1. Your proudest achievement. 2. Your most important decision. 3. Your biggest inspiration. 4. Your most memorable dream. 5. Your biggest business risk. 6. The best year of your life. 7. The thing that interests you most in people. 8. Your greatest regret or disappointment. 9. The worst job youve ever had. 10. The greatest help you ever received. 11. The strangest coincidence in your life. 12. The three most important principles you follow. 13. The biggest crisis in your life. 14. Your strongest belief.
THE ADVERBS
The adverb is a word denoting circumstances or characteristics which attend or modify an action, state, or quality. It may also intensify a quality or characteristics.
1. Adverbs vary in their structure. There are simple, derived, compound, and composite adverbs.
a) Simple adverbs are after, here, well, now, soon, etc.
b) In derived adverbs the most common suffix is ly, by means of which new adverbs are coined from adjectives and participles: lately, immediately, purely, slowly, charmingly.
The less common suffixes are the following:
-wise clockwise, crabwise;
-ward(s) backward(s), eastward(s);
-fold twofold;
-like warlike;
-way(s) sideways.
Of these suffixes the first two are more productive than the rest.
c) Compound adverbs are formed of two stems: sometimes, everywhere, downstairs.
d)Composite phrasal adverbs consist of two or more word-forms: a great deal, now and then, from time to time, a lot of, a sort of.
2. The only pattern of morphological change for adverbs is the same as for adjectives, the degrees of comparison. The three grades are called positive, comparative, and superlative degrees.
a) Adverbs that are identical in form with adjectives take inflections following the same spelling and phonetic rules as for adjectives:
early earlier earliest;
late later latest;
hard harder hardest.
b) Several adverbs ending in ly (quickly, loudly) form comparatives according to the same pattern, dropping their adverb-forming suffix:
quickly quicker quickest;
loudly louder loudest.
c) Most two-syllable adverbs in ly and all polysyllable ones form the comparative and superlative by means of more and most:
wisely more wisely most wisely;
deeply more deeply most deeply.
The adverb often occurs with both types of comparison:
oftener - oftenest
often
more often most often
d) There is a small group of irregular adverbs with comparatives and superlatives formed from different stems:
well better best;
badly worse worst;
little less least;
much more most
Farther - farthest
far
further furthest
Either father/farthest or further/furthest are used when speaking of places, directions, or distance:
He is too tired to walk any farther/further.
But only further/furthest is used with the meaning more, later:
Dont try my patience any further.
We use adverbs, not adjectives, to modify verbs:
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Well have to think quickly.
She sang badly.
I dont remember him very well.
3. Adverbs or adjectives?
a) Some words ending in ly are adjectives, and not adverbs: friendly, likely, lonely, silly, ugly, lovely:
She gave me a friendly smile.
Her singing was lovely.
There are no adverbs from such adjectives:
She smiled in a friendly way.
He gave a silly laugh.
Daily, weekly, monthly, yearly are both adverbs and adjectives:
Its a daily paper. It comes out daily.
An early train. I got up early.
b) Some adjectives and adverbs have the same form. There is usually a difference in meaning or use:
Clean. The adverb clean means completely before the verb to forget:
Sorry I didnt turn up I clean forgot.
Dead. The adverb dead is used in certain expressions to mean exactly, completely or very:
Dead certain, dead right, dead sure.
Direct is often used referring to journeys and timetables:
The plane goes direct from London to Houston without stopping.
Fast can mean both quick and quickly: a fast car goes fast.
c) Some adverbs may have two forms:
Hard. The adverb hard has a similar meaning to the adjectives:
Dont work too hard.
Hardly means almost not:
Ive hardly got any clean clothes left.
High. High refers to height; highly means very much:
He can jump really high.
I can highly recommend it.
Late. The adverb late has a similar meaning to the adjective late; lately means recently:
I hate arriving late.
I havent been to the theatre much lately.
Well. The adverb well has a similar meaning to the adjective good;
The car runs well.
Its a good car.
There is also an adjective well, meaning in good health:
I dont feel very well.
How are you? Quite well, thanks.
d) After the verbs to be, to smell, to taste, to feel, to look, etc. only adjectives are used:
The rose smells sweet.
The room looks tidy.
I feel bad.
EXERCISES
