book adj and adv bbc confusing words

7/27/2019 Book Adj and Adv Bbc Confusing Words

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Adjectives and adverbs

Confusing words & expressions

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Adjectives and adverbs'actually', 'in fact' and 'well'

Yukki from Japan writes:

Could you please tell me the difference between actually in factand well! " thinkall of them can be used to correct the previous utterance# "s there any differencebetween them!

$hey are all very similar but there are also slight differences in use#

actually% in fact

oth actuallyand in factcan be used to modify or contradict a previous statement:

I hear that you're a doctor. ~ Well, actually, I'm a dentist.Well, it may sound very straightforward to you, but in factit's all very complicated.

Would you agree with me that teachers should refrain from socialising with theirstudents? ~ Well,actually I think it's a good idea for them to socialise - up to a

certain point

Actuallyand in fact can also be used to introduce more detailed information or tomake things clearer or more precise:

I'm going to take on a bit more responsibility now that !evin's left ~ "ohn, that's

wonderful news. ~ #es, well, actually$ in factI've been promoted to senior salesmanager.

I got so bored listening to what he was saying thatI actually fell asleep$ in fact Ifell asleep half way through his presentation.

'ote that we can also use in actual fact or as a matter of factto clarify matters orto introduce new information:

I got so bored with what he was saying that in actual fact$ as amatter of factI

do%ed off before he'd finished speaking.

Actuallyis sometimes used to introduce unwelcome news:

&ichard wants to invite us to spend the weekend at his cottage in the ake (istrict.

Isn't that e)citing? ~ Well, actually, I've already said we can't go.

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'ote that when actuallyis placed at the end of the clause it confirms news thatothers do not expect:

I don't suppose you've posted my letters, have you? ~ I have, actually.

(id you en*oy that modern opera at +ovent arden? ~ I did, actually. ery much.

well

Wellis more widely used as a discourse marker than in factor actually# As we cansee from the examples above and below it is very widely used to indicate that we areabout to say something# "t is sometimes used to give the speaker more time tothink:

o how much do you want for your /000 &enault? ~ Well, I was thinking of 12,344.

o how do you propose to furnish the house? ~ Well, I thought we might invest insome second-hand furniture.

Wellis also used to introduce a statement which indicates that expectations have

not been fulfilled:

#ou know I said I thought I might go skiing with "amie this year? Well, I'm notgoing to now.

5ow was the tennis lesson? ~ Well, in actual fact, we forgot to go.

Wellcan also be used to soften corrections or criticism:

#ou live in outh !ensington, don't you? Well, 6imlico, actually.#ou do like my yellow dress, don't you? ~ Well, yes, it's 7uite nice. 8ut I think the

blue one would have suited you more.Why didn't you give 8ob a lift back home? ~ Well, how was I supposed to know he

was at the match?I couldn't find my way to the music centre. ~ Well, why didn't you ask me?

Wellcan also serve to introduce important information:

#ou know I've been seeing a lot of 9ddie lately? ~ 5mm. ~Well, we're going to get

engaged.

Oh well(

"f you say oh well you are saying that you accept the situation as it is even thoughyou are not very happy about it:

I'm afraid you'll have to pull out of the trip to reece. ~ Oh well, it doesn't matter.

I'm afraid I forget to save that document and now I've lost it. ~ Oh well, it can't be

helped. I'll *ust have to re-type it.

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Adjective order" tried to answer latest )ui*net programme on your site of adjective order# " found ita bit tricky and difficult so could you please give me any help of this matter#:ndBelensays;+ay " ask which the correct order in adjectives is!

,i -asan and hello elen(

.hen we use two or more adjectives together to describe a noun the order we putthem in is /uite important# 0or example we don1t usually say an old Indian beautifulcarpet# "t sounds much better say a beautiful old Indian carpet#

As a general rule adjectives are usually placed in this order:

opinion 2 si*e 2 /uality 2 age 2 shape 2 colour 2 participle forms 2 origin 2material type 2 purpose

$he phrase a beautiful old Indian carpet follows these guidelines:

1 4 8quality age origin noun

a beautiful old "ndian carpet

You don1t have to include an example of every type of adjective but the ones you douse should follow the order# 3o if you wanted to add red and green to the phrase abeautiful old Indian carpet you would put it between old and Indian like this:

1 4 6 8oinion age colour origin noun

a beautiful old red and green "ndian carpet

"t sometimes helps to remember the order of adjective if you consider thatadjectives whose meaning is closely or permanently connected to the noun areplaced nearer to it in the sentence# 3o in this phrase: a large comfortable woodenchair 4 wooden has a very close connection with chair #

! " 1#

si$e qualitymaterial

tyenoun

a large comfortable wooden chair

,ere are some more examples:

" %quality articile noun

a new improved recipe1 " 1#

oinion quality tye nounan old5fashioned romantic candle5lit dinner for two

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3ometimes we can use but between adjectives especially if their meanings seemcontradictory#

! "si$e quality noun

a small but tasty meal

"f we use 6 adjectives that are similar in meaning we usually put the shorter onefirst: a soft, comfortable cushion.

" hope that1s answered your interesting 7nglish /uestions -asan and elen(

&atherine

Adverials

A grou a (anish learners of )nglishhave written with the following /uestion*

,ello( .e are 3panish students and we want to find out all we can about adverialsin 7nglish with explanations and examples#

An adverialis an adver, adverial hraseor adverial clausewhich gives usadditional information about e#g# the time, lace, ormanner of the action which isdescribed in the rest of the sentence:

We have been living here in this house for over twenty years.

We were sleepingpeacefully in our beds when the earthquake struck.

0rom these examples you can see that the most common position for adverbials isat the end of the sentence -lace adverbials 8here in this house9 come before timeadverbials 8for over twenty years9# +anner adverbials 8eacefully9 come beforeplace adverbials 8in our eds9#

$hey do not always follow this pattern# $his applies particularly to adverbial clauses#"n the above example we could begin with the adverbial clause if it was important tohighlight it at this stage in the discourse:

When the earthquake struck, we were sleepingpeacefully in our beds.

$hus adverbials answer /uestions such as:

Where+ When+ ow+ Why+

ow often+ ow long+ ow much+

Wheredid you arrange to meet him! " arranged to meet him outside the an-#

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Whydid you arrange to meet him there!(o that he could give me the money#

ow longdid you wait for him!" waited for half an hourbut he didn1t arrive#

Whendid you firstmeet him!.e firstmet when he ecame the manager of the an-#

ow often have you been seeing him since then!Once a wee-, usually. /ore frequently, if his wife was away#

'ote from the above examples that advers of frequencyare often placed in mid0ositionin the sentence as well as at end0osition# -lacing themefore thesujectis sometimes also possible:

Isometimescall on my younger sister when I'm in London

I neversee my older sister, but occasionallyI call my younger sister.

#es I see her from time to time. We get togetheronce in a blue moon.

adverial clauses

A wide variety of different conjunctions are used to initiate adverbial clauses whichfunction as the adverbial part of a main clause# 3ome of the most common are listedbelow:

time: when after before as soon as

reason: because since as

purpose: so that in order to

contrast: although whereascomparison: as if as though

condition: if provided 8that9 so long as in case

.e served drinks as soon as our friends arrived#After we had eaten we played cards#

We moved to +ornwall because we wanted to live in the countryside.sthe winters in the north eastcan be quite harsh, we decided to move to

the south west.

I finished work earlyin order to catch the !."# train.

I left work earlyso that I could catch the !."# train.

When I arrived homeI went to see "oan although it was very late.

Whereas in the $#s and %#s most men worked until they were or&, nowadays most retire when they are in their fifties.

5e shook my hand warmly as if ( as though he had known me for years.

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#ou can borrow my car on aturday,provided ( so long as you return it

by seven o' clock in the evening.


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the pronounit# $hey are both used with the preposition for and are often used withnegative prefixes# $he adjectival form suitale 5forsometimes crops us in the verbformat suited 5to# 3tudy the following examples:

"t is inaroriateto make jokes at funerals# "t was inaroriatefor her to joke with the )ueen in such a light5hearted

manner# $he clothes she was wearing were /uite unsuitale2inaroriatefor the

cold weather# ;oes this dress suit me! ?#?@ an hour 5 was barely adequateto raise a family on#

,is answer to the /uestion was adequatebut it wasn1t developed

sufficientlyto gain high marks# $he -rime +inister gave an inadequatereply to the journalist1s /uestion# $he action taken to combat the spread of malaria was /uite inadequate# $here were not enough seats for all the guests# $he supply of seats was /uite

inadequate# $here was easily enough food for every one# $here was a sufficientamount

of food# $here wasinsufficientevidence to convict him of house5breaking#

Aro7imately 2 3oughly 2 Aout 2 early

;ear 3irs

Could you please explain the difference in usage of appro)imately roughly aboutnearly!

