ADJECTIVES/ADVERBS:

Adjectives are a way of adding more atmosphere and interest to your writing and are words that describe nouns.

For example, 'I own a blue car'.  'Blue' is the adjective which describes the noun 'car'.  If there are a list of adjectives, separate them with a comma, e.g. 'I own a big, fast, blue car' – both the present and the past participles (see earlier section) can be used as adjectives, e.g. 'The crying woman was comforted by a Policeman' (present participle); 'The broken glass lay on the side ...' (past participle).

Exercise

Complete the following sentences by choosing the correct word from each pair.
Click sentence for answer.

1. It was a glorious summer day, the sun shone (bright/brightly).
   
   
2. The day of the interview was here, yet strangely I still felt (calm/calmly) and in control.
   
   
3. Even with my part-time job if I want to visit Europe next summer, I have to do it (cheap/cheaply).
   
   
4. The rest of the students were making a terrible racket, but I could still hear the lecturer (clear/clearly).
   
   
5. The underground was very (slow/slowly) getting back to normal following the earlier signal failure.
   
   
6. (Sad/Sadly) my study buddy failed her assignment, but at least she will get the chance of a referral.

Adverbs similarly, modify verbs and give them 'colour'. Frequently they are formed by adding 'ly' to an adjective, for example:

'She writes beautifully'
'I am feeling much better today'

In other words, adverbs add more graphic description to a verb and include adverbs such as 'too, more, however'.

Exercise

Complete the following sentences by choosing the correct word from each pair.
Click sentence for answer.

1. The assignment was (bad/badly) written.
   
   
2. On the surface Paul seemed (gentle/gently), but underneath he had a very cruel streak.
   
   
3. It was a good price, and only (slight/slightly) damaged, but would it be reliable?
   
   
4. As soon as I opened the door, I was (sure/surely) something was wrong.
   
   
5. The underpasses were so badly lit, students felt (terrible/terribly) threatened each time they walked home.
   
   
6. She has been (unbelievable/unbelievably) kind to me this year.