Adjectives and Adverbs

Exam in Mind Level A2/B1

Adverbs tell us in what way someone does something. Adverbs can modify verbs, adjectives or other adverbs: A beautiful girl drives her expensive car carefully.

Adjectives tell us something about a person or a thing. Adjectives can modify nouns: a beautiful girl, an expensive car

• Jessica is a careful driver. (adjective)
• She drives carefully. (adverb) 

Sense Verbs

Verbs like feel, sound, look, taste, taste, appear and seem are called sense verbs. In English, they are normally used with adjectives (“I feel bad today”), not adverbs.

• It smells good. NOT: It smells well.
• The food looks bad. NOT: The food looks badly.
• Your idea sounds good. NOT: Your idea sounds well.
• This fabric is nice and soft, it feels good. NOT: This fabric is nice and soft, it feels well.

We can use an adverb after some of these verbs when we answer the question How …..?

• How did he look at you? – He looked at me angrily.

We can also use the adverb well after look, sound, feel, appear, but the meaning is ‘healthy’.

• Tom looks very well after the operation.

The opposite is unwell.

• You look unwell today. Is everything all right?

Verbs which can be used with adjectives in this way are called link verbs. They can be divided into groups:

Verbs of perception: seem, appear

• Your plan seems realistic.
• He appears older than he really is.

Verbs of sense: look, feel, taste, smell, sound

• The blue dress looks better.
• This fabric feels lovely.
• I didn’t enjoy the food. It tasted horrible.
• These flowers smell beautiful.
• That sound system sounds expensive.

Change-of-state verbs: become, grow, get, go, turn

• She became very angry when she saw what they had done.
• As night fell the air grew cold.
• The sun got hotter and hotter.
• His face went white with shock when he heard the news.
• As I get older, my hair is starting to turn grey.

Adverbs Ending in –ly

Adverbs have a strong connection with adjectives. Adjectives and adverbs are usually based on the same word. Adverbs often have the form of an adjective + –ly.

Adverbs ending in -ly are usually adverbs of manner (slowly) and degree (completely, fairly).

Adverbs formed from adjectives ending in -l have double l:

beautiful – beautifully, careful – carefully, hopeful – hopefully, historical – historically, wonderful – wonderfully

• Magda looked hopefully at her mother.
• Historically, there was never any conflict between the two communities.

Adverbs formed from adjectives ending in -y change the y to i:

easy – easily, busy – busily, lucky – luckily, angry – angrily, happy – happily
But: shy – shyly

• Luckily, I had a backup copy of the data on a disk.
• I’ve never seen him react so angrily.

Adverbs ending in a consonant +e keep the e:

nice – nicely, definite – definitely, fortunate – fortunately, extreme – extremely, absolute – absolutely, safe – safely

• I am extremely grateful to you.
• We were absolutely exhausted at the end of it all.

If the adjective ends in -le, the adverb ends in -ly:

terrible – terribly, horrible – horribly

Irregular forms:

good – well – хороший – добре
He’s a good student. He studies well.

fast – fast – швидкий – швидко
She’s a fast runner. She runs fast.

hard – hard – старанний, тяжкий – старанно, тяжко
He’s a hard worker. He works hard.

early – early – ранній – рано
She’s an early riser. She gets up early.

late – late – запізнілий – пізно
He’s a late comer. He comes late.

right – right – правильний – правильно
Your answer is right. You did it right.

wrong – wrong – помилковий – неправильно
The spelling of the word is wrong. He has done wrong.

high – high – високий – високо
It’s a very high building. Birds fly high.

last – last – останній – востаннє
Last night they stayed at home and watched TV. He who laughs last laughs longest.

best – best – найкращий – найкраще
The best fish swim near the bottom. He laughs best who laughs last.

wide – wide – широкий – широко
The river was too wide to swim across. Open your mouth wide and say “Ah”.

Double forms

hard – hard / hardly = barely (навряд чи)
I can hardly imagine such a scene. I can hardly thank you enough for your kindness.  She spoke so quietly I could hardly hear her.

near – near / nearly = almost (майже)
The boy nearly fell into the river. I’ve worked here for nearly two years. He’s nearly as tall as you are. It was so windy the tent nearly blew away!

late – late / lately = recently (останнім часом, нещодавно)
What have you been doing lately?  Have you seen any good films lately? He looks very happy lately. We’ve had some gloomy weather lately.

wide – wide / widely = means by a lot of people, to a large degree, a lot
The word ‘wide’ when used as an adverb means wide, as fully as possible, e.g.: He stood with his legs wide apart.
The adverb ‘widely’ on the other hand means by a lot of people, to a large degree, a lot, e.g. : Her books are widely read. Garlic was widely used in folk medicine.