+any thanks in advance#5 3amad

,i 3amad# " wonder why you asked this /uestion 4 are you by any chance writing areport!( All of the words you list above are adverbs which describe a /uantity orvariation in /uantity# .ell these words are known as degree adverbs and one of the

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differences between the words you mention is their degree of formality which wouldaffect the times you use them#

:ppro)imately, about, nearlyand roughlyare most usually used to modifymeasurements or /uantities# And "m going to start with the adverb which is moreformal in tone which is appro)imately# Just listen to these examples:

:ppro)imately half of the residents in the survey stated that they agreed with the

government>s plan to reduce traffic in the city centre.

6olice say that the main suspect charged in the case escaped from custody

appro)imately twelve days ago.

" think 3amad youll realise that these examples could be part of an academic paperor an official report# "ts not impossible to use appro)imately in speech but youd befar more likely to useroughly, nearly orabout in everyday situations and the rest ofmy explanation will look at the use of these three adverbs#

"ane told me that she spends nearly one-third of her salary on rent.

I guess there>ll be roughly thirty people going to the party tonight.

8ecause the traffic was bad, it took about four hours to get to my aunt>s house.

8y about five o>clock, the library was deserted.

"ts possible to interchange roughlyand aboutin each of these four sentences withthe same meaning#:bout can be confusing for learners when they first see it as adegree adverb because theyre familiar with its use in prepositional phrases such as

8ooks and newspapers were spread about all over the room#

earlyis slightly different to roughlyand about because nearlymeans Balmost orBnot /uite# 3o if Jane spends nearlyone5third of her salary on rent it means thatshe spends just under one5third# "f we said roughlyor about her rent could beslightly more or slightly less than one5third# "f it takes me nearlyten minutes to walkto the station it means it takes me not /uite ten minutes# All of these adverbs couldbe used in writing too but if youre writing a report itd be usual to enter the actualfigures or percentages in brackets so:

&oughly half @3ABC of the children in the study could not identify the D on a map ofthe world.

"n conversation we often use aboutwhen talking about time:

hall we meet at about seven o>clock?

5e says he>ll be here in about five minutes.

And interestingly we often talk about distances in terms of time:

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I live about half an hour out of town.

It>s about three hours on the train to ondon.

.ell 3amad thank you for your /uestion " think thats aboutall " have to say aboutthese adverbs(

'As well as' and 'in addition to'

9an Anh from 9ietnamasks:

+y /uestion is: what is followed by as well as! 0or example can we say " can swimas well as cook well!

" think it all depends on whether it is used as part of an adverbial phrase whenmaking comparisons in which case the infinitive or simple form of the verb is the

norm or whether it is used as a conjunction introducing clauses of comparison andsimilar in meaning to in addition to in which case the 15ing1 pattern is re/uired# etus compare the two usages:

asD adj D as D clause%phrase

as D adv D asD clause%phrase

0or example:

1" saw as many asthree thousand people at the concert#1 1,e was badly injured but " did as much as " could to make him

comfortable#1 1" waited for as long as " dared but when it got dark " went home#1 1-lease come as quic-ly asyou can# +y father is very ill#1 1$he "rish played as well asthe 3cots but didn1t convert as many attempts

on goal#1 1Eichardson was as good an actor as Fieldgud 8was9#1

'ote that if an adjective is placed between asand the nouna% anmust be placed after the adjective#

.hat is interesting in your example Gan Anh is that if you say: 1" can swim as wellas cook well1 you are stating that these are two things that you can do whereas if

you say: 1" can swim as well as " can cook1 you are stating that you can do boththese things to an e/ual degree of proficiency#

.hen we use as well as 5 similar in meaning and usage to in addition to 5 as asubordinating conjunction the 15ing1 form in the verb which follows is re/uired:

1As well asplaying tennis with 3teve three times during the week " 8also9play badminton with my wife at the weekend#1

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1:n addition toworking on his -h#;# dissertation he 8also9 translates articlesfor $he .eekly Eeview#1

'ote here that the adverb as well is similar in meaning to as well as and is oftenused as an alternative to too# 'ote that both as well and too must be used at theend of the sentence:

1.e enjoyed a rare night out last night# .e ate at uigi1s and went to thecinema as well#1 8 H As well as eating out we 8also9 went to the cinema#9

1.e eat well here in 3ardinia# $he wine is excellent too#1 1+y wife is a chemist and both her parents were chemists as well#1

'ote the special use of as long as which is similar in meaning and use to rovidedthat# oth are more emphatic forms of if and are used to introduce conditions:

1As long asyou promise to help me " don1t mind cooking for twelve peopleon 7aster 3unday#1

1"1ll join you on this skiing holiday rovided " can have my own room at the

hotel#1

'eside' 2 'esides' and 'toward' 2 'towards'

(anjay ;humar


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1.hat exam subjects are you taking esides7nglish and maths!1 1.ere there any boys at the party esides+att and ;illon!1

"t can also introduce a participial phrase:

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complete%completely9 have negative meanings and are used only in negativecontexts:

$o say that we1ll be landing on Jupiter in 6@I@ is utter nonsense#

"f you think that then you are a complete and utter fool#

$o spend all day window5shopping especially at Christmas is an utter waste of time#

$hey had no means of support and were utterly dependent on their parents#

$o suggest that there should be a total ban on smoking is utterly ridiculous#

comlete 0 comletely

&omleteand comletelyare much more neutral and can be used in positiveneutral and negative contexts:

Jon has sent me ten red roses and that has come as a complete surprise#

"1m a pessimist and she1s an optimist so she1s the complete opposite of me#

,e has lied to me so there is a complete breakdown of trust between us#

$he -+1s treatment for an irregular heartbeat has been completely successful#

.hen " go on holiday next year "1m looking for something completely different#

;o*ens of homes have been completely destroyed in the floods#

,owever despite the flexibility of this adjective%adverb we cannot say comletelye7cited#


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awful 0 awfully

'ote that awfuland awfullyfollow a similar pattern# As an adjective awfulis used

only in negativecontexts but as an adverb awfullyhas othnegative and positivemeanings:

"t1s an awful shame that she1s unable to come back home for the holidays#

3he was late and " was worried that something awful had happened to her#

,e was awfully drunk# "t was an embarrassment to have him there#

,e may get on your nerves but he has always been awfully nice to me#

3he1s awfully pretty don1t you think! $he most striking person in the room(

"t1s awfully good of you to find the time to help us with this#

awesome

'ote that awesome meaning very imressive and sometimes a littlefrighteningis a favourite adjective used by young people and people in the mediacurrently:

$hierry ,enry1s ability as a footballer is just awesome#

"t was an awesome party# .e danced all night and then watched the sun coming up

over the sea# 'o better way to welcome in the 'ew Year#

adjectives*comaritive and suerlative forms


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pretty prettier prettiest

happy happier happiest

dirty dirtier dirtiest

messy messier messiest

Yours is themessiestroom " have ever seen# 3he was therettiest and haiest girl at the party#

'ote that other common two5syllable adjectives ending in an unstressed vowelnormally take the 0er%0est patterns:

simple simpler simplest

clever cleverer cleverest

$hecleverest solution to any problem is usually the simlestone#


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Why don't you sit here?


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All the children were as good as goldwhen they came to visit me# $hese stories are as old as the hillsand have been passed down from

generation to generation#

Eemember that when we are measuring or comparing things that are of une/ualproportion we need to use the structure comarative @ than:

et me finish the report# " can type much faster thanyou 8can9# ,e played the piece of musicmore slowly than" had ever heard it played

before#

asas suordinating conjunction

'ote that asby itself is used as a subordinating conjunction in a variety of differentways#

as H when 8for clauses of time9

.e may use asas an alternative to when when we are comparing two short actionsor events that happened or happen at the same period of time# .e often combine itwith just:

3he left the house 8just9asthe sun was rising# $he telephone rang 8just9 as" was climbing into my bath#

asH ecause8for clauses of reason9

.e may use as as an alternative to ecausewhen the reason is already known orself5evident to the reader of listener# As 5 clauses are often placed at the beginningof sentences#


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Ashis father it is your duty to ensure that he goes to school every day# Asyou are his father it is your duty to ensure that he goes to school every

day# Asa social historian " am always interested in peoples life styles#


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Boesn't it concern you+3he1s only nineteen#

$he pollution problem in that part of the river is eginningto concernallthe local anglers#

concern 5noun worry

.hen concernis used as a noun it expresses worry about a situation:

$here is growing concernthat the climbers may have lost their lives#

,e expressed deeconcernabout the way in which the elections had beenheld#

concern 5ver 2 concerning 5re aout .hen you use concernorconcerningin this way you are indicating what a /uestion or a topic is about#&oncerningand relating toare the formal e/uivalents of the much more informalaout#

Compare the following:

.hy are you arguing! What's it allaout+What does it concern!

