Grammar Rules

Adjectives and Adverbs

Adjectives: words that describe nouns or pronouns. They sometimes come before the word they describe or they also can follow the word that they describe.

Adverbs: words that modify everything else but nouns and pronouns. They modify adjectives, verbs, and also other adverbs. A way to tell if a word is an adverb is if it answers how, when, or where.

The only adverbs that cause grammatical problems are those that answer the question how, here are some examples:

• Rule 1

  Usually, if a word answers the question how, it is an adverb. If it can have an ly added to it, you should place it there.

  Examples
  She works slow/slowly.
  She works how? slowly.

  She is a slow/slowly worker.
  Slow does not answer how so no ly is attached. Slow is an adjective here.

  She works fast/fastly.
  Fast answers the question how, so it is an adverb. But fast never has an ly attached to it.

  We performed bad/badly.
  Badly describes how we performed.

• Rule 2

  A special ly rule applies with four of the senses-taste, smell, look, feel-are the verbs. In these cases do not ask if these senses answer the question how to determine if ly should be attached. Instead, you should ask if the sense verb is being used actively. If it is, use the ly.
  Examples
  Lillis smell sweet/sweetly.
  Do the lillis actively smell with noses? No, so no ly.

  The child looked angry/angrily.
  Did the child actively look with eyes or are we describing it's appearance? We are only describing appearance, so no ly.

  The woman looked angry/angrily at the paint splotches.
  Here the woman did actively look with eyes so the ly was added.

  She feels terrible/terribly about the news.
  She is not feeling with fingers, so no ly.

• Rule 3

  The word good is an adjective while well is an adverb.
  Examples
  You did a good job.
  Good describes the job.

  You did the job well.
  Well answers how.

  You smell good today.
  Describes your odor, not how you smell with your nose, so follow with the adjective.

  You smell well for someone with a cold.
  You are actively smelling with a nose here so follow with the adverb.

• Rule 4

  When referring to health, you should always use well.
  Examples
  I do not feel well.

  You do not look well today.
  
  

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