{"id":3044,"date":"2019-02-19T23:00:26","date_gmt":"2019-02-20T05:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/?p=3044"},"modified":"2021-08-05T09:58:15","modified_gmt":"2021-08-05T14:58:15","slug":"adjectives-and-adverbs-another-look-at-ly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/definitions\/adjectives-and-adverbs-another-look-at-ly\/","title":{"rendered":"Adjectives and Adverbs: Another Look at -ly<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

Those who study English grammar will eventually review the adverbial ending\u00a0-ly.<\/em>\u00a0GrammarBook last wrote about Adjectives and Adverbs: When to use\u00a0-ly<\/em><\/a>\u00a0in October 2007; the post has remained on our website since then to offer guidance on using the suffix.<\/p>\n

More than eleven years later, however, we\u2014and you too, perhaps\u2014still often encounter misuse of the ending. For example, how frequently do we read or hear an expression such as \u201cI feel badly about the outcome\u201d? Or how about \u201cI can\u2019t believe he threw the ball that bad\u201d?<\/p>\n

Just like golfers who practice their swings even when not on the course, grammarians can keep their skills sharp by periodically revisiting basics.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s therefore return to reviewing how and when to use\u00a0-ly<\/em>, mainly by re-examining adjectives and adverbs.<\/p>\n

An\u00a0adjective\u00a0<\/strong>modifies nouns and pronouns. It can precede or follow the word it describes.<\/p>\n

Examples<\/strong><\/em>
\nHe is a\u00a0quick\u00a0<\/em>cook.
\nJanet feels\u00a0strong<\/em>\u00a0after working out for more than an hour.<\/p>\n

An\u00a0adverb\u00a0<\/strong>modifies words or word groups other than nouns or pronouns (e.g., verbs, adjectives, other adverbs, infinitives, phrases, clauses, sentences). It typically indicates time, place, manner, or degree (i.e., when, where, and how). It too can come before or after its related word.<\/p>\n

Examples<\/strong><\/em>
\nHe cooks\u00a0quickly.\u00a0<\/em>
\nJanet\u00a0strongly<\/em>\u00a0feels that she should work out for more than an hour.<\/p>\n

While the adjective and adverb forms of many words are still mistakenly swapped, to ensure proper usage, we need only remind ourselves of whether we\u2019re describing the subject or the action.<\/p>\n

A good way to spot the need for an adjective is noting when the word will serve as a subject complement, most often after a linking verb such as\u00a0appear, feel, look, taste,<\/em>\u00a0or\u00a0smell.<\/em><\/p>\n

Example<\/strong><\/em>
\nAntoine looks [linking verb;\u00a0he is not looking with his eyes]\u00a0different<\/em>\u00a0[subject complement describing Antoine\u2019s physical appearance] after staying up until 4:00 a.m.<\/p>\n

If different\u00a0<\/em>will illustrate the action, we add\u00a0-ly\u00a0<\/em>to make it an adverb.<\/p>\n

Example<\/strong><\/em>
\nAntoine looked [verb; he is looking with his eyes]\u00a0differently<\/em> [adverb describing manner of an action] at the clock when he woke\u2014probably because he\u2019d been up until 4:00 a.m.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s consider a couple more examples to reinforce the difference between modifying a subject (adjective) and an action (adverb), especially when a linking verb is involved:<\/p>\n

Subject (Adjective):\u00a0<\/strong>The storm approaching from the east appeared\u00a0slow<\/em>\u00a0[subject complement describing the storm] to the meteorologists.
\nAction (Adverb):\u00a0<\/strong>The storm appeared to approach\u00a0slowly<\/em>\u00a0[adverb describing the manner of an action] from the east.<\/p>\n

Subject (Adjective):\u00a0<\/strong>I tend to smell\u00a0bad<\/em> [subject complement describing\u00a0I<\/em>; I am not smelling with my nose] after toiling in the sun for a day.
\nAction (Adverb):\u00a0<\/strong>I tend to smell\u00a0badly\u00a0<\/em>[adverb describing the manner of an action; I am using my nose to smell] when my nose gets stuffed because of my allergies.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