:t's aoutthe long lunch breaks enjoyed by the senior executives#

:t concernsthe long lunch breaks enjoyed by the senior executives#

0or information concerning 2 relating toopening hours during the summermonths contact the club secretary#

"f you want to know aoutopening hours in the summer months give Joan aring#

A number of /uestions had been tabledrelating to 2 concerningthedangers of the new vaccine#

.e had a lot of /uestions about people1s concernsaoutthe new vaccine#

concerned as ast articile involved 2 affected

$he participle modifies the noun or pronoun in these examples and can be usedinstead of a participle clause:

$here was a brawl outside the nightclub# =hose concernedwere held incustody overnight# % $he youths 5who were involved were held in custodyovernight#

+any have lost their savings# =he ensioners concernedwill receivesubstantial compensation % =he ensioners who are affectedy thiswillreceive compensation#

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as far as :'m concerned in my oinion

.hen you want to express an opinion you can use this formula as an alternative toin my viewor in my oinion:

As far as :'m concerned 2 :n my view 2 :n my oinion,the 7nglish

football supporters should not be held responsible for starting the fight#

as far as 7 is concerned concerning 7

You can use these expressions to introduce the topic that you wish to talk about orthe issue you want to refer back to 5 i#e# it may have been raised once already andyou as the current speaker want to return to that topic# As far as 7 is concernedis a bit less formal than concerning 7:

As far as foreign languages are concerned " think they should be taughtin primary schools#

&oncerning foreign languages in my view it is appropriate to teach themat primary school level#

'effect' 'affect' and 'efficient' 'effective'

Warda Camalfrom >a-istanasks:

" always get confused in the usage of effect and affect# -lease give examples oftheir use in sentences#

;isy ;esh from Duadaloue writes:

"m IL and "ve been studying 7nglish for a few years now# "d like to know thedifference between efficientand effective and the way to use them#

affect E effect

Affect and effect are often confused .arda even by native speakers of 7nglish#$he most important thing to remember is that affect is used as a verb and effect isnormally used as a noun# .hen they are used in this way they are similar inmeaning signifying Binfluence Bimpact or Bchange# Compare the following:

1$he really hot weather affectedeverybodys ability to work#1

1" know my neighbours play loud music late at night but that doesnt affectme#" can sleep through anything#1

1$he number of tourists travelling to ritain this year has not been affectedby the strength of the pound#1

1$he tablets which he took every four hours had no noticeable effect on hisheadache#1

1+y words of comfort had little effect# 3he just went on crying and wouldntstop#1

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'ote: we talk about someone or somethinghaving an effect on something orsomeone# "f we use effect as a verb it means to Bcarry out or to Bcause somethingto happen but it is used only in very formal 7nglish# Consider the following:

1Eepairs could not be effected because the machines were very old#1

efficient E effective

$hese two /ualitative adjectives are often confused isy# "f somebody or somethingis efficient then he she or it works in a well5organised way without wasting timeor energy# Consider the following examples:

13he was efficientin everything she did and was fre/uently commended forexemplary service to the organisation#1

1,e hasnt made very efficient use of his time in revising for these exams: hehas made no notes and his concentration spans appear to last for no longerthan ten minutes#1

1$his engine is really efficient it can run for M@ km on only I litre of fuel#1

"f something is effective it works well and produces the results that were intended#Consider the following examples:

1$hese tablets really are effective# +y headaches much better now#1 1$he only effectiveway to avoid hay fever at this time of the year if you are

a sufferer is to stay indoors#1

)minent 2 rominent

-lease " could not understand the difference between eminentandprominentK 5Javed Ahmed#

,ello Javed( 9minent andprominent are both adjectives and they can both be usedto talk about people who are very well5known and successful in their profession#,ere are some example sentences:


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example a pop star might beprominentbut they probably wouldn1t be described aseminent#

Andprominenthas a couple of other meanings as well# "t can mean 1easy to see ornotice1# 0or example we could say:

5is arm was badly cut in the accident and he has been left with a prominent scar.

And a further meaning ofprominentis 1sticking out1 for example:


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asolutely2simly2utterly2totally2comletely2erfectly

$hese emphasi*ing adverbs are normally used with adjectives that are in themselvesalready /uite absolute# $hey give even greater emphasis to what is said#


Your advice was invaluable 4 asolutely invaluable( " was simly ama*ed when she said that she was going to marry ,enry# "t was erfectlyclear that she was serious and " was totally powerless to

stop her# " felt that she was comletely wrong to even think about it and " am utterly

exhausted by it all#

comletely orquite

'ote that quitecan mean very muchor comletely# "t can also mean fairlyor tosome e7tent#


Are you quitecertain that Jacks in -aris! &omletelysure!"m absolutely sure#

Are you coming to the pub!'o "m quitetired a bit sleepy# " think "ll go to bed#

certainly orsurely

.hen it is used in response to a re/uest or suggestion surelymeans certainlyandthey can be used interchangeably#


Can you give me a hand washing up!(urely( % &ertainly( % 'o problem(

.ould you join us for supper tonight!(urely( .here are you eating!

,owever surely can also be used to express the speakers surprise that somethingis happening# &ertainly CA''


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(urelyyoure not suggesting she poisoned him on purpose!" cant believe you could think that(

enough2sufficient2adequate

" would like to know the differences in meaning and use of enough sufficient andade/uate#enough E sufficient

)nough8where the second syllable is pronounced as in puffor stuff9 and sufficientare very similar semantically meaning as much as is needed:

" dont have enough time to finish reading this report before the meeting# ut " havesufficient information to know what the outcome should be#

.e have sufficient evidence to convict him for the crimes he has committed#

adequate

Adequateis also close in meaning to enoughand sufficient# "t suggests thatsomething is good enoughor large enough for a articular urose:

$his country will never maintain an ade/uate supply of trained teachers if so manyleave the profession after four or five years#$his little car is perfectly ade/uate for any driving you need to do in town#,is computer skills were ade/uate for the type of work re/uired of him#

inadequate E insufficient

'ote that the negative of sufficientand adequatecan be formed with the prefixin0# 0or the negative of enoughwe have to use not:

$he level of funding available for the training of teachers is inade/uate#" have insufficient resources to be able to deal effectively with this problem#.e dont have enough milk if everybody wants cappuccino#

enough as an adver

)noughcan also be used as an adverto modify an adjective an adveror aver# .hen it is used in this way it comes after the adjective adverb or verb:

"n this climate its not warm enough to go out without a jumper in the evening#Youve missed him "m afraid# You didnt get up early enough#" didnt work hard enough so " was unsuccessful in the exam#" didnt revise enough so " didnt pass the exam#

+odifying adverbs of course are normally placed before the adjectives or adverbsthat they modify so if we want to use the less common sufficientlyin theseexamples instead of enough they will look like this:

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"n this climate its not sufficiently warm to go out without a jumper at night#Youve missed him "m afraid# You didnt get up sufficiently early#" didnt work sufficiently hard so " was unsuccessful in the exam#" didnt revise sufficiently so " didnt pass the exam#

enough as a ronoun

)noughcan also be used alone without a noun when the meaning is clear:

"ve only saved up >6?@# .ill that be enough for this type of holiday!3ome more dressing on your salad!


