Adverb or adjective

There are three normal positions for adverbs:

* at the beginning of a sentence – Last night I saw them in the park.

* in the mid-position – He has already returned from Poland.

* at the end – He did it very carefully.

Some types of adverbs can go in more than one position. It depends on what the speaker wants to emphasize.

Initial position adverbs: * connecting adverbs * adverbs of time * some adverbs of frequency * some adverbs of certainty *negative adverbials with inversion     * adverbs of manner (for emphasis)	however, then last night, tomorrow usually, once a year maybe, perhaps   seldom, rarely Seldom have I seen him so happy. carefully Carefully he placed the slide under the microscope.
Mid-position adverbs: * adverbs of certainty   *adverbs of indefinite frequency * adverbs of manner * adverbs of completeness * adverbs of degree * focus adverbs	definitely, certainly He will definitely win the cup. often, seldom, rarely She often loses her keys. quickly, slowly nearly completely, quite just, even He didn’t even apologise for forgetting my birthday.
End-position adverbs: * adverbs of manner * adverbs of place * adverbs of time * adverbs of definite frequency	She crossed the lane slowly. She walked into the park. We saw her only last week. I go to the swimming-pool twice a week.

If there are several adverbs in a sentence you must out them in the following order: manner – place – time

In some cases there is a difference in the meaning of an adverb which sometimes uses - ly and sometimes doesn’t. Adverbs that change meaning include: hard (hardly), direct (directly), short (shortly), wide (widely), late (lately), free (freely), wrong (wrongly), right (rightly) etc.

Example: I saw the UFO high over the mountains.

He thinks highly of Aboriginal beliefs.

Let’s practice:

1. Write what the underlined word is: adjective or adverb:

1. Fast runners win races. …… adjective …….

2. Mathematics is difficult. …………………….

3. She’s a good typist. …………………….

4. She behaved rudely to her boss. …………………….

5. You’ve done well in your test. …………………….

6. The clowns are very funny. …………………….

7. She’s a pretty girl. …………………….

8. He runs fast. …………………….

9. Ann is very sad. …………………….

10. She plays the piano beautifully. …………………….

11. Father is very busy in his office..……………………

2. Use one of the words from the box to complete each sentence below:

hard, hardly, short, shortly, right, rightly, high, highly, late, lately, wrong, wrongly

1. I..........ever see her nowadays – she’s so busy.

2. Sally thought very..........indeed of the gypsy’s fortune-telling powers.

3. The interviewer................claimed that the house was haunted.

4. She thought long and …....about whether to take part in the experiment.

5. Tell Marie I’ll see her..........

6. You’ve done this calculation …........

7. They were just saying that they hadn’t seen you........

8. The car turned ….......round and went back the way it came.

9. The article stopped ….......of accusing anyone of a hoax.

3. Underline the correct item:

1. He left the room quiet / quietly.

2. Jane works hard / hardly.

3. He’s a very nice / nicely man.

4. The sun is shining bright / brightly.

5. Smoking is bad / badly for your health.

6. She behaves very good / well.

7. He always dresses smart / smartly.

8. He shouted angry / angrily at me.

9. This chair is comfortable / comfortably.

10. He smiled sad / sadly.

11. You drive very slow / slowly.

4. Complete these sentences:

1. There was some heavy rain last night.

Yes, it rained very ….. heavily. …………………

2. Aren’t the children quiet!

Yes, they’re working very ……………………….

3. James has a loud voice.

Yes, he always talks very ………………………..

4. Isn’t the teacher angry!

Yes, he’s shouting very ………………………….

5. Angela’s very happy today!

Yes, she’s laughing very …………………………

6. The telephone rang in the middle of the night. Nick was very sleepy.

He answered it very ……………………………..