The following two items apply to the mindful use of\u00a0-ly<\/em>\u00a0in writing as well:<\/p>\n

Punctuation in a Compound Modifier<\/strong>
\nWe still sometimes see hyphenation in compound modifiers that include an\u00a0-ly<\/em>\u00a0adverb. As a general rule, these modifiers are not punctuated.<\/p>\n

Incorrect:\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>the quickly-growing trend, the badly-wounded fighter<\/em>
\nCorrect:\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>the quickly growing trend, the badly wounded fighter<\/em><\/p>\n

(Note: Watch for the sneaky\u00a0-ly<\/em>\u00a0word\u00a0family.<\/em>\u00a0It is a\u00a0noun\u00a0<\/em>that would be hyphenated in a compound modifier:\u00a0the family-favorite scrapbook, the family-friendly event.)<\/em><\/p>\n

Adjectives That Can Act as Adverbs in Comparisons<\/strong>
\nMany of us might tend to classify comparison words such as\u00a0slower, quicker<\/em>, and\u00a0smarter<\/em>\u00a0as adjectives:\u00a0Jada is [slower\/quicker\/smarter] than Josephine.<\/em><\/p>\n

We’ll then by instinct often use\u00a0-ly<\/em>\u00a0adverbs for comparisons involving actions:\u00a0Jada runs more slowly than Josephine. Josephine runs more quickly than Jada. Jada dresses more smartly than Josephine.<\/em><\/p>\n

Many dictionaries now also include adverb definitions for words we would otherwise consider adjectives, permitting sentences such as\u00a0Jada runs slower than Josephine. Josephine runs quicker than Jada. Jada dresses smarter than Josephine.<\/em><\/p>\n

Not all comparison adjectives can serve this double duty. If ever in doubt about whether one can act as an adverb, simply consult your dictionary of choice.<\/p>\n

Observing these principles of\u00a0-ly<\/em>\u00a0will help us sustain proper usage and, ideally, encourage it among those who read our writing as well.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Pop Quiz<\/h2>\n

Using what you\u2019ve learned in this article, choose the correct answer in the following sentences.<\/p>\n

1. We feel [bad \/ badly] that we couldn\u2019t make the performance last night.<\/p>\n

2. The soup tastes [fresh \/ freshly] from the pot.<\/p>\n

3. His heart beating fast, he looked [quick \/ quickly] around the room.<\/p>\n

4. Anastasia unfolded the [lovingly-stitched \/ lovingly stitched] quilt.<\/p>\n

5. Joshua is acting [calmer \/ more calmly \/ (either)] than normal.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Pop Quiz Answers<\/h3>\n

1. We feel [bad<\/strong>\u00a0\/ badly] that we couldn\u2019t make the performance last night.<\/p>\n

2. The soup tastes [fresh<\/strong>\u00a0\/ freshly] from the pot.<\/p>\n

3. His heart beating fast, he looked [quick \/\u00a0quickly<\/strong>] around the room.<\/p>\n

4. Anastasia unfolded the [lovingly-stitched \/\u00a0lovingly stitched<\/strong>] quilt.<\/p>\n

5. Joshua is acting [calmer \/\u00a0more calmly<\/strong>\u00a0\/ (either)] than normal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Those who study English grammar will eventually review the adverbial ending\u00a0-ly.\u00a0GrammarBook last wrote about Adjectives and Adverbs: When to use\u00a0-ly\u00a0in October 2007; the post has remained on our website since then to offer guidance on using the suffix. More than eleven years later, however, we\u2014and you too, perhaps\u2014still often encounter misuse of the ending. For […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,10,48],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3044","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adjectives-adverbs","category-definitions","category-prefixes-and-suffixes"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3044"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3044"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3044\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5293,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3044\/revisions\/5293"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3044"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3044"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3044"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}