Not all words ending in -ly are adverbs:

• adjectives ending in -ly: friendly, silly, lonely, ugly (There is no adverb for an adjective ending in -ly)
• nouns, ending in -ly: ally, bully, Italy, melancholy
• verbs, ending in -ly: apply, rely, supply

► There are three degrees of comparison in adverbs – the Positive, the Comparative, and the Superlative.

► Adverbs that end in –ly use the words more and most to form their comparatives and superlatives. The one-syllable adverbs use -er in the comparative form, and -est in the superlative form.

► Вищий ступень порівняння односкладових прислівників утворюється за допомогою –er найвищий за допомогою –est:

fast – faster – fastest
hard – harder – hardest

► Ступені порівняння прислівників, що мають два і більше складів, утворюються за допомогою слів more (in the comparative degree), most (in the superlative degree):

easily – more easily – most easily
carefully – more carefully – most carefully

But: early – earlier – earliest

► Слід запам’ятати:

badly – worse – worst
well – better – best
far – further – furthest
little – less – least
much – more – most

Have practice in using adjectives and adverbs.

Exercise 1. Rewrite the sentences as in the example.

Example: She is a good singer. – Yes, she sings well.

1. He is a careless driver.
2. She is a slow walker.
3. Jane is a hard worker.
4. John is a fast speaker.
5. Mr. Brown is a good teacher.
6. I am a bad painter.
7. Mary is an “early bird”.

Exercise 2. Make up adverbs from the following adjectives and complete the sentences with them: slow, sweet, merry, fast, loud, bright

1. I had to speak very _________________.
2. The cat climbed the tree very ________________.
3. The sun is shining ________________ today.
4. The birds sing ________________ in spring.
5. Some animals are very fast but some move very _______________.
6. The children were laughing ________________.

Exercise 3. Complete the sentences with an adjective or an adverb.

1. He is a __________ boy. (clever)
2. He is tired because he has worked __________. (hard)
3. He isn’t tired because he has worked __________. (hard)
4. She is a __________girl. (quiet)
5. She went to bed__________.(quiet)
6. He is not a good student, but he writes _________. (good)
7. You should speak more __________. (soft)
8. The children behaved__________ . (bad)
9. The brave men fought__________. (brave)
10. They lived together __________ . (happy)
11. She looks __________ . (pretty)
12. That milk tastes __________. (sour)
13. I don’t know where they live __________. (exact)
14. She turned __________. (pale)
15. This brown fur feels __________. (soft)

Exercise 4. Complete the sentences with an adjective or adverb.

1. These children are __________ at English. (good)
2. Your brother __________ works at all. (hard)
3. Ann __________ had an accident last Sunday. (near)
4. Have you been to the cinema__________? (late)
5. Mary always dresses __________. (beautiful)
6. Yes, it has been raining  __________ for two hours. (heavy)
7. He has painted it __________ . (nice)
8. What a __________ worker he is! (quick)
9. He is always very__________. (polite)
10. He is often__________. (nervous)
11. Arthur __________ rode back to the inn. (quick)
12. They saw a __________ butterfly on a rose. (beautiful)
13. When the teacher heard about the missing book, he said  __________:”You should be more careful.” (angry)
14. When he told him the truth, he was __________. (quiet)
15. “This wound looks __________,” the doctor said. (bad)

Exercise 5. Complete the sentences with an adjective or adverb.

1. The boys played so __________ that they won the tournament. (good)
2. He was so busy with his new computer that he __________ had any time to help his mother. (hard)
3. “Go and have a rest. You shouldn’t work so __________.” (hard)
4. From the top of the mountain he could see __________ across the countryside. (far)
5. What a__________ picture! (beautiful)
6. Arthur fought __________ and they won the battle. (good)
7. “I love you,” Camilla said in a __________  voice. (soft)
8. The maid shut the door__________. (quiet)
9. They could hear a__________ cry. (terrible)
10. Suddenly he woke up because the phone rang __________ . (loud)
11. Jane opened the door __________. (careful)
12. I like driving __________. (fast)
13. She spoke to me very __________ . (soft)
14. Paul lay in bed __________. (quiet)
15. He tasted the various kinds of tea __________. (careful)

Exercise 6. Fill in an adjective or an adverb.

1. Jane opened the box __________. (careful)
2. Jim turned the book upside down __________. (quick)
3. It is raining __________. (heavy)
4. She dresses __________ . (beautiful)
5. Tom looked at my lunch __________. (hungry)
6. Please drive __________ . (careful)
7. He didn’t sleep __________. (good)
8. We didn’t hurry. So, we walked __________. (slow)
9. New York is a __________ city. (big)
10. He won the race because he drove __________. (good)
11. It was __________  for me to come. (impossible)
12. Mary jumped up __________ . (happy)
13. She worked all day. She feels __________ . (tired)
14. She dresses __________. (pretty)
15. She came home __________. (late)

Exercise 7. Complete the sentences with an adjective or adverb.