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secially 0 for a articular urose

,owever when seciallyis used to mean for a particular purpose this form of theadverb is the norm:


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/. A. ;haliel from (audia Araia writes:-lease let me know how to use adjectives and their formation#

Hun is sometimes used as an adjective in the following contexts:

"t was a fun thing to do# "t was a funplace to go to# 3he is a funperson to be with#

instead of:

3he is funto be with# "t was funto go there# "t was funto do that#

Hun here means pleasant and enjoyable# "t%she made you feel happy#

,owever funny is the normal adjective and fun is normally used as a noun# 'otethat when funny is used as an adjective in this way it will have one of two /uitedifferent meanings# Consider the following:

3he is a funnyperson# 3he makes me laugh#

3he is a funnyperson# ,er behaviour is really strange#

Adjectives describe the /ualities of people things and places# $hey are one of thelargest word classes in 7nglish# $hey are normally placed before a noun but as wesaw above they can also come after the verb to e and also after other linkingverbs such as stay loo- seem aear ecome etc# 3tudy the following:

A tall young man and a petite middle5aged woman were walking along thenarrow road# $asty fresh white 0rench bread is always best served with 3tilton cheese and

red wine# $he fine sunny weather is set to continue# "t will stay fine for the next few

days# 'ew ideas are always interesting and exciting#

'ote that if we have more than one adjective before a noun the order in which theyappear is not always fixed although it tends to be in this order: /uality si*e agecolour class# Check to see to what extent this is true in the above examples#

'ote also that we often use adverbs of degree to modify the meanings of theadjectives we use# Among the most common are very too quite rather muchmore and most# Consider the following:

"t was verynoisy in the garden but much /uieter in the house# " would have said he was rather tall# ut my mother described him as

e7ceedingly tall# 3he is a very gifted child# ,er teacher says that she is too intelligent for her

class#

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adjectival endings

+any of the most common adjectives have no special endings# Consider these pairswhich are opposite in meaning:

light 5 dark % heavy cool 5 warm difficult 5 easy % simple

sad 5 happy rough 5 smooth cruel 5 kind

,owever many common adjectives can be recognised as such by their endings# ,ereare some of the most common:

0al* typical special international industrial mental physical general

0ant* pleasant significant tolerant deviant conversant variant valiant

0ent* different violent patient sufficient convenient excellent fre/uent

0ous* serious anxious nervous dangerous obvious famous conscious

0ic* terrific horrific democratic domestic scientific platonic sympatheticbasic

0y* filthy dirty dusty messy noisy sandy stony rocky healthy hungryangry

0ive* active passive secretive attractive expensive sensitive native

0ale* comfortable regrettable probable enjoyable fashionable

0ile* possible horrible terrible sensible susceptible

0ful* useful careful beautiful skilful grateful faithful

0less* useless careless pointless breathless tireless toothless

0ed* interested bored tired surprised worried confused excited

0ing* interesting boring tiring surprising worrying confusing exciting

'good' and 'well'

(ven Wagner from (wedenasks:

.hy do you use goodinstead of well in the following phrase!:

1.e eat goodand drink well#1 8An 7nglish colleague put it that way#9

goodH adjectivewellH adverb

$herefore it has to be we eat well as we are describing how we eat and drink# "tmight be said that adverbs answer the /uestion ow+whilst adjectives answer

the /uestion What sort of+

3tudy the following:

13he speaks good Japanese#1

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13he speaks Japanese well#1 13he speaks Japanese etter than " do#1

'ote that better is the comparative form of both good and well#"n 7nglish we often play around with basic language whether consciously orunconsciously for effect# 3o whilst 1we eat welland drink well1 would be

grammatically correct 1we eat good and drink well1 may be more effective in termsof impact because it breaks the grammatical rule# " would not recommend ithowever if you are taking an exam but it will sound goodover a drink with friends#

.hy not sound well in this particular example! "t is because when we use verbssuch as e seem aear sound loo- feel smell taste they are followed byadjectives rather than adverbs as we are describing the subject of the sentencerather than the action of the verb#

3o we have:

13he loo-s really goodin those clothes#1 1$he food at the reception tasted really good 5 etter than the food we had

last year#1 1$here1s no way he1ll get a distinction but the work he1s done appears good

enough for a pass#1 1" felt really good when she congratulated me on winning the essay pri*e#1

0or similar reasons we would talk about:A good0loo-ing woman#A good0naturedboy# 8gooddescribes his nature9

ut we would also say:

A well0dressedwoman# 8welltells us how she dresses9 A well0ehavedboy# 8well tells us how he behaves9

ook up good and well in your dictionaries to see if you can find further examples ofadjectives formed in this way#

$he only time when well can be used as an adjective by itself is when we are talkingabout someone1s health# ,ere wellmeans in good health# Compare the following:

1,ow are you today!1 10ine# Gery well thanks# % 'ot very well actually#1 1" often feel unwell when "1m on a boat but as soon as " get off "1m fine#

'ote that the expression well and good is used to indicate that you find a particularsituation satisfactory or acceptable# $hus we might say:

1"f you can do the job in less time and leave early " don1t mind# $hat1s 8allvery9 well and good#1

1"f you want to stay here on your own over Christmas well and good#

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"ncidentally there is now a trend among young people particularly in the IO 5 6?age range to use well instead of veryin expressions like:

1" am well hay with that#1 1" was well tired last night# 13he was well leased with her birthday present#1

Again it breaks the rule and is effective in the impact it makes#

Well used in this way often refers to exceptional circumstances or is used as asummary statement# " wonder if this creative use of the 7nglish language hasreached you yet in your part of the world!

hardly2scarcely...neither2nor....so2too

Olga :vanova from I$e-istan writes:

"f my friend says to me:

: hardly -now this author

and if " hardly know her should " answer:

either do :


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not either

As an alternative to neither%noryou can also use not either which has the samemeaning but normal word order:

3he had changed so much# " could hardly%scarcely recognise her# "couldn't either#

"1ve got hardly%scarcelyany money left# .hat about you! " haven'teither#

neithernor

eitherKnorare used together when we want to link two negative ideas:

.hen " spoke to him he neithersmiled norlooked at me# eitherthe chairman northe treasurer was % were able to attend the

meeting# ;on1t bother preparing dessert because neither Janenor Julie eat % eats

anything sweet#

'ote that when singular subjects are connected with neitherKnor the verb whichfollows can be either singular or plural#

so 2 too

.hen the fre/uency of occurrence increases from neveror hardly ever tooccasionallyor sometimes these adverbs give a positive rather than a negativemeaning to what is being said# "f we wish to agree with statements in a positive waythis is our opportunity to use soor too# Compare the following:

" would neverwork as a shop assistant in a large department store# eitherwould"#

" could hardly% scarcely understand a word he was saying or couldyour parents#

either,enry nor ,arry is% are coming to 7dward1s party# "1m noteither#

$hey occasionally eatlunch at 1$he lue -arrot1#(o does$om# % $om does too#

" sometimes have towork at weekends to get everything done (o dowe#% .e do too#

" goto the cinema quite often5 twice a week usually# /etoo# % (o do"#

3he always usesolive oil in her cooking (o domy 3panish friends % +y 3panish friends do too#

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'ote that the expressions /e tooand /e neither both of which are used in veryinformal speech can only be used with first person singular agreement:

ook it1s already two o1 clock and " haven1t done any work today# /eneither#

"1m so tired " could sleep for twelve hours# /e too#

hardly, hardly ever, hardly any

>ualfrom =hailandwrites:

"1ve learned that the words hardlyand rarelyhave the same meaning and thatmoreover we can use these words interchangeably in any sentence# "s this right orwrong!

$hey are not /uite interchangeable as they stand but need some modification first of

all# "f we add everto hardlyto arrive at hardly ever then this is synonymous withrarelyand also with seldom#

hardly ever

$hese adverbs describe how fre/uently or regularly something happens# $hus alonga spectrum of fre/uency starting with most fre/uent and ending with least fre/uentwe might find the following:

.ell doctorK# " alwayshave two meat rolls for breakfast# .ithout fail# 7veryday#

" usuallyhave poached eggs on toast at the weekend#

'ot every weekend# ut most weekends# " often 2 frequentlyhave two chocolate biscuits or a pastry with my

morning coffee# 'ot every day# ut most days " have to confess# And " sometimeshave a brandy with my coffee after

lunch# After a particularly good lunch# " hardly ever 2 rarely 2 seldomeat a full 7nglish

breakfast#


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hardly

ardly as an adverb by itself means only just and e/uates with arelyandscarcely#

Jonathan could hardlywalk but already knew how to swim# " arely% hardly% scarcelyknew Jack although " know he was a great

friend of John1s# .e had arely% hardly% scarcelyfinished dinner when they arrived#

hardly @ any 5@ 0one20thing

ardly anymeans very little or very few and is the opposite of lenty of orcollo/uially loads of# 'ote again the negative tone in which it is used:

"1ve got lenty offriends but hardly anymoney# " knew hardly anyodyat the party but atie knew loads ofpeople nearly

everybody in fact# "t1s worth hardly anything 5 practically nothing( Just a few pounds perhaps# ,e1s hardly said anythingto anybody since the accident# ,e1s said hardly anythingto anybody since the accident#

':ncredile' and 'unelievale'

:rene &ordoa from


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1+y performance at the Christmas concert was unbelievably bad#1 1$he weather on the mountain yesterday was unbelievable# $here was no

chance of us getting to the top#1 1$he operation was performed under almost unimaginable conditions# "t is

unbelievable that he survived#1 1$he new computer game was unimaginably difficult# 'either +ike nor " could

work out how to progress from level I to level 6#1

:nversion after negative e7ressions and 'only...'