7. Kate likes playing slow music.

Yes, she’s playing this piece very ………………

5. Complete the sentence with the correct word from the brackets:

Example: Mice move ….. quietly …… (quiet / quietly)

1. This exercise is ……………………… (easy / easily)

2. These people are speaking ………………………….. (quiet / quietly)

3. Mr. Brown can speak English ………………………. (good / well)

4. Tigers are ………………………… animals. (brave / bravely)

5. The footballer is ………………………. (tired / tiredly)

6. Cheetahs run …………………………. (quick / quickly)

7. She is lifting the weight …………………………… (easy / easily)

8. The children are playing …………………………… (happy / happily)

9. Tony is a ………………………….. skier. (good / well)

6. Supply the proper form, ADJECTIVE or ADVERB:

1. He always does his homework……………….. (careful).

2. He is a very ……………………………… (careful) student.

3. Come ……………………… (quick). We need your help.

4. You should drive more …………… (slow) along this road.

5. The old man walks very ………………………….. (slow).

6. Helen is a very ……………………………. (slow) student.

7. Her brother, on the other hand, learns…………… (rapid).

8. Mr. Gonzales has a …………. (permanent) visa.

9. He hopes to remain in this country……….. (permanent).

10. This is an …………………………… (easy) exercise.

11. I can do all of these exercises ……………………… (easy).

12. Helen works very ………………… (hard) in her new job.

13. You walk very ………………………… (fast).

14. They are both ………………………. (serious) students.

15. They both study English very …………………… (serious).

16. I agree with you ……………………omplete) in that matter.

17. This apple is very ………………………. (soft).

18. She always speaks …………………. (soft) to the child.

19. Helen is a …………………………….. (beautiful) girl.

20. Her sister plays the violin …………………… (beautiful).

7. Work in pairs. Guess what your partner is good at. Ask each other questions using appropriate adverbs and adjectives.

Example: Are you good at playing volleyball? - Yes, I play volleyball well.

8. Work in group. Decide where to put the adverb or adverbial phrases in the following sentences:

1. I went home. (yesterday, on foot)

2. She walked to where another coach was waiting. (up the hill, briskly, later, luckily)

3. I was in the mood to go swimming. (hardly, last night)

4. He is lying. (of course, still)

5. Stephen spoke to me. (the other day, in a friendly way, in fact)

6. It rained. (non-stop, all day, heavily, strangely enough)

7. People hide things of value. (apparently, in the attic, rarely)

8. She performed the dance.(far, slowly, too)

9. I think you should get out of the house. (to be hinest, more often)

10. I saw the comet. (only, in the sky, yesterday)

9. Choose the correct form:

1. I enjoyed the book. It was very interested / interesting.

2. Are you interested / interesting in art?

3. I thought the story was quite amused / amusing.

4. They were shocked / shocking when they heard the news.

5. We were all very worried / worrying when he didn’t come home.

6. It was surprised / surprising that she didn’t come to the meeting.

7. I usually find football rather bored / boring.

8. Are you frightened / frightening of spiders?

10. Work in pairs. Tell each other about your interests or worries using adjectives from exercise 9.

11. Fill in the blanks with the adjectives in brackets using degrees of comparison:

1. Tom is …………………………………… his brother. (old)

2. This problem is ……………………. that problem. (easy)

3. John is …………………………. boy in our class. (tall)

4. My friend is …………………………. my sister. (fat)

5. My room is ………………… room in our house. (small)

6. Konya is ……………………… city in Turkey. (large)

7. The Kızılırmak is ……………… river in Turkey. (long)

8. Madonna is ………………………….. Sandra. (popular)

9. My English is …………………….. your English. (good)

10. The weather today is ………. the weather yesterday. (bad)

11. This garden is ……………………….. that garden. (large)

12. Elizabeth is …………………. girl in our group. (beautiful)

13. I am ……………………………… girl in the class. (short)

14. What is …………………….. film on TV today? (funny)

15. Who is …………………………girl in your class? (pretty)

12. Fill in the blanks as in the example:

I went on holiday last year but it was a disaster! My hotel room was.. smaller than … (small) the one in the photograph in the brochure. I think it was ……………………………… (small) room in the hotel. The weather was terrible too. It was ………………………………… (cold) in England. The beach near the hotel was very dirty – it was ……………………………….. (dirty) all the beaches on the island. The food was …………………………………………. (expensive) I expected and I didn’t have enough money. One day I went shopping in a big department store and I broke a vase. It was …………………………………………………… (expensive) vase in the whole shop. But ………………………………………. (bad) thing all was that I lost my passport and I couldn’t go back home. It was ………………………………………….. (horrible) holiday all my life.

