ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS

Both adjectives and adverbs are modifying words. Adjectives describe nouns, which
they usually precede, although they can also be used with linking verbs (be,
become, get, grow, prove, smell, feel, look, sound, taste, seem). They tell us what
something is like. Adverbs describe verbs, adjectives, other adverbs or whole
sentences. They tell us when, where, how often or why things happen.
I
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Identify the italicized word as an adjective or an adverb:

He felt uncomfortable because his jeans were too tight.
I buy Time Magazine weekly whereas he subscribes to it on a yearly basis.
Tom constantly arrives late for work.
The late Prime Minister was a collector of antiques.
I couldnt get the book down from the top shelf because it was so high.
He hardly ever studies, yet he always produces a high standard of work.

II
Most adverbs of manner are formed by adding the ly suffix to adjectives.
Change the following adjectives to ly adverbs. Make whatever spelling changes are
necessary:
busy
cheerful
excessive
simple
humble
equal
unfortunate
fierce
total
systematic occasional
gay
public

possible
sincere

accidental

true
full
sensible
whole

efficient
skillful
favorable
nasty

cruel
mechanical
evident
hopeless
dry
basic

III
Some adverbs which have the same form as their corresponding adjective,
have a different meaning from the form ending in ly:
deep = a long way down
deeply = greatly
full = exactly, very
fully = completely
hard = intently, with effort
hardly = scarcely
last = after all others
lastly = finally
free = without cost
freely = willingly
direct = by the shortest route
directly = immediately
high = to a high level
highly = very much
sure = certainly
surely = without a doubt
wide = to the fullest extent possible
widely = to a large extent
short = suddenly
shortly = soon
easy = gently and slowly
easily = without difficulty
near = close
nearly = almost
pretty = fairly
prettily = in a pretty way
wrong = incorrectly
wrongly = unjustly

III

Underline the correct item:

1. I managed to get to New York easy/easily by flying there directly/direct.
2. She has been deep/deeply upset by his behavior late/lately.
3. The cost of living has been increasing late/lately, things are not near/nearly
as cheap as they used to be.
4. It is wide/widely believed that she was wrong/wrongly accused.
5. Sure/surely we must be near/nearly there by now.
6. She free/freely admitted that she had not been working very hard/hardly
recently.
7. It is not wide/widely known that students can get medication free/freely.
8. The dentist said: Open wide/widely.
9. He came last/lastly in the race and was pretty/prettily disappointed by his
performance.
10.Do you intend to leave short/shortly? I think so. Ive near/nearly finished.
11.Hes a cheat, a liar and a fraud and last/lastly hes extremely rude!
12.She is high/highly regarded in her school as people can get on with her
easy/easily.
13.I was pretty/prettily embarrassed when I realized that I had hard/hardly
enough money to pay the bill.
14.The dart flew wide/widely off the target and hit the clock.
15.The athlete came close/closely to beating the world record.
16.The train goes direct/directly to Edinburgh without stopping, so it will
probably be full/fully.