Cana from =he &$ech 3eulic asks:

" have tried to learn 7nglish via the C which is great( " like your )ui*net but "need an explanation for the fifth item of )ui* $hree: ?# Choose the correct answer:


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1'ever before had " seen such realistic dinosaurs as there were in the Ctelevision series#1 8$his is a reference to a recent C series# "f you want toknow more have a look at the web site 5 .alking with ;inosaurs#9

1'o sooner had " arrived at the station than the train came in#1 1Earely do we see such brightly5coloured birds#1 13eldom do we walk on such green grass#1

13carcely had we finished lunch when the bell rang for afternoon classes#1

Eemember you are registering surprise or something similar when you do this# "f itis inappropriate to be so emphatic you would say:

1.e had scarcely finished lunch when the bell rang for afternoon classes#1

:nversion after negative e7ressions, so, and in conditionals+

Atefestudying 7nglish in&anadawrites:

"1m getting ready for the $


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$hese expressions are used in a similar way to 3o would " etc to expressagreement with negative statements:

I can't swim very well and neither can my sister.

I wouldn't dream of going into the water if the temperature is below 24 +

and nor would any southerner.

inversion after negative e7ressions

.e can use inversion in statements for the purpose of emhasis if we decide tostart the statement with a negative expression# Compare the following:

/nder no circumstanceswould I wear a mini-skirt.

I wouldn't wear a mini-skirt under any circumstances.

"n this example the first statement is more emphatic than the second one# .e canuse this approach with a wide variety of adverbial negative expressions although itmakes them sound rather formal# Compare the following:

t no time would he allow his team mates to argue with the referee.

0arely ( 1eldomhave I seen such an e)citing game of football.

2ardlyhad I taken my seat before two goals were scored.

I had to show him my press pass and only thendid he let me in.

Only whenthe players had changed into smart clothes after the match werethey allowed to talk to the


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is actually that " arrive at the station and then the train doesnt come in for hours#

ut to answer your /uestion if " say Qno sooner had " arrived at the station than thetrain came inR it means " came in and right after me the train# " got there firstKjust( "ll give you another couple of examples:

Q'o sooner had " put the phone down than it rang againR#

Q'o sooner had " finished the meal than " started feeling hungry againR#

"ts actually a rather literary construction# "d expect to read it maybe write it but "probably wouldnt say it# "nstead " think "d say something like this:

Q$he train came in just after " got to the stationR or Q had only just got to the stationwhen the train came inRKor something like that#

ardly and scarcely

$heres two similar structures also rather literary that have got the same meaning

with Bhardly and Bscarcely# You could say Qhardly had " arrived at the station whenthe train came inR or Qscarcely had " arrived at the station when the train came inR#

3ame meaning: " got there just before the train# "ts a slightly different structure tothe one with Bno sooner because with no sooner we use Bthan 4 after acomparative sooner 4 with Bhardly and Bscarcely we say QwhenR: Qhardly had "arrived when the train came inR#

$rains are actually a bit unreliable in ritain today as "ve suggested# " was on onerecently on the way to ondon we were moving extremely slowly and the drivermade an announcement over the loudspeaker saying Qwe apologise for the slowrunning of the train but we have been moved onto a branch line because of

engineering works and we are likely to stay there for the foreseeable future(R#

" was pretty upset because it was my birthday and " really didnt want to spend it ona train between


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meanings it means both e7ensiveand well0li-ed as well as featuring inexpressions such as Oh dear( or in letters as in Bear(ir# $he problem with costlymay be that it looks like an adverb as itends in 0ly# $his is confusing as mostadversend in 0ly butcostly is an e7cetionand is an adjective# Compare thefollowing uses and collocations in these examples:

It wasan e)pensive suit, but if you want to work for this firm, you have todress well.


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I'm going to give a house a thorough clean.

I'm going to thoroughlycleanthe house.

ut note that we cannot form adverbs in this way when the adjective ends in 0ly#.e cannot say: friendlily oruglily orsillily# .e have to find some other way ofmodifying the verb e#g#:


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(on't talkso loud. 9verybody in the room can hear you. @loud K informal

usageC

"onathanspoke loudlyand convincingly about the advantages of leasing

rather than buying cars. @loudly K more formal usageC

Ji-ely 2 li-ely that 2 li-ely to

3einhard offman from Dermany writes*

" would like to ask you about the meaning and grammatical construction of thephraseli-ely to e hard ressedto in the following sentence:

Kthis region is one of the least developed in China and the authorities are li-ely toe hard ressed to respond to the disaster#

li-ely

Ji-elyis most often used as an adjective meaning roale 8opposites unli-ely 2imroale9# "f something is likely it is probably going to happen:


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As an alternative we can use the e unli-ely to @ infinitiveconstruction with anormal subject but roalecannot be used in this way:


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" am confused as to when " can use participles as adjectives# et me give you anexample# " can say: " saw a barking dog# ,ere the present participle barking is usedas an adjective# ut " can1t say: " saw a barked dog using the past participle as anadjective# .hy not! $hanks#ar-ing dogs K yes L ar-ed dogs K no L

$here are not very many adjectives formed from verb participles $utul that can beused in both 0edand 0ingforms#

You can often get a sense of what works and what doesn1t by transforming theparticipial adjective into a participial clause#

"f it doesn1t make sense as a participle in a clause it is unlikely to make sense as aparticiple adjective# Consider the following:

$he barking dogs kept me awake all night#

$he dogs that were barking kept me awake all night#

$he barked dogs kept me awake all night#

$he dogs that had been barked kept me awake all night#


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ro-en hearts K yes L rea-ing waves K yes L

3he is suffering from a broken heart

,er heart has been broken by his cruel behaviour#

$he breaking waves pushed the surfboard further out to sea#

,uge waves breaking on the beach pushed the surtboard out to sea#

alarmed houses K yes L alarming reorts K yes L

Alarmed houses afford some protection against burglary#

,ouses which are alarmed afford some protection against burglary#

Alarming reports are coming in that refugees are being racially abused#

Eeports are coming in that refugees are being racially abused# $his alarms me#

A small number of verbs have ast articilesthat can be used as adjectivesbefore nouns with active meanings. 'ote with these examples there may not be somuch change in meaning between the 0ingand 0ed forms:

falling2fallen K yes L advanced2advancing K yes L develoing2develoedK yes L

$he falling leavescovered the path and made it /uite slippery#

$he leaves that were fallingcovered the path and made it slippery#

$he fallen treesblocked the road and only pedestrians could get through#

$he trees that had fallenblocked the road and made it /uite impassable#

.hen we think of countries that are still develoingand countries that havedeveloed it is true to say that:

a9 develoing countries need as much help as they can get#

b9 it is the develoed nationswhich should provide it#

$his class is appropriate only for advanced students#

"t is suitable for students who have advancedbeyond level five#

$he advancing armysurrounded the city and cut off all its supply lines#

$he army, which was advancingrapidly had cut off the city by nightfall#

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)d and 0ing as adjectives*>atri$ia 3aalifrom :talywrites:

"1m "talian but "1m working in "reland now#

"t sounds as if they say :'m finishedor Are you finished+to state or to ask if youhave concluded your work#

.hy do they use to einstead of to have!

3houldn1t they say: :'vefinished and ave youfinished!! " don1t understand#$hank you for your answer#

$he confusion arises because finishedoperates both as an adjectiveand as theast tense and ast articileof the verb to finish#

3o if your colleagues say 1.e1re finished for today1 they are using it as anadjective#

"f they say 1.e1ve finished work for today1 they are using it as the ast articileof the verb to finish# 8$his would be more normal in standard )nglish9#

0ed as an adjective

.hen we use it as an adjective we can talk about thingseing finishedas wellas eoleeing finished with something:

$heir marriageis finished# "t was a disaster from the beginning so it1s goodit1s over#

3he1s not ready to leave# (he won't e finishedfor at least another hour

and a half# (heila wasn't finishedwith -aul yet# $hey still had a lot to talk about#

$here are of course a wide range of adjectivesending in 0edwhich follow the verbto eand other linking verbs such as seem aear loo-and ecome# ,ere are afew of the most common:

" ecame interestedin the tennis as soon as " heard that ticket priceswould be reduced#

" was oredwith the performance and decided to leave as soon as theinterval arrived#

3he seemed surrised5 even ama*ed 5 to see me# 3he thought " was in the

3tates# $hey were/uite satisfiedwith the arrangement# 3haring the cost suited

them both# 'ed was frightenedof ucie# ,e was also worried that they might be late

back#

'ote that all of these adjectivesending in 0eddescribe people1s feelings mentalstatesor emotional reactionsto something# $here are many more# Check those

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you don1t know in a dictionaryto see how they are used and which prepositionsthey can be used with:

amused appalled confused delighted disappointed excited pleased pu**ledshocked tired concerned convinced determined prepared thrilled

0ing as an adjective

$here are also a large number of adjectivesending in 0ingwhich relate to verformsand are used in the same way as 0edadjectives#

'ote that these adjectivesusually descrie thingsrather than people directlyalthough they also describe the effectthat something has on your ideas andfeelings:

$he meeting wasvery satisfyingfor all concerned as everybody got whatthey wanted#

$he play was/uite interestingand commented on many aspects of

contemporary life# $hese results $om are disaointingand must be very worrying for your

parents# " don1t want to go to the seaside again this year# :t's oring# ,is answers were misleading# "n fact everyone thought he was lying#

,ere are some more which can be used in the same way# All of these 0ingadjectiveslisted here have their 0edcounterparts:

alarming amusing annoying astonishing charming confusing convincingdepressing disgusting embarrassing encouraging entertaining humiliatinginspiring intriguing refreshing rewarding tempting terrifying thrilling

Eemember:

$he storm was terrifying# " was terrifiedby it#

,is offer 5 three weeks in the Caribbean with nothing to pay( 5 is temtingand : am temtedto accept it#

0ed adjectives

Jeung Waiteng from ong ;ong writes*

" am confused by the way adjectives are formed from verbs with just an0edaddede#g#

5ave you finishedyour homework?