13. Work in groups. Tell each other about your most interesting holidays using adjectives and degrees of comparison.

14. Look at chart. Compare Miss Bennet with her brother and her best friend Tina Robbins:

Age HeightWeight

Miss Bennet 21 1.73 57 kg

James Bennet 23 1.82 76 kg

Tina Robbins 20 1.68 61 kg

Example: (Miss Bennet / tall / Tina Robbins)

Miss Bennet is taller than Tina Robbins.

1. (Miss Bennet / short / her brother James)

2. (James / tall / her sister)

3. (Miss Bennet / old / her best friend)

4. (Her best friend / young / Miss Bennet)

5. (Miss Bennet / short / her brother)

6. (Her brother / tall / Miss Bennet)

7. (Miss Bennet / fat / Tina)

8. (Tina / slim / Miss Bennet)

9. (Miss Bennet / slim / her brother)

10. (Her brother / fat / Miss Bennet)

15. Use “as ……………………. as” in the blanks:

1. Jack’s English is worse than Sonia’s.

Jack’s English isn’t ……………………………. Sonia’s.

2. Alper’s bag is 3 kg. Ahmet’s bag is 5 kg.

Alper’s bag isn’t ………………………….. Ahmet’s bag.

3. An orange is sweeter than a lemon.

A lemon isn’t …………………………………. an orange.

4. Terry is 1.70 cm tall. Jason is 1.70 cm tall too.

Terry is …………………………………………… Jason.

5. Chinese is more difficult than French.

French isn’t ……………………………………. Chinese.

6. Science fiction films and soap operas are very exciting.

Science fictions are ………………………. soap operas.

7. Chemistry is more difficult than drawing.

Chemistry isn’t …………………………… drawing.

8. Jane’s car is Mercedes, but Sue’s car is Opel.

Sue’s car isn’t ……………………………. Jane’s car.

9. July is hotter than May.

10. May isn’t ………………………… July.

Extra practice:

1. Complete the sentences for each situation. Use the word given + the ending ~ing or ~ed:

1. The film wasn't as good as we had expected. (disappoint-)

a. The film was __.

b. We were __ with the film.

2. Diana teaches young children. It's a very hard job but she enjoys it. (exhaust-)

a. She enjoys her job but it's often__.

b. At the end of a day's work, she is often __.

3. It's been raining all day. I hate this weather. (depress-)

a. This weather is__.

b. This weather makes me __.

c. It's silly to get __ because of the weather.

4. Clare is going to the United States next month. She has never been there before. (excit-)

a. It will be an __ experience for her.

b. Going to new places is always __.

c. She is really__ about going to the United States.

2. Choose the correct word:

1. I was _disappointing/disappointed_ with the film. I had expected it to be better.

2. Are you _interesting/interested_ in football?

3. The football match was quite _exciting/excited_ I enjoyed it.

4. It's sometimes _embarrassing/embarrassed_ when you have to ask people for money.

5. Do you easily get _embarrassing/embarrassed?_

6. I had never expected to get the job. I was really _amazing/amazed_ when I was offered it.

7. She has really learnt very fast. She has made _astonishing/astonished_ progress.

8. 1 didn't find the situation funny. I was not _amusing/amused._

9. It was a really _terrifying/terrified_ experience. Afterwards everybody was very _shocking/shocked._

10 Why do you always look so _boring/bored?_ Is your life really so _boring/bored?_

11. He's one of the most _boring/bored_ people I've ever met. He never stops talking and he never says anything _interesting/interested._

3 Complete the sentences using one of the following words:

amusing/amused confusing/confused exhausting/exhausted annoying/annoyed disgusting/disgusted interesting/interested boring/bored exciting/excited surprising/surprised

