.B. 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.

   • "I'll be seeing you in the near future." Here, near describes the noun "future."
   • "The cat crept near." Near is an adverb that describes where the cat crept.
   • "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.

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

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

Adjectives with Countable and Uncountable Nouns

The Basic Rules: Adjectives

A countable noun is usually something you can count quantitatively. Countable nouns can be expressed in plural form, usually by adding an “s” to the singular form. For example, "cat--cats," "season--seasons," "student--students."

Usually, you can add a numerical quantity to such nouns, like “two cats” or “two students”. If you aren’t sure whether a noun is countable or not countable, try attaching a number to it. He had “two respects” wouldn’t work, so “respect” is an uncountable noun .

An uncountable noun is a noun that usually cannot be expressed in a plural form. It is not something you can quantify. For example, "milk," "water," "air," "money," "food" are uncountable nouns. Usually, you can't say, "He had many moneys." or “The airs smelled good this morning.”

Milk and water are uncountable nouns . However, you may hear someone say, “Can I have two milks?” or “You should get two waters.” In these particular cases, the person has simply dropped off the countable part of the phrase: “Can I have two [ cartons of] milk?” or “You should get two [ bottles of] water.” In these cases, adding an “s” to milk and water is accepted in verbal speech, but you wouldn’t normally do so in a writing class.

Most adjectives can modify both countable and uncountable nouns . For example, you can say, "The cat was gray" or "The air was gray." However, the difference between a countable and uncountable noun does matter with certain adjectives, such as the following:

• much/many
• a lot of/lots of
• little/few
• a little bit of
• some/any
• plenty of
• enough
• no

Much/Many

"Much" modifies only uncountable nouns.

• "They have so much money in the bank."
• "The horse drinks so much water ."

"Many" modifies only countable nouns.

• "Many Americans travel to Europe."
• "I collected many sources for my paper."

Much or Many?

Incorrect Examples:

• “She wears so much rings ” should be written as, “She wears so many rings .”
• “You deserve some many needed rest ” should be, “You deserve some much needed rest .”
• “Much trees line the street.” should be written as, “Many trees line the street.”
• “I have done many research in that field” should be, “I have done much research in that field.”

A lot of/lots of

"A lot of" and "lots of" are informal substitutes for much and many. They are used with uncountable nouns when they mean "much" and with countable nouns when they mean "many."

• "They have lots of (much) money in the bank."
• "A lot of (many) Americans travel to Europe."
• "We got lots of (many) mosquitoes last summer."
• "We got a lot of (much) rain last summer."

Little/Few

"Little" modifies only uncountable nouns.

• "He had little food in the house."
• "When I was in college, there was little money to spare."

"Few" modifies only countable nouns.

• "There are a few doctors in town."
• "He had few reasons for his opinion."

Little or Few?

Incorrect Examples:

• “Yesterday, I had few reason to complain” should be, “Yesterday, I had little reason to complain.”
• “The teacher gave me few feedbacks on my paper” should be, “The teacher gave me little feedback on my paper.”
• “I had a few bread for dinner” should be written as, “I had a few slices of bread.”
• “She had little bathrooms in her house” means that the bathrooms themselves are small, not that she had a small number of bathrooms.
• The sentence, “She had few bathrooms .” means that there are a small number of bathrooms.

A little bit of

"A little bit of" is informal and always precedes an uncountable noun.

• "There is a little bit of pepper in the soup."
• "There is a little bit of snow on the ground."
• However, the example, “There is a little bit of cards on the table” doesn’t work because card is a countable noun. The correct phrasing would be, “There are a few cards on the table.”

Some/Any

Both "some" and "any" can modify countable and uncountable nouns.

• "There is some water on the floor."
• "There are some people already here."
• "Do you have any food ?"
• "Do you have any apples ?"

Even though “some” and “any” can modify both countable and uncountable nouns, both should be used with the plural form if there is one.

• For example, you wouldn’t say, “I have some cat at home.”
• The correct sentence is, “I have some cats at home.”
• You also wouldn’t say, “Are there any apple on the table?”
• The correct sentence is, “Are there any apples on the table?” Note that the verb and noun are both plural.

Plenty of

"Plenty of" modifies both countable and uncountable nouns.

• "They have plenty of money in the bank."
• "There are plenty of millionaires in Switzerland."

Enough

Enough modifies both countable and uncountable nouns.

• "There is enough money to buy a car."
• "I have enough books to read."

No

No modifies both countable and uncountable nouns.

• "There is no time to finish now."
• "There are no squirrels in the park."

Here is a chart that summarizes which adjectives modify countable or uncountable nouns.

Countable Nouns	Uncountable Nouns	Countable and Uncountable Nouns
Many Few	Little Much A little bit of	Some/Any Plenty of Enough No A lot of/Lots of

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

Adjective or Adverb?

