1.1. Misusing the form of adverbs
Most learners of English for a long time overgeneralized that adverbs usually end in - ly. But there are some words ending in - ly which are adjectives and not adverbs, such as: brotherly, deadly, friendly, heavenly, lovely, lively, etc. It leaded to some wrong answers in adverbs form, for examples:
She danced lively. (Wrong)
She danced in a lively way (Right) They behave friendly. (Wrong)
They behave in a friendly way. (Right)
Besides, there are some rules for forming adverbs and exceptions that lead students to make mistakes:
Question 7:
She speaks English very good. (Wrong) She speaks English well. (Right)
Question 2:
She truely believed he was innocent. (Wrong)
She truly believed he was innocent. (Right) (delete -e and add -ly)
Moreover, some adverbs have two forms and normally the two forms have different meanings (e.g. hard / hardly, late / lately, etc.). So students can express meanings in error. For instances:
Question 9: hard & hardly
We have all worked hardly. (Wrong) (hardly = almost no) We have all worked hard. (Right) (hard = diligently) Question 10: late & lately
Ellen has to work lately tonight. (Wrong) Ellen has to work late tonight. (Right) 1.2. Misusing positions of adverbs
Positions of adverbs are very complicated. Adverbs can stay anywhere in a sentence (in front position, mid position or end position). So it is very difficult for students to put adverbs in the correct position in a sentence. For this reason, students usually make mistakes in using adverbs.
If there is a direct object, an adverb of manner is normally placed after the direct object. If there is no object, the adverb normally follows the verb. For example:
Question 18:
He quietly tried to leave. (Wrong) He tried to leave quietly. (Right)
Adverbs of time such as all time, since last year, for a while, etc. are usually placed at the end of the sentence:
Question 19:
All time, he sings in the bathroom. (Wrong) He all time sings in the bathroom. (Wrong) He sings in the bathroom all time. (Right)
If the sentence has a verb be (e.g. is, am, are, were, will be) followed by an adjective, the adverb of frequency is normally placed between the verb be and the adjective.
Question 17:
I always am late. (Wrong) I am always late. (Right)
If there is an auxiliary verb, an adverb of frequency is normally placed between the auxiliary verb and the main verb. For instance:
Question 15:
You never should take unnecessary risks. (Wrong)
You should never take unnecessary risks. (Right) (after an auxiliary verb) Some adverbs are used only in end position:
Question 20:
I‟m anymore a member of the club. (Wrong) I‟m not a member anymore of the club. (Wrong) I‟m not a member of the club anymore. (Right)
1.3. Misusing adverbs after linking verbs
Many students of English are influenced by the false idea about adverbs that they probably learnt at school, namely that “verbs are always followed by adverbs”.
However, other verbs named „linking verbs‟ are usually followed by adjectives.
- Use an adjective after linking verbs such as taste, appear, feel, seem, look, smell, become, etc. if you are describing the subject of a sentence (e.g. the fruit in the set of examples below). For example:
Question 21:
The math problem looks easily. (Wrong) The math problem looks easy. (Right) Question 25:
The fruit tastes sweetly. (Wrong) The fruit tastes sweet. (Right)
- Use an adverb if you are describing the verb (e.g. taste in the examples below).
At the cooking competition, the judge tasted the dishes careful before giving her comments. (Wrong)
At the cooking competition, the judge tasted the dishes carefully before giving her comments. (Right)
1.4. Misusing adverbs as conjunctions
Some adverbs such as: however, therefore, moreover, etc. can be used to link a sentence with a preceding one. However, they can not be used as conjunctions to combine two sentences or clauses in the following way:
Question 30:
However he is very rich, he doesn‟t waste his money. (Wrong) He is very rich however he doesn‟t waste his money. (Wrong)
According to the result of the survey, 58% of 50 students made this mistake.
Note how the following correct sentences are punctuated:
He is very rich. However, he does not waste his money. (Right) He is very rich; however, he does not waste his money. (Right) 1.5. Misusing adjectives for adverbs
An adjective is used to give information about a noun or a pronoun. To give more information about a verb, an adjective (e.g. fast in question 28 below) or another adverb (e.g. well in question 27), an adverb must be used:
Question 27:
You‟re doing real well. (Wrong) You‟re doing really well. (Right)
Question 28:
Jack drove his car exceeding fast. (Wrong)
Jack drove his car exceedingly fast. (Right - here, an adverb is needed because the word that is modified is an adjective - fast)