:re you finishedwith your homework?

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$he same thing happens with comlete 5verand comleted 5adjective# "sthere any difference in meaning between the two sentences! .hich one is moreappropriate in spoken 7nglish!

$here is no real difference in meaning or use between finish 5ver andfinished5adjor between comlete 5ver andcomleted 5adj# oth sound very naturalin spoken 7nglish:

Is your work finishedfor the day or do you still have some to do?

2ave you finished your work for the day or do you still have some to do?

Can " read the manuscript of your latest novel! 'o sorry it's notcomleted yet#

Can " read the manuscript of your latest novel! o, sorry, : haven'tcomleted it yet#

'ote however that comleteas an adjectivewith the slightly different meaning ofwholeor entireis more fre/uently used than comletedas an adjective meaningfinished:

o house is completewithout carpets on the floors and pictures on thewalls.

If you think I can handle all this work on my own, that shows a complete

lack of understandingon your part.

With only one hand on the steering wheel he was not in complete controlof

the car he was driving .

Adjectives ending in 0ed

A large number of adjectives in 7nglish end in 0ed# +any of them have the sameform as the past participle of the verb:

#our behaviour this eveninghas disappointed me.

I am disappointed with your behaviour this evening.

$hey indicate that something has happened or is happening to the person referredto# $hus a child who is soilt is a childwho has een soilt y something#

,ere are some more common adjectives which have a similar meaning to the relatedverb:

amused astonished confused delighted depressed

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distressed embarrassed excited frightened interested

satisfied shocked surprised tired worried

It worries methat "ack stays out so late every night. I am a very worried

mum.

I would be interested to knowif you are planning to visit reece thissummer.

*hat interests mebecause I shall be there throughout :ugust and

eptember.

ou will embarrass your fatherif you dare to wear clothes like that.

he came down the stairs wearing *eans with holes in them andI havenever been so embarrassed.


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I find that very interesting.

"f you want to use interestas a ver rather than interestingas an adjectiveyou would need to say:


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'ote that some of these adjectives are often followed by an infinitive clause:

I shall be interestedto hear about how you get on in +airo.

We were mostsurprisedto see !evin and 5enry holding hands at the busstop.

I must say we were disappointedto learn that he had abandoned his *ob.

I shall bepleased$ delighted to accompany you to the e)hibition on


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,ow can " use the wordpitifulin a sentence! 4 3andro

,ello 3andro# .ell thats an interesting /uestion# 'owpitifulis an adjective and itcomes from the wordpity. 'ow pity is a feeling that people have of kind of kind5hearted sympathy or sorrow or compassionK when you see a person or an animal

thats suffering in some way maybe hungry cold not looked after# And thesefeelings of pity will often lead you to help the person or animal thats suffering# 3o ifsomething is described aspitiful its suffering in a way which makes you feel sorryfor it and you recognise that it needs help# And heres some examples:


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,e asked me a number of difficult questions# " was sitting next to the oen windowwhich " couldnt close#

/ission imossile if " remember correctly was originally the name of anAmerican television series which was later made into a film which you have probablyseen# $here is in fact no reason for putting the adjective after the noun here other

than for effect# "t sounds original and therefore your attention is drawn to it#

e7cetions to the general rule* adjectives after nouns

Attributive adjectives can be placed after the verb to e8and other copular verbs9#$hen we would have:

$he mission wasimossile# All the questionshe asked were difficult# $he windowremainedoen#

Copular verbs which join adjectives to their subjects describe the state of

something or someone or a change of state# $hey include: e seem aear loo-sound smell taste feel get ecome stay remain -ee grow go turn:

$he olicemenecame angry# $he susects remainedcalmalthough " could see that they were anxious# $he sou loo-ed smeltand tasted good#

Also attributive adjectives with their owncomplement e#g# caale of achievingfirst0class degrees usually re/uire the whole expression to come after the nounrather than before it:

.e are recruiting students caale of achieving first0class degrees#

'


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" used to live in a house which wasnext to the Eoyal


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;atin-a 3auensteinfrom Dermanywrites:

,i( "1d like to know when you should use maybe and when you should use erhas#"1m not sure buy maybe perhaps was used only in former times# "n any case "1venever heard erhason the radio# All the G"-s use only maye#

maye% erhas

"n ritish 7nglish both of these adverbs are still very commonly used and have thesame meaning# You use them to say that something is possible or may be true butyou are not certain#

$hey can be used interchangeably but of the two mayeis very appropriate formore informal contexts and erhasis used in more formal situations# Compare thefollowing:

" can1t find it anywhere# >erhas% /ayeyou threw it away# ,ow old is Jane! " don1t really know# "n her twenties certainly# $wenty5

five maye# $here were erhas as many as fifty badly wounded soldiers in the hospital# >erhas" should explain to you how they came to be there# 3t -aul1s Cathedral is erhasone of ondon1s most prominent landmarks# .hy don1t you join us for the 'ew Year celebrations! Yeah erhas%

maye" will# /ayeyou are right( >erhasit would be best if you didn1t invite Johnnie

'ote that erhasis pronounced 1praps1# 'ote also from the above illustrations thaterhasand mayecan be used to refer to past present or future events#

may% might

3imilarly we can use the modal auxiliaries mayor mightto say that there is achance that something is true ormay happen# /ayand mightare used to talkabout present or future events# $hey can normally be used interchangeablyalthough mightmay suggest a smaller chance of something happening# Comparethe following:

" maygo into town tomorrow for the Christmas sales# And James might

come with me( .hat are you doing over the 'ew Year Ann!


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'ote that'>igs might fly'is a fixed expression and always uses might# "t meansthat something will never happen#

"n the first conditional example will erhascould be substituted#

"f you go to bed early tonight you may% might feel better tomorrow#

"n the second conditional example where mightis an alternative forwoulderhas maycannot be substituted#

"f you went to bed early tonight you might feel better tomorrow#

(teven =an from(ingaore writes:

,i Eoger( +y friends often argue about the meaning of the adverbquite# .ebster1s

;ictionary defines it as e7tremeor very# Am " right to say that it is the same inritish 7nglish!

"n ritish 7nglish quitehas two different meanings# "t does mean comletelyorentirely but it also means fairlyor rather#

quiteH comletely

.hen it is used for emphasis with adjectives that cannot be graded quitemeanscomletely# $he colour adjective black for example cannot be graded# $hings can1tbe more black or less black# $hey are just black# 3o if we put this into context andlook at some more examples of quitewith ungradable adjectives we may find:

$here1s no trace of red in her hair 5 it1s quite lac-# " see no hope 5 the future looks quite lac-to me# "t1s quite imossileto learn twenty new items of vocabulary each day# ,is performance on stage was quiteama$ing5 we were just spellbound for

three hours( Are you quite sure! " think you1re quitewrongabout this#

not quiteHnot comletely

.hen notis used with quite it always means not e7actlyor not comletely#3tudy the following:

3hall we go! "1m not quite ready# ;o you like this one!

"t1s not quite the colour" wanted# ,ave you finished that book on Che Fuevara yet!

ot quite#

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quiteH e7actly% : agree

Muitecan be used in an emphatic way as a one5word response meaninge7actlyor: comletely agree:

" always knew their marriage would never last#

Muite( % )7actly( % (o did :( "f you stay /uite still those animals won1t harm you#

Muite( % $hat1s absolutely right#

quiteH fairly% rather

"f we are using quitewith an adjective that is gradable it means fairlyor rather#$he adjective easy for example is gradable# $hings can be easier or harder# $husquite when used with easy means fairly or rather# 3tudy these examples:

,ow did you find the maths test!