1. He works very hard. It's not __ that he's always tired.

2. I've got nothing to do. I'm __.

3. The teacher's explanation was __. Most of the students didn't understand it.

4. The kitchen hadn't been cleaned for ages. It was really __.

5. I seldom visit art galleries. I'm not particularly __ in art.

6. There's no need to get __ just because I'm a few minutes late.

7. The lecture was __. I fell asleep.

8. I asked Emily if she wanted to come out with us but she wasn't __.

9. I've been working very hard all day and now I'm __.

10. I'm starting a new job next week. I'm quite __ about it.

11. Tom is very good at telling funny stories. He can be very __.

12. Liz is a very __ person. She knows a lot, she's travelled a lot and she's done lots of different things.

4. Complete the sentences with adverbs. The first letter(s) of each adverb are given:

1. We didn't go out because it was raining _he_.

2. Our team lost the game because we played very ba__.

3. I had little difficulty finding a place to live. I found a flat quite ea__.

4. We had to wait for a long time but we didn't complain. We waited pa__.

5. Nobody knew George was coming to see us. He arrived unex__.

6. Mike keeps fit by playing tennis reg__.

5. Put in the right word:

1. The driver of the car was __ injured. (serious/seriously)

2. The driver of the car had ___ injuries. (serious/seriously)

3. I think you behaved very __. (selfish/selfishly)

4. Rose is __ I upset about losing her job. (terrible/terribly)

5. There was a __ change in the weather. (sudden/suddenly)

6. Everybody at the party was __ dressed. (colourful/colourfully)

7. Linda likes wearing __ clothes. (colourful/colourfully)

8. She fell and hurt herself quite __.(bad/badly)

9. He says he didn't do well at school because he was __ taught. (bad/badly)

10. Don't go up that ladder. It doesn't look __. (safe/safely)

11. He looked at me ___ when I interrupted him. (angry/angrily)

6. Complete each sentence using a word from the list. Sometimes you need the adjective (careful etc.) and sometimes the adverb (carefully etc.):

careful(ly) complete(ly) continuous(ly) financial(ly) fluent(ly) happy/happily nervous(ly) perfect(ly) quick(ly) special(1y)

1. Our holiday was too short. The time passed very __.

2. Tom doesn't take risks when he's driving. He's always__.

3. Sue works__ She never seems to stop.

4. Alice and Stan are very __ married.

5. Monica's English is very __ although she makes quite a lot of mistakes.

6. I cooked this meal __ for you, so I hope you like it.

7. Everything was very quiet. There was __ silence.

8. I tried on the shoes and they fitted me __.

9. Do you usually feel __ before examinations?

10. I'd like to buy a car but it's __ impossible for me at the moment.

7. Choose two words (one from each box) to complete each sentence:

absolutely reasonably unusually badly seriously unnecessarily completely slightly cheap enormous planned badly changed ill quiet damaged long

1. I thought the restaurant would be expensive but it was _reasonably cheap._

2. George's mother is __ in hospital.

3. What a big house! It's __.

4. It wasn't a serious accident. The car was only __.

5. The children are normally very lively but they're __ today.

6, When I returned home after 20 years, everything had __.

7. The film was __ It could have been much shorter.

8. A lot went wrong during our holiday because it was __.

8. Put in good or well:

1. I play tennis but I'm not very _good._

2. Your exam results were very __.

3. You did very __ in your exams.

4. The weather was very __ while we-were on holiday.

5. 1 didn't sleep very __ last night.

6. How are you? Are you __?

7. George speaks German very __.

8. George's German is very __.

9. Our new business is going very __ at the moment.

10. I like your jacket. It looks __ on you.

11. I've met her a few times but I don't know her very __.

9. Complete the sentences using a comparative form (older/more important etc.):

1. It's too noisy here. Can we go somewhere _quieter?_

2. This coffee is very weak. I like it a bit __.

3. The hotel was surprisingly big. I expected it to be __.

4. The hotel was surprisingly cheap. I expected it to be__.

5. The weather is too cold in this country. I'd like to live somewhere __.

6. My job is a bit boring sometimes. I'd like to do something __.

7. 1 was surprised how easy it was to use the computer. I thought it would be __.