Rule #1: Adjectives modify nouns; adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs.

You can recognize adverbs easily because many of them are formed by adding -ly to an adjective.

Here are some sentences that demonstrate some of the differences between an adjective and an adverb.

Richard is careless.

Here careless is an adjective that modifies the proper noun Richard.

Richard talks carelessly.

Here carelessly is an adverb that modifies the verb talks.

Priya was extremely happy.

Here happy is an adjective that modifies the proper noun Priya and extremely is an adverb that modifies the adjective happy.

Adverbs can't modify nouns, as you can see from the following incorrect sentences.

He is a quietly man.

The correct sentence above should say, "He is a quiet man."

I have a happily dog.

The correct sentence above should say, "I have a happy dog."

Rule #2: An adjective always follows a form of the verb to be when it modifies the noun before the verb. Here are some examples that show this rule.

I was nervous.

She has been sick all week.

They tried to be helpful.

Rule #3: Likewise an adjective always follows a sense verb or a verb of appearance — feel, taste, smell, sound, look, appear, and seem — when it modifies the noun before the verb.

Sharon's cough sounds bad.

Here bad is an adjective that modifies the noun cough. Using the adverb badly here would not make sense, because it would mean her cough isn't very good at sounding.

Castor oil tastes awful.

Here awful is an adjective that modifies the noun oil. Using the adverb awfully here would not make sense, because it would mean that castor oil isn't very good at tasting.

The ocean air smells fresh.

Here fresh is an adjective that modifies the noun air. Using the adverb freshly here would not make sense, because it would mean that the air has a sense of smell that it uses in a fresh manner.

She seems unhappy today.

Here unhappy is an adjective that modifies the pronoun she. Using the adverb unhappily here would not make sense, because it would mean that she isn't very good at seeming.

Be careful to notice whether the word modifies the subject or the verb in the sentence. If the word modifies the subject, you should use an adjective. If the word modifies the verb, you should use an adverb. The difference is shown in the following pair of sentences.

This apple smells sweet.

Here sweet is an adjective that modifies the noun apple. Using the adverb sweetly here would not make sense, because it would mean that the apple can smell things in a sweet manner.

Your dog smells carefully.

Here carefully is an adverb that modifies the verb smells. Using the adjective careful here would not make sense, because it would mean that the dog gives off an odor of carefulness.

Avoiding Common Errors

Bad or Badly?

When you want to describe how you feel, you should use an adjective (Why? Feel is a sense verb;see rule #3 above). So you'd say, "I feel bad." Saying you feel badly would be like saying you play football badly. It would mean that you are unable to feel, as though your hands were partially numb.

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. (Refer to rule #3 above for more information about sense verbs and verbs of appearance.)

Confusion can occur because well can function either as an adverb or an adjective. When well is used as an adjective, it means "not sick" or "in good health." For this specific sense of well, it's OK to say you feel well or are well — for example, after recovering from an illness. When not used in this health-related sense, however, well functions as an adverb; for example, "I did well on my exam."

Double-negatives

Scarcely and hardly are already negative adverbs. To add another negative term is redundant, because in English only one negative is ever used at a time

They found scarcely any animals on the island. (not scarcely no...)

Hardly anyone came to the party. (not hardly no one...)

Sure or Surely?

Sure is an adjective, and surely is an adverb. Sure is also used in the idiomatic expression sure to be. Surely can be used as a sentence-adverb. Here are some examples that show different uses of sure and surely. Adjectives are in blue and adverbs are in red.

I am sure that you were there.

Here sure is an adjective that modifies the pronoun I.

He is surely ready to take on the project.

Here surely is an adverb that modifies the adjective ready.

She is sure to be a great leader.

Here sure to be is an idiomatic phrase that functions as an adjective that modifies the pronoun she.

Surely, environmental destruction has been one of the worst catastrophes brought about by industrial production.

Here surely is an adverb that modifies the verb has been.

Real or Really?

Real is an adjective, and really is an adverb. Here are some examples that demonstrate the difference between real and really.

She did really well on that test.

Here really is an adverb that modifies the adverb well.

Is she really going out with him?

Here really is an adverb that modifies the verb phrase going out.

Popular culture proposes imaginary solutions to real problems.

Here real is an adjective that modifies the noun problems.

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.

The moment of truth neared.

Here neared is a verb in the past tense.

We are nearly finished with this project.

Here nearly is an adverb that modifies the verb finished.

The cat crept near.

Here near is an adverb of place that modifies the verb crept.

First cousins are more nearly related than second cousins.

Here nearly is an adverb that modifies the verb related.

The detective solves the mystery in a scene near the end of the movie.

Here near is a preposition. The prepositional phrase near the end of the movie modifies the noun scene.

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

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