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(o 2 9ery

alimatus from /alaysiaasks

.hat1s the difference between 1so1 and 1very1! And what is the difference between1were laughing1 and 1are laughing1! " think both have the same meaning# Can youexplain it to me!

/ar- (hea answers*

,i ,alimatus thanks for your /uestion# et1s start with the easy bit### S.e arelaughingS is the present continuous tense and that normally means that it ishappening right now#

.e might say that S.e are laughing at the comedy on televisionS or S;on1t worry

we are not laughing at you 5 it was something John said earlier(S

"n expressions with 1when1 it might mean every time we do something for examplelaugh:S.hen we1re laughing " forget about our problems#S

ut S.e were laughingS is the past continuous tense and so normally talks about atime in the past:S.e were laughing at the story about -aul when he walked in the roomS orS" saw what happened but why were you laughing!S

3o the difference is the present and the past:"f it1s happening now say 1are1#"f it was happening at some time in the past say 1were1#

$he other /uestion is a bit more complicated###.e use 1very1 with adjectives 5 those are words which describe people places orthings to make them more extreme# 3o:Sondon is a big city but $okyo is a very big city#SS7instein was a very intelligent man#SS$he -etronas $owers in uala umpur are very tall#S

.hen we use 1so1 there1s normally another clause 5 that1s part of a sentence 5 afterit# $he 1so1 part of the sentence explains why the 1that1 part of the sentence happens:

S$okyo is so big that it is difficult for tourists to find their way around#SS7instein was so intelligent that some other scientists had problems understandinghis theories#SS$he -etronas $owers are so tall that they were once the world1s tallest buildings#S

$he first part of the sentence doesn1t really make any sense without the second partso although we can say:S$he +alaysian grand prix is very noisyS it doesn1t really make sense to say:S$he +alaysian grand prix is so noisyS 5 unless you1re replying to something another

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person has just said#

0or example:S" don1t like motor sports(SS'o 5 me neither# " went to the +alaysian grand prix and it was so noisy#S.hat we mean here is that it was so noisy that she didn1t enjoy it#

3o use 1very1 when you don1t mean that something is good or bad just extreme anduse 1so1 when you want to add extra information afterwards#" hope this answers your /uestion ,alimatus# "t was very difficult 5 so difficult that "think " need a rest now(

Ise of 'so' and 'such'(avino &arrella from alesasks:

Could you kindly tell me whether the use of soin the following sentence is correct:1+iles looked older than his brother revealing so a strange maturity#1 ,ere so shouldstand for 1in this way1#

"f so here means 1in this way1 or 1thus1 it would normally come immediately after themain clause:

1+iles looked older than his brother sorevealing a strange maturity#1 81so1 Hless formal9

1+iles looked older than his brother thus revealing a strange maturity#181thus1 H more formal9

,owever if you are using so or suchfor emphasis to mean 1to a very great degreeor extent1 their position immediately before the adjective is correct#

ut take care using these two forms# "t has to be such before a noun or before an

adjective plus noun# 3o it will be:

1+iles looked older than his brother revealing sucha strange maturity#1

(ois obviously used in a similar way but is placed before adjectives standing aloneor before adverb plus adjective thus:

13he was soindescribably beautiful that we couldn1t take our eyes off her#1

Eemember:

such D nounso D adjective

such D adjective D nounso D adverb D adjective

$he noun with suchis normally preceded by the indefinite article:

1.e had sucha good time at ,enry1s party#1

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1"1ve been working far too hard today and "1ve got sucha headache now#1 13he really embarrassed me# 3he is sucha fool#1


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1$here were so few leaves on the tree that it was pointless to try to shelterfrom the rain beneath it#1

You cannot say: 1suchmany sun5worshippers1 or 1such much noise1 and it would beunusual to say: 1such few leaves1 or 1suchlittle rest1#

0inally compare:

1(uchlittle people(1 81ittle1 here is used as an adjective meaning 1small1#9 13o few people(1 810ew1 here is used as a determiner meaning 1not very

many1#9

You will already have noticed from at least one of the above examples that 1so1 and1such1 are often followed by that5clauses suggesting result or conse/uence# 'ote thatwhen plural nouns are used after 1such1 the article is of course omitted# 1"1m soglad 8that9 you could come(1 1"t had been so hot on the journey 8that9 we had todrink a litre of water when we arrived home#1 1$here was so much to do on that

holiday 8that9 nobody ever got bored#1 1$hey were such good swimmers 8that9 theyhad no difficulty swimming across the fast5flowing river#1 13he prepared such goodmeals 8that9 no one ever thought of going out to eat#1 1"1ve got such a hightemperature 8that9 "1m hoping 8that9 my husband will drive me straight to thesurgery when he gets home from work#1

though 2 as though 2 li-e

=amasfrom ungarywrites:

"1m a bit confused about using the word though# "t1s often used at the end of asentence# 0or example:

$he house isn1t very nice# " like the garden though.

Can you help me out and explain the usage of this word!

'though' as conjunction

.e normally think of though as a conjunction introducing a contrastive statementand as the less formal and less forceful e/uivalent of althoughand even though#Compare the following:

)ven thoughit was suffocatingly hot she was wearing a thick woollensweater#

Althoughshe was very fond of him she had no intention of marrying him# .e could try to phone her before we gothoughwe might miss the train if

we do#

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'though' as adver

ut in your example $amas though is used as an adverb as the less formale/uivalent of however# .e use thoughand however when we want to add acomment that seems to contradict or contrasts with what has already been said# Asin your own example $amas thoughoften indicates an afterthought# Compare the

following:

" performed so well at interview " thought " would get the job# owever itwas not to be#

$he economic outlook is not very good# owever " can assure you thatnobody will lose his job#

"m sorry " cant stay for lunch# "ll have a coffee though# .hat a lovely sunny day( $heres a chilly windthough isnt there!

as though%as if%li-e

ikethough as thoughand as if are subordinating conjunctions# .e use as iforas thoughwhen we want to give an explanation for something which may not becorrect:

3he looked at me as if% as though" were mad# $ake an umbrella# "t looks as if% as though its going to rain# " cant understand why shes so keen on him# "ts not as if% as thoughhes

good5looking or anything#

"n spoken informal 7nglish particularly American 7nglish we sometimes substitute

li-e for as if and as though:

3he looked at me li-e" was stupid# "t looks li-eits gonna rain#

3trictly speaking li-e meaning similar to is a preposition which can only befollowed by a pronoun noun or noun phrase# 3o if you want to be grammaticallycorrect make sure you useli-ein this way:

Ji-eall good curries it was served with fresh coriander and nan bread# Ji-eme she refuses to work after six o clock in the evening#


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tense# .e cannot say: : have met him five years ago# .e have to say: : havemet him efore# .hy is present perfect possible with efore but not with ago!

'efore' 0 any time efore now

efore means: at some unknown time before now# "t does not say when# $herefore

we would say:

" know that chap# "1ve met him somewhere before#,ave you been here before! 'o "1ve never been here before# $his is my first time#

.e normally use the present perfect tense because the effect of meeting or seeingsomeone or being somewhere is still felt in the present# 3imple past is also possiblebecause we are talking about unknown occasions in the past but it is less likely:

" know that chap# " met him somewhere before#.ere you here before! 'o " was never here before# $his is my first time#

'ago' 0 at a certain time efore now

Agotells us how long before the present time something happened# "t tells us whenand gives us a time or a date# ecause we are referring to a specific time in the pastthe simple past is used:

Your mother phoned five minutes ago# Can you phone her back!" saw her for the first time at film festival in Cannes some twenty years ago#

'efore' 0 at a certain time efore then

Agoalways counts back from the present time# 'ote that if we are counting backfrom a past time eforeor earlieror reviouslyare used not ago:

" met him at the A";3 conference in ;urban in ;ecember 6@@6 when he told me thathe had contracted A";3 four years before# 8 H L years ago9

ast year " went back to my hometown that " had left ten years before anddiscovered that the house " grew up in was no longer standing# 8H left home IIyears ago9

ast year " returned to my hometown that " had left ten years ago and discoveredthat the house " grew up in had been demolished 8H left home I@ years ago9

'efore' 0 conjunction and reosition as well as adver

'ote that eforecan be used as a conjunctionor reositionas well as anadverb#

"f eforeis used as a conjunction it often connects two clauses together whichdiscuss astevents# ut note that it can also be used with a present tense in thesubordinate clause to indicate futureactivity# Compare the following:

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$hey left the dining table before " had finished my meal# ,ow rude of them(,e knelt down to say his prayers before he got into bed#" shall read all the reports before " decide what action to take#

"t can also link clauses denoting habitual current activity with the simple present:

" always shave before " take a shower#You must take off your shoes before you enter the mos/ue#

"f eforeis used as a reosition it usually refers to time not to lacewhen infront ofis preferred# Compare the following:

$o stay young and beautiful try to get to bed before midnight each night# $o stay inshape " try to go for a jog and a swim in the sea every morning before breakfast#

$here were so many tall people in front of me that " could see nothing of theprocession as it passed by#

')ver' and 'whenever'=iffany =eng from (ingaoreasks:

.e know it is correct to say: B" have neverbeen to ondon# ut for someone whohas been to ondon before is it correct to say: B" have everbeen to ondon!

