Nouns, adjectives and adverbs

o
Adverbs of definite frequency, e.g. once, twice, three times a week, daily,
every ofternoon, on Saturdays, again, are usually placed at the end of a
sentence:
i go swimming twice a week.
I get up at seuen o'cLock every morning.
But they can also go at the beginning of a sentence:
On Saturdays, I do my shopping.
o
Ad-verbs of indefinite frequency, e.g. olwoys, usually, sometimes, often, never,
usually go after an auxiliary or the verb ro be and before a full verb:
I am usually in bed before midnight.
I hove olwoys wanted to go there.
We sometimes meet
for
Lunch.
o
The adverbs
frequently,
generolly, normally, occtsionally, ordinarily,
sometimes, usutlly, quite/very often, always/never
(in the imperative), can
also go at the beginning of a sentence for special emphasis:
Sometimes he agrees to help me with my lrcmework.
Never do that ogain!
o
Adverbs of degree, e.g. qaite, hnrdly, roo, usually go before the words they
modify:
quite nice quite slow|y
I quite enjoyed it.
o
Sentence adverbs, e.g. clearly, generally, evidently, honestly, can go at the
beginning of a sentence:
Clearly, the situation is very serlous.
Or they can go before the verb (or after the verb to be or an auxiliary):
I honestly believe that this is the best thing we con do.
Mr Jameson is euidently very happy with the resulrs.
Practice
5a Write the sentences with the adverbs/adverbial phrases in brackets in the
correct position. If the adverbs can go in more than one position, put them
in the more usual one.
1 I've been working (in my office/all morning/hard).
l've been workin4 hard in my office all morninq.
2 He speaks to me (in
the mornings/never/nicely).
3 We were listening (all
evening/carefully).
4 She's been sleeping
(in
that chair/all afternoon/soundly).
22
5 He is (at
this time of daylusually/at the college).
Nouns, adjectives and adverbs
6 The postman comes
(in
the morning/very early).
7 I thought you spoke
(in
that meeting/very well/yesterday).
8 We go swimming
(on
Saturdays/generally/at the local pool).
9 I bought these
jeans (in
the sales/very cheaply/last week).
5b Complete the story using the following adverbs and adverbial phrases.
for three hours so much already a few times
Iovingly deeply
just
anxiously suddenly
straightaway hardly absolutely iffipa+ia+ly
for months
soon only
in a friendly way
10 He's been
(to
a dentist/never/in his life).
She waited
'..i.m?a!:te.rl!.1y..
in the departure lounge. She had
..... been there'........ . If she didn't
get on the plane .....
,
she might change her mind about
going. She had been planning this trip to Berlin .....
,
well,
since Uwe had left England. She had missed him
u.........
............ and
she could ..... wait to see him again. But did he love her
as
'............
as she loved him? She wasn't
..... sure. She had written to him every day but he had
..... written to her ..... . Would he
take her ..... into his arms as soon as she arrived? Or
would he
just greet her ..... ? Oh, how she hated this
waiting. ......
,
she heard a message on the tannoy:
'Would
Ms Pamela Roberts please go to the desk in the departure lounge
...... ? A message has
'u.........
arrived
for her.' Pamela walked ..... towards the desk. What could
the message be?
23
Nouns, adjectives and adverbs
6 Gomparison of adverbs
Only gradable adverbs, that is adverbs that can be modified, can have
comparative and superlative forms. We cannot modify adverbs such as
sometimes, neuer, there, now, olmost.
Adverbs ending in -ly and a few other adverbs can be put into comparative and
superlative forms:
Aduerb Comparative SuperLotive
Adverbs ending
tn -ly
carefully
quickly
more carefully
quickly more
most carefully
most quickly
Aduerbs with same
form
as adjectiue
fast
hard
early
faster
harder
earlier
fastest
hardest
earliest
lrregulars badly
well
little
much
worse
better
less
more
worst
best
least
most
She diues more carefully than he does.
I think Sarah works the hardest of us all.
He helps me less than he used to.
Notes
o
We can also make adverbial comparisons using:
-
(not)
cs
+
adverb
+
as:
You waLk as
fast
os your brother does.
I can't speak Engli,sh as well as you can.
-
the + comparative adverb, the
+
comparative adverb or adjective:
The harder I try, the worse I seem to do.
The more carcfully you do it, the bettq it will be.
-
comparative adverb
+
and. + comparatlve adverb:
As the exams got nearer, he worked harder ond harder.
It's happening more ond more regalarly.
.
superlative adverbs are not used very often.
We often use comparative
+
than ever, onyone, onything:
You can do the
job
better than anyone con.