8. Your work isn't very good. I'm sure you can do __.

9. Don't worry. The situation isn't so bad. It could be __.

10. 1 was surprised we got here so quickly. I expected the journey to take __.

11. You're talking very loudly. Can you speak a bit __.

12. You hardly ever phone me. Why don't you phone me __.

13. You're standing too near the camera. Can you move a bit __ away?

14. You were a bit depressed yesterday but you look __ today.

10. Complete the sentences. Each time use the comparative form of one of the words in the list. Use than where necessary:

big crowded early easily high important interested peaceful reliable serious simple thin

1. I was feeling tired last night, so I went to bed _earlier than_ usual.

2. I'd like to have a __ car. The one I've got keeps breaking down.

3. Unfortunately her illness was__ we thought at first.

4. You look __ Have you lost weight?

5. I want a __ flat. We don't have enough space here.

6. He doesn't study very hard. He's __ in having a good time.

7. Health and happiness are __ money.

8. The instructions were very complicated. They could have been __.

9. There were a lot of people on the bus. It was __ usual.

10. I like living in the countryside. It's __ living in a town.

11. You'll find your way around the town __if you have a good map.

12. In some parts of the country, prices are __ in others.

11. Read the situations and complete the sentences. Use a comparative form (~er or more...):

1. Yesterday the temperature was nine degrees. Today it's only six degrees.

_It's colder today than it was yesterday._

2. The journey takes four hours by car and five hours by train.

It takes __.

3. Dave and I went for a run. I ran ten kilometres. Dave stopped after eight kilometres.- I ran__.

4. Chris and Joe both did badly in the exam. Chris got 20 % but Joe only got 15 %. - Joe did __.

5. I expected my friends to arrive at about 4 o'clock. In fact they arrived at 2.30. - My friends __.

6. You can go by bus or by train. The buses run every 30 minutes. The trains run every hour. - The buses __.

7. We were very busy at work today. We're not usually as busy as that. - We__.

12. Use the words in brackets to complete the sentences. Use much/a bit etc. + a comparative form. Use than where necessary:

1. Her illness was _much more serious than_ we thought at first. (much/serious)

2. This bag is too small. I need something __. (much/big)

3. I'm afraid the problem is __ it seems. (much/complicated)

4. You looked depressed this morning but you look __now. (a bit/happy)

5. I enjoyed our visit to the museum. It was __ I expected. (far/Interesting)

6. You're driving too fast. Could you drive __? (a bit/slowly)

7. It's __ to learn a foreign language in the country where it is spoken. (a lot/easy)

8. I thought she was younger than me but in fact she's __ (slightly/old)

13. Complete the sentences using as... as:

1. I'm quite tall but you are taller. I'm not _as tall as you._

2. My salary is high but yours is higher. My salary isn't __.

3. You know a bit about cars but I know more. You don't __.

4. It's still cold but it was colder yesterday. It isn't __.

5. I still feel a bit tired but I felt a lot more tired yesterday.

I don't __.

6. They've lived here for quite a long time but we've lived here longer. They haven't __.

7. I was a bit nervous before the interview but usually I'm a lot more nervous.I wasn't __.

14. Complete the sentences. Use a superlative (~est or most...) or a comparative (~er or more …):

1. We stayed at _the cheapest_ hotel in the town. (cheap)

2. Our hotel was __ than all the others in the town. (cheap)

3. The United States is very large but Canada is __. (large)

4. What's__river in the world? (long)

5. He was a bit depressed yesterday but he looks __ today. (happy)

6. It was an awful day. It was__ day of my life. (bad)

7. What is__ sport in your country? (popular)

8. Everest is __ mountain in the world. It is than any other mountain. (high)

9. We had a great holiday. It was one of the __ holidays we've ever had. (enjoyable)

10. I prefer this chair to the other one. It's __. (comfortable)

11. What's __ way of getting from here to the station? (quick)

12. Mr and Mrs Brown have got three daughters __ is 14 years old. (old)