'o# )ver means at any time so it is inappropriate in the above sentence# )ver isused mainly in /uestions#

Although it is usually associated with the present perfect it can also be used with a

present past or past perfect verb form or with future reference#

"f the answer is no we often use neverin the reply meaning Bnot at any time#

"f the answer is yes we might add onceor twice etc to indicate how many timeswe have done whatever is being referred to# Compare the following:

1,ave you ever been to "reland!1 1Yes "ve been there twice once in ITOM andagain in ITT?#1

1;id you ever meet $om Eobinson when you were at uni!1 1'o " never did#1 1+y driving instructor asked me if "d ever driven before#1 1" said no " never

had#1

1;o you ever go to the cinema!1 1'o " prefer to watch films on video or ;G;#1 1Are you ever going to finish this book!1 1"ll try and finish it over the summer#

"ve no time now#1 1.ill you ever marry me!1 1'o Jason " dont think " ever will#1

As you can see from this last example ever can be used in an affirmative sentencewith not as an alternative to the more usual 1never1# "t can also be used inaffirmative sentences with if and with adverbs which express a negative idea like

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hardly# Eemember the meaning of everis always Bat any time# Compare thefollowing:

1"f you ever change your mind let me know# .ed love to have you on theteam#1

1"f you are ever in ondon be sure to come and see us#1

1.e hardlyevergo to the theatre# "ts too expensive#1 1" dont think we shall ever see Jenny again now that shes emigrated to

Australia#1

Eemember also that evercan be tagged on to Bwhere Bwhen Bwhat Bwhich Bwhoand Bhow to make the conjunctions wherever whenever whatever whicheverwhoever and however meaning 1no matter where Bno matter when Bno matterwhat Bno matter which Bno matter who and Bno matter how# Compare thefollowing:

1.e were playing B,ide and 3eek and we couldnt find him wherever we

looked#1 1"f you have a problem you can phone me up whenever you like 4 at any

time of the day#1 1.hatever advice " gave her she would be sure not to take it#1 1.hichever path we took we were unable to find our way out of the ma*e#1 1" shall sell my computer to whoever wants it#1 1,owever hard " try " can never seem to learn vocabulary#1

0inally everis used in the comparative expression as ever and than ever meaningBas%than at any time in the past# 3tudy the following two examples:

1Youll have to work harder than ever today if you want to finish this job

before it gets dark#1 1Jayne its so long since " heard you sing but you sing as beautifully as

ever(1

=ime e7ressions, adjectives and advers

/in from (outh ;orea writes*

"1d like to know the difference between latelyand recently# +y dictionaries say theyare almost the same but " guess there1s a slight difference isn1t there!

Aston dosi from =an$ania writes*

-lease assist by explaining to me the difference in use between romtandunctual#

(. 3ajandran from :ndia writes*

" would like to know the difference between instantaneousand simultaneous#

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3ecently 2 lately 0 late

$here is a slight difference in use between recentlyand lately8see below9 but notethat the adverb lateis /uite different in meaning from lately: its opposite is early#


romtly 0 unctually 0 on time 0 in time

"f you arrive unctually you arrive at the right time neither late nor early 5 youarrive on time# -unctually is normally used with the verb arrive but romtlywhich means without delay is used with other verbs 8see below and note theposition of promptly in these sentences#:n timehas a slightly different meaning

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from on time# "f you do something in time you do it with time to sare5 beforethe last moment# Compare the following:

5e sat down to watch the television programme andpromptlyfell asleep.

5e sat down to watch the television programme and fell asleep

straightaway.

I received his letter a week ago and I repliedpromptlyto it.

I received his letter a week ago and I replied to it immediately.

5e was saved from falling overboard by theprompt actionof the skipper.

Fy guest arrivedpunctuallyat seven o' clock, as I e)pected. 5e's alwaysverypunctual.


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;on1t everdo that again(

,ow everdid you manage to drive home through so much snow!

.hen everwill " find time to get to the bottom of my in5tray!

.hy everdid he marry such a domineering woman!

.e sometimes use everin compound expressions with hardlyor if:

hardly ever very rarely 2 seldom

"t seldom % hardly ever % very rarely rains in -uglia in the summer#

seldom, if ever almost never

'ow that we have young children we seldom if ever go out in the evening#

ever always+

.e do not often use everto mean always i#e# on every occasionor all the time#

.e have to say e#g#:

" always bike to work now# "t1s so much healthier# 8'ot: " ever bike to work now# "t1sso much healthier#9

Compare the difference in meaning between these two example sentences# "n thefirst sentence they often agree but not on every occasion# "n the second sentencethey never agree:

+y mother and " don1t always agree about the best way to rear children#

+y mother and " don1t ever agree about the best way to rear children#

ever always

ut occasionally everis used to mean always# .e sometimes end letters withNours everor )ver yoursas an alternative to Nours sincerely# ,ere )ver yoursmeans Always yours#

And in these contexts too in which we are indicating that a person has particular/ualities everis used to mean always:

et me open the door for you# 7ver the gentleman(

" always year loose5fitting clothes like this 7ver the hippie(

"n a number of compound expressions everis used to mean always# $hese includeas ever for everand ever since:

as ever

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As ever they couldn1t agree# $hey1ve never ever agreed on anything#

As ever he was dressed in the style of 7minem#

" thought she might be upset by this but she was as unperturbed as ever#

for everor forever

.e plan to live in this village now for ever# .e shall never move out#

" intend to remain married to you forever# " shall always love you#

ever since

3he1s had a drink problem ever since her husband died#

" first met him when " was in the army and we1ve remained friends ever since#

'ote that with the ever sinceconstruction the 1always1 period commences when

something happens# "n the above examples this is husband1s death or army servicemeeting#

0inally when everis combined with a comarative adjective it is used to meanalways:

$he water was rising ever higher and we were in danger of being cut off#

$he volume of work is going to increase and " shall become ever more busy#

always very often

As well as all the timeor on every occasion alwayscan also mean very oftenwhen it is used with the progressive form:

3he always going on about the cost of living and how expensive everything is#

"1m always losing my keys# " put them down and can never remember where "1ve putthem#

'ote the difference in meaning between these two examples of use:

"1ll always lend you money when you have none# You know you can depend on me#8Always H on every occasion9

"1m always lending you money when you have none# .hy don1t you try to budgetmore carefully! 8Always H very often9

yet 2 still 2 already * osition and use

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/aria 3ita


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Istillhaven't spoken to the manager, so don't know what my future will be.

$hus in negative sentences as we can see from these examples there isconsiderable overlap in meaning and use between yetand still# 3till is the moreemphatic of the two#

still 0 meaning and use

.e use stillin /uestions affirmative and negative sentences to indicate thatsomething is not finished and that we are perhaps surprised or concerned aboutthis# ecause it is emphatic it often carries considerable word stress:

Is itstill raining?~ #es, it'sstillraining. o chance of playing tennis today, I'm afraid.

Istill don't know whether 8rendan will be coming to the engagement party.

I've tried to reach him several times on the phone, but can't seem to get holdof him.

already 0 meaning and use

.hereas still and yet normally refer to present and future circumstancesalreadynormally refers to something that is in the present or recent past# "t is mainly usedin /uestions and affirmative sentences and usually expresses surprise that somethinghas happened sooner than expected#

When do you e)pect 6olly to arrive?~ he's already here 5aven't you seen her?

+an you give me a hand with the layout for this article.

~ o, I'm sorry, I'm already late. I have to leave right now.

+an you help me move those bo)ed upstairs?~ I've already moved them.

5ave you finished that typing already?

#es, I finished it about five minutes ago.

8y the age of three, Fo%art had already learnt to play the piano.

still 2 already 0 osition in sentence

'ote from the above examples that in contrast to yet still and already usuallyoccupy mid position in the clause#

A question from ;atie


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using this phrase or is it just a case of learning it! "s 1well and truly1 an adverb andwhat should follow it or is it an adjective and is it only for negative things!

;aren Adams answers*$hank you for your /uestion atie# And first let me explain what 1well and truly stuck1means# "f something is 1well and truly stuck1 you really c

book adj and adv bbc confusing words

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