Both adverbs and adjectives are parts of speech used to modify or describe other words.

Adjectives

Definition: Adjectives- A part of speech that describes, modifies, limits, or qualifies a noun.  Adjectives can answer the questions: what kind, how many, or which one, and are usually located before the noun they describe.

Example:  The red door…

                The green grass…

                The four seasons…

Adjectives can be located in the predicate when they follow a linking verb or verb that describes the senses (sight, feel, sound, taste, smell) and still modify the subject of the sentence.

Example:  The boy feels bad.

“Bad” modifies the boy and is, therefore, an adjective.

Adverbs

Definition: Adverbs- A part of speech that modifies verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. Adverbs usually answer the questions: how, when, where, why, or to what degree or extent. Adverbs often end in the letters “ly,” but not always.

Example:  The car moved slowly. (how)

                The store is very busy. (to what degree or extent)

                The delivery was made yesterday. (when)

Note: Adverbs do NOT modify nouns or pronouns.

Adverbs and adjectives are sometimes indistinguishable from each other. In these instances, you must ask yourself what the word is doing. One way to tell if a word is an adverb is to see if the word answers the question how, when, where, or to what degree.

In addition to our own website, we would like to recommend OWL. OWL is an online writing resource from Purdue University that offers online writing tips, research assistance, and MLA and APA style help.

You can find OWL at http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/esl/esladjadv.html.

Test your understanding by choosing the appropriate word in each sentence.

1. Joseph felt (bad/badly) at the end of the day.
2. We would (sure/surely) like to attend the meeting.
3. He walked (slow/slowly) down the street.

Answers to the “test your understanding” questions.

1. Joseph felt bad at the end of the day.
2. We would surely like to attend the meeting.
3. He walked slowly down the street.

Grammatically Correct is a grammar tip of the week created by Academic Center Peer Writing Tutors at the University of Houston-Victoria in Victoria, Texas.

Comments about this newsletter should be directed to Summer Leibensperger, leibenspergers@uhv.edu.

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