Practice
6a Put the adjectives into the comparative adjective or comparative adverb
form.
1 I sleep much ..t!l9l9.h.e.a.V!!y.. (heavy)
than I used to.
2 She's become m:uch ..01P.f.ie.f .
(nappy)
since she stopped seeing
Dominic.
3 He has to work a lot ............ (hard) in this new
job
than he used to in his old one.
l'o
Nouns, adjectives and adverbs
I always feel ........... . (healthy) when I'm on
holiday than when I'm at work.
It all happened ........... .
(sudden)
than I was
expecting.
I think the meal's going to be a lot
(expensive)
than we anticipated.
7 That child ate (hungry)
than any child
I've ever seen.
8 This curry tastes (hot)
than you usually
make it.
9 I occasionally go to the gym but I should go
(frequent) than I do.
10 He was injured
(serious) than any of the
others.
11 He made me
(furious)
than I've ever
been in my life.
12 He treats her
(considerate) now than he
used to.
13 You need to react ......... ...
(assertive) when they
treat you like that.
14 The weather's turned
(cold)
recently.
15 Your hair looks much ........ ....
(nice)
like that.
16 You've upset her now. I think you could have told her
(tactful).
17 I think you were charged too much. Bill would have done the
job
...
(cheap) for you.
(''(
^-
TE---T' 4
**t
ts-
25
Grammar: odjectives and adverbs
Adverbs of degreez very, absolutely, etc.
* Gradable adiectives and adverbs refer to qualities that we can grade or compare;
they usua[[y have a comparative and supertative form.
6= We can use adverbs of degree to make gradable adjectives and adverbs stronger or
weaker: He's a
foirly
good pointer but he needs to improve his technique.
They work together extremely efficiently.
.r=., We can use verywilh att gradable adjectives and adverbs. We can use extremely
and reolly with many of them: very intelligenthadly extremely hot/old-fashioned
really h appy
/colo
urfu I
rr, Ungradable adjectives and adverbs refer to extreme quatities that we don't grade
or compare; they don't usually have a comparative and superlative form. Compare
these pairs of gradable and ungradable adiectives and adverbs: ongry
- furious
badly
-
oppollingly big
-
gigontic well
-
brilliontly hot
-
boiling
importont
-
essentiol tired
-
exhousted
uo We can use obsolutely and really to emphasise many ungradable ad
jectives
and
adverbs but we cannot make them weaker: absolutely brilliantly reolly owful
rF Some adverbs of degree tend to collocate with certain adiectives:
utte rly i m po ssi ble
/m
i se rable
/ri
d i culo us
/use
le ss
h i g hly o m usi n g
/i
m p ro bo ble
/ski
lle d
/s
ucce ssfu I
totally d iffe re nt
/exh
o uste d
/sati
sfi ed
/u
n n ecessary
co m p I e te ly o cc u rat e
/re
I axe d
/f
re e
/s
ati sfi e d
/u
se I e s s
e n ti re ly cleo r/hop py
/sati
sfacto ry
/sure
=
The adverbs quite and rother can have different meanings, depending on how they
are used:
quite (= fairty) + gradabte adjective/adverb: /t3 quite good.
quite
1=
absolutely) + ungradable adiective/adverb: The team ployed quite
brilliontly.
rother
(= fairty) + negative gradable ad
jective/adverb:
She3 rother ongry.
rather + comparative adjective/adverb: Their last CD wos rother better thon this
one.
rather (= to a greater degree than expected) + positive gradable adiective/adverb:
Thot progromme wos rother interesting.
,iF
With a noun, we can use the following patterns: lt was quite o pleosont surprise.
It was rother o pleosont surprise. lt was o rother pleosont surprise.
i 1",: Circle the correct answer.
o Your prediction was accurate. ln fact, yo, *ere(6E.,[i7D I
extremety righl.
r Carlos is an extremely I
obsolutelyhard worker. He also works obsolutely
I
very quickly.
z lt's obsolutely
I
reolly cold outside. Shattwe stay in?
3
ls it very
I
absolutely important that I go out tonight? l'm obsolutely
I
really
tired.
)5
Grammar: adjectives ond odverbs
4
She was reolly
I foirly
furious with him for leaving the baby alone.
5
lf you foltow the instructions, it's obsolutely
I foirly
simple to assemble the
bookcase.
6 Are you absolutely
I
extremely certain that the information is accurate?
7
Hygiene isabsolutely
I
extremely important in places tike hospitats.
8 He was obsolutely
I
very devastated by the accident. Luckity, alt of his friends
responded obsolutely
I
very sympatheticalty.