1. He didn’t have an accident because he’s an __________ driver. (excellent)
   2. Sam is good at sports. He always runs __________. (fast)
   3. His father is a manager. He works very __________. (hard)
   4. He won a prize. He is very __________. (happy)
   5. She felt __________ . and had to stay at home. (ill)
   6. The weather was __________. It was cold all the time. (bad)
   7. The exercise wasn’t difficult. So, we did it __________. (easy)
   8. The soup is great. It tastes __________. (wonderful)
   9. He always greets __________ . (friendly)
   10. Today she skates __________. (good)
   11. The party was __________ . (wonderful)
   12. The house seems to be so __________  without you. (empty)
   13. Fish and chips taste __________. (fantastic)
   14. She drives __________. (careful)
   15. She is a nice girl. She always answers __________. (polite)

Exercise 8. Complete the sentences with an adjective or adverb.

1. I am __________ tired. (terrible)
2. The man drove too __________. (fast)
3. She sings __________ . (good)
4. Mr Jones wrote the letter __________. (quick)
5. The __________ film was over at 10 o’clock. (boring)
6. We ran to school __________ yesterday. (quick)
7. I have studied very __________ to pass the exam. (hard)
8. Five cars were __________ damaged. (heavy)
9. Please read the instructions __________. (careful)
10. The bus driver was __________. (angry)
11. His answer came __________. (surprising)
12. Tom looked at my dinner__________. (hungry)
13. Nobody is __________. (perfect)
14. We played some __________ games. (exciting)
15. They talked to him __________. (friendly)

Exercise 9. Complete the sentences with an adjective or adverb.

1. She always works __________. (careful)
2. Ann often behaves __________ in school. (bad)
3. He is often very __________. (nervous)
4. He works very __________. (good)
5. This steak tastes __________. (great)
6. She looked at me __________. (angry)
7. She looks__________. (pretty)
8. They skate __________. (good)
9. He was very __________ that he won the race. (happy)
10. That sounds __________. (great)
11. The doctor felt his leg __________. (gentle)
12. There was a __________ storm last night. (heavy)
13. I like roses. They smell __________. (good)
14. Their son is __________. (silly)
15. The cat’s fur felt __________ and __________. (soft / warm)

Exercise 10. Complete the sentences with an adjective or adverb.

1. This lady has a __________ voice (loud).
2. Jack always speaks __________ (loud).
3. Mary waits __________ in the doctor’s waiting room (patient).
4. Dad was quite __________ yesterday (sleepy).
5. Jim picked up the phone and spoke __________ (quiet).
6. Mary works __________  (careful).
7. Jack is often __________ (happy).
8. Nelly walked around __________ (nervous).
9. That man is a __________  person (nervous).
10. Susan and George work __________ (slow).
11. Jill runs to school __________ (fast).
12. Tom runs home __________ (quick).
13. His story sounds __________ (strange).
14. Paul is a policeman. He has a __________ job (dangerous).
15. The dog is always __________ (hungry).

Exercise 11. Use the words in brackest and complete with an adjective or adverb.

1. The boys play tennis __________. (good)
2. They are __________ tennis players. (good)
3. Frank sings __________. (good)
4. Sandra speaks French __________. (perfect)
5. This pullover was __________. (expensive)
6. She looked for the purse __________. (careful)
7. Paul walked home __________. (sad)
8. Father spoke __________. (angry)
9. She doesn’t like sports. So, she __________  does any sports. (hard)
10. He is never __________. (late)
11. She phoned me once a week. But __________ she didn’t. (late)
12. They did their homework __________. (bad)
13. I must work __________. (hard)
14. I don’t like her pictures. She paints __________. (terrible)
15. She likes the dress. It looks __________. (modern)

Exercise 12. Complete the sentences with an adjective or adverb.

1. Lucy is shy, so she cannot make friends __________ (easy)
2. The dog looked __________, so we gave him some food. (hungry)
3. There was long applause because she sang __________. (beautiful)
4. I asked her why she was __________, but she didn’t tell me. (sad)
5. They spoke __________ because the baby was asleep. (quiet)
6. My aunt is a __________ driver. (slow)
7. Was the exercise __________? (easy)
8. He could swim __________ across the river. (easy)
9. You don’t look very __________. Are you ill? (good)
10. He drives too __________. (dangerous)
11. This is my __________ car. (new)
12. The soup tastes really __________. (good)
13. Take an umbrella. It’s raining __________. (heavy)
14. What a __________day! (beautiful)
15. She is a__________  tennis player, but her brother plays __________. (bad / good)

Source:

https://www.english-4u.de/en/grammar/adjective-adverb.htm
https://www.niu.edu/writingtutorial/grammar/adjective-or-adverb.shtml
https://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/adjectives-and-adverbs.html
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/adverbs-forms