Anonymous  +  128664 Fri, 19 Aug 05 09:48 PM Hello there! This is my first post on this forum, i just found it via google! I was searching for some site were i could ask some people who might have an idea of English an tiny question. There is the following sentence: Not surprisingly such dogs soon start to act unusually aggressive on the street, too. I was told by my teacher that this is wrong. He says it should be unusually aggressively. My problem with this is that it just sounds stupid to me! In addition we have an exchange student from Australia in our class which also has written it that way (unusually aggressive) and says it is correct that way! I also asked a few penpals from the US which all aggreed. So only my teacher is still saying that this is wrong. Does anyone know which version, "unusually aggressive" or "unusually aggressively", is correct or whether both are correct? And the most important how can i prove to my teacher that "unsually aggressive" is also correct, if it is at all? Thanks for any answers !! Anonymous

	rvw  +  128817 Sat, 20 Aug 05 06:33 AM Greetings, Anonymous, I think the answer hinges on whether or not act can be a linking verb: A verb that joins the subject to a subjective complement, which either describes or renames or otherwise represents the subject. ---Understanding Grammar, by Paul Roberts. Examples of linking verbs are: be, become, continue, feel, grow, look, remain, ring, seem, smell, sound, taste, turn. I have two references that say that act can be a linking verb: Webster's Third New International Dictionary --- act  vi  3:  to conduct or comport oneself (as in morals or manners or in private life or public office): BEHAVE  -- often used with an adjective complement [acted tired] [acted superior]. Webster's Dictionary of English Usage --- ... Here we have an instance where the general perception of how the verb functions has changed over the years.  And what is true of look in this respect is also true of other verbs, such as taste, feel, act, smell, now treated as linking verbs.  These verbs are not yet fully settled into the linking-verb roles.... Since the usage is "not yet fully settled" but is moving toward that of a linking verb, I think both act unusually aggressive and act unusually aggressively are "correct." rvw Joined on Sun, Nov 28 2004 Woodstock, Georgia, USA Full Member 350 Verbs, Grammar

	davkett  +  128914 Sat, 20 Aug 05 03:31 PM Is a compromise in order?-- Not surprisingly, such dogs soon start to act in an unusually aggressive manner on the street, too.   davkett Joined on Tue, Jun 7 2005 Pennsylvania, USA Senior Member 2,788 "The rose stays fresh in its name..." -Bernard of Morlay

	Deryaa  +  128915 Sat, 20 Aug 05 03:35 PM hıımmmm. at the first side it seemed to me that "unsually agresive"is the right one.but when I read the sentencense once more I have decided that it is the verb "act" to be modified. and an adverb can modify a verb. I think "agressivley" is gramatical even if it sounds a bit strange. Deryaa Joined on Wed, Aug 17 2005 türkiye Junior Member 58 HERE I AM.. Verbs, Adverbs

	Forbes  +  129196 Sun, 21 Aug 05 01:36 PM Part of the problem here is that English is a language moving from synthesis to analysis. Many analytical languages have the same form for adjectives and the corresponding adverb of manner. There is a strong tendency for adjectives to serve as adverbs in some non-standard varieties of English and this has transferred itself to some aspects of standard English so that in some cases usage is, as is said above, "not yet fully settled"  (as well as in some cases being settled). The above example is interesting as the answer seems to turn partly on what people feel is right. It is perhaps the two successive -ly endings that make "unusually agressively" sound a little awkward, so that it comes down to style, rather than grammar. If "unusually" is taken out then "to act agressively" sounds fine, as does "to act very agressively". However, "to act agressive" does not sound quite right to me. Forbes Joined on Thu, Jun 16 2005 Regular Member 895 Verbs, Grammar, Adverbs

	Forbes  +  129291 Sun, 21 Aug 05 07:18 PM Dear Anonymous, If I was a judge in a trial and had to come down on one side or another I would definitely prefer "unusually agressively". In so far as there any canons of "correctness" for standard English it has to be the choice. On this occasion I think you should give in to your teacher and wait for another opportunity to try and catch him/her out! Teachers of languages have to adopt prescriptive attitudes as otherwise their pupils would be saying that anything goes. If your US and Australian friends thought the point through, they might well agree with your teacher. Forbes

	MrPedantic  +  129737 Tue, 23 Aug 05 12:34 AM It's interesting that with smell, taste, look, feel, sound we can use the adjective, but not the adverb: 1. That tastes good! (not: that tastes well) 2. That sounds unusual! (not: that sounds unusually) In the case of 'act', however, we can use an adverb or an adjective: 3. He's acting funny/unusually. – which suggests it hasn't yet attained the same status as smell, look, etc. That said, I do find a slight difference between the adjective/adverb forms: 4. He's acting strangely. 5. He's acting strange. The first suggests a temporary strangeness, in someone's behaviour, while the second suggests a state of strangeness. Or to put it another way, there seems to be more 'action' in #4. MrP MrPedantic Joined on Tue, Oct 12 2004 Veteran Member 12,592 ...opella forensis / adducit febris... Verbs, Adverbs