9
Budapest is a beautiful city with some really
I
very magnificent buitdings.
ro You shoutd go and see the exhibition at the museum.lt's absolutely
I
very
interesting.
16b Circle the correct answers. There may be more than one correct answer.
o The meal it@l
foirty 7@aeticious.
r The film we saw was quite
I
totally
I
highly amusing.
z You've made
foirly I
quite
I
very a big mess.
3
I always have a(n) obsolutely
I
reolly
I
verywonderfuttime when I go there.
4
He looked entirely
I
very
I
utterly ridiculous in those ctothes.
5
They weren't entirely
I
rother
I
utterly happy with the resutts.
6 lf you aren't highly
I
completely
I
rather satisfied with your purchase, we't[ give
you your money back.
7
They make a(n) obsolutely
I
extremely
I
very altractive couple, don't you think?
8 She's a(n) entirely
I
extremely
I
highly successfulsurgeon.
9
Donna hates her new schoot. ln fact, sheis utterly
I
highly
I
absolutely
miserabte there.
ro There's a lot of traffic on the roads and lthink it's very
I
entirely
I
highly
improbabte that they'tt arrive on time.
16( Comptete the conversations. Use quite or rother. Sometimes both are possible.
o A: We're .......9.y.i.t3........ amazed at how
quickty he's recovered from the ittness.
B: I know. lt's ......f9.!!!9!....... surprising but such a reliefl
r A: You Iook ...................... exhausted. How do you fee[?
B: I've
just
had a rest but I'm stitl .. tired.
z A: I think Sue behaved .. appatlingty this evening. Don't you?
B: Welt, you're over-reacting a little but she did behave .. badty.
3
A: The lead singer performed .. sptendidty this evening.
B: She did perform .. wetl given that her reviews haven't been
very positive.
4
A: Sula understands English .. well but she finds it difficutt to
speak.
B: True, but she did ...................... better than I expected on her last test.
5
A: I think Hong Kong is ...................... an amazing city.
B: Yes, and it's .. fascinating too.
Grammar: odjectives ond odverbs
Sentence adverbsi certainly, clearly, etc.
Sentence adverbs modify the whole sentence or clause. Some adverbs express
how certain the speaker is: certainly, definitely, probably, possibly.ln affirmative
sentences, these adverbs usua[ty come after the verb be or after the auxiliary. ln
negative sentences, they come before the auxitiary I'll probably be late
for
dinner
tonight. I certoinly won't be early.
Some adverbs often come at the beginning of the sentence and may be followed
by a comma: cleorly, honestly, hopefully, luckily, noturally, obviously, personolly,
surely: Cleorly, the situation is serious. Surely we should be doing more obout
environmentol issues.
These adverbs can also come before the verb, after the verb be or after the auxiliary:
Figures clearly show a drop in soles. The situotion is obviously serious.
Some sentence adverbs help to organise a text or conversation . Anyway shows that
the speaker is about to end a conversation, go back to an important topic or change
to a new topic. By the way introduces a new idea or topic: Anyway, os I said, he is
arriving tomorrow. By the woy, have you seen my keys?
1:* Re-write the sentences. Put the adverbs in brackets in the correct position.
o I'm not sure where she is but she's stitI at work.
(probabty)
..r.l,l:.lg!.::.trs.vt:.9.r9..:.1.g.!:..9v.!.:.t:.g.':.p.rpPg!.tv.:.:!!!.g.!.v.g.r!.:...................
r The disease was caused by tead poisoning. (possibty)
z I didn't expect this to happen.
(certainty)
3
She knew the money was stolen.
(surety)
4
He's very attracted to you. (obviousty)
5
There are no easy answers to the probtem. (ctearty)
3.;r* Circte the correct answer.
A: You look like you've been enjoying yourself. Where have you been?
B: To see the new Bond fitm. ll's
(o)
noturallq
l@rolobDthe
best one yet.
A: I'm surprised. The reviews
(i
certoinly
I
surely haven't been very good.
B:
(z)
Obviously
I
Personolly,l enioyed it. You can't atways trust the critics.
A: lsuppose not.
(:)
Anyway
I
Bytheway,you've convinced me. I'm
(Q
definitely
I
surely going to see the fi[m now.
B:
(5)
Anywoy
I
By the way,l heard that you'd had an accident but that
(6)
luckily
f
surely, it wasn't anything serious. ls that right?
A: I'm afraid so.
(l)
Fortunotely
I
Hopefully, I was wearing my seatbelt.
(8)
Naturolly
I
Personolly,l was shaken up but I'm fine now.
37