Search results for 'tag:American English tag:Adverbs' matching tags 'American English' and 'Adverbs'

Re: Loud vs. loudly

Anonymous — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 20:45:30 GMT

A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Please see below. If you'd like answers to questions like this, the Internet is woefully inadequate. Go to "Strunk & White" or "Words into Type" instead. Just because someone is a teacher doesn't mean that he or she is a qualified authority.

Yes, of course, the -ly form frequently distinguishes an adjectival from adverbial form. But in this case, both "loud "and "loudly" are acceptable adverbial forms. Consider also the adverb/adjective "seldom." There is no such word as "seldomly." There are cases, too, in which an adjective form is properly used in an adverbial sense. To wit: "I feel good," an utterance that refers to the speaker's sense of well-being. A person who says "I feel well" is speaking of his or her powers of perception.

Kenneth G. Wilson (1923â). The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. 1993.

loud (adv., adj.), loudly (adv.)

Loud can be an adjective, as in He wore loud socks and She seems unnecessarily loud, or a flat adverb, as in Please play it loud. Loudly is also an adverb: The team clattered loudly into the locker room. He wore a loudly painted necktie. All these uses are Standard.

Re: Use of wrong/wrongly.

Yankee — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 06:02:32 GMT

In American English, wrong is accepted as an adverb and is also commonly used that way. So the most common correct version of your sentence on this side of the pond would be this: "I spelled grammar wrong."

Re: correct sentences 24/11

Teo — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 06:09:54 GMT

They won't smoke ever since they saw a film on lung cancer.

What does "won't" mean here?

Re: correct sentences 24/11

Teo — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 06:09:49 GMT

http://forums.eslcafe.com/student/viewtopic.php?t=22113&highlight=

Re: even if + will?

CalifJim — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 03:15:16 GMT

I can confirm that. will is used in American English when attempting to elicit cooperation from the listener. I think that's why it's so common with the subject you (and with the adverb just -- to minimize the difficulty of complying). It seems to me that this use of will occurs less often with other subjects, hardly ever with I or we.

I'm lukewarm on the idea that it has a very direct connection with willingness, though I accept it as an approximation. I don't think the speaker is really very concerned about whether the listener is willing or not. I think that even if loses a lot of its meaning in these quasi-imperative formulas.

If you'll just sign here, I'll get your key.

To me this is rather like

Please sign here while I get your key.

CJ

Re: keys

-- because key is one of the first words we learn in another language. It's a small, but useful, object. It's a small, but useful, word. And it's very easy to pronounce. And it's a great direct object with gobs of verbs. You can put, take, throw, forget, carry, see, look at, ask for, send, use, find, drop, ... (ad infinitum), a key.

(That's my story, and I'm sticking to it!)

Re: friendlier

Lcchang — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 02:51:18 GMT

Yankee wrote:
Hi LCChang

It is common to use an adjective after a linking verb. The verb 'act' can be and is used as a linking verb. In your sentence(s) the meaning is similar to "He seems friendlier" or "His actions are friendlier". Therefore, I think your sentences are fine.

By the way, you will find friendly listed not only as an adjective, but also as an adverb in American dictionaries. However, most American English teachers will probably still advise you not to use friendly as an adverb.

I got it. Thanks. Those sentence were not created by myself, and they are from my textbook.

LCChang

Re: friendlier

Yankee — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 12:45:30 GMT

Hi LCChang

It is common to use an adjective after a linking verb. The verb 'act' can be and is used as a linking verb. In your sentence(s) the meaning is similar to "He seems friendlier" or "His actions are friendlier". Therefore, I think your sentences are fine.

By the way, you will find friendly listed not only as an adjective, but also as an adverb in American dictionaries. However, most American English teachers will probably still advise you not to use friendly as an adverb.

Re: Temporal Directives using before/until, please help clarify tense usage

Clive — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 05:57:53 GMT

Hi,

Welcome to the Forum.

Which one of the following is correct? If all are correct, what situations would warrant one and not the others? Thank you/

- Please do not sit on the couch until you have gotten permission.

- Please do not sit on the couch before you have gotten permission.

- Please do not sit on the couch until you get permission.

- Please do not sit on the couch before you get permission.

The differences amongst the sentences above are two-fold: 1) until vs. before 2) present tense vs. present perfect after the temporal adverb.

Theyare all correct. Often, these expressions could be interchanged. Any differences here are fairly subtle. Here are a few comments.

First, I would say 'got' rather than 'gotten'. Both forms are OK. I believe 'gotten' is more a feature of American English.

'Until' suggests to me that the speaker expects permission to be given. I don't feel this so much with 'before'. 'Until' also seems to place more stress on the length of the period prior to your getting permisiion.

The present tense suggests to me more immediacy. ie the expected sequence of events is that you get permission and then you immediately/quickly sit down.

The present perfect suggests to me less immediacy. ie First, you get permission. After that, you are in a state of 'having got permission'. Now, anytime you want to, you can sit down.

But, as i said, often these variations are just interchanged.

Best wishes, Clive

Re: corrections 5

Grammar Geek — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 13:44:57 GMT

(a) ~~Ali waved his father goodbye when he left.~~

He waved to his father. Okay

He waved to his father with his left hand. Okay

His father waved when he left. Okay

He waved goodbye with his left hand. Okay

(b) They are having a tug-of-war event. You can leave out the word "event."

The tug-of-war is an event in the sports. No. The tug-of-war was an event at the sport day/fair/contest/party, etc.

The tug-of-war is a type of event. Okay

The tug-of-war is a sports event. Okay grammatically. I don't that I would call it a sport, as has been discussed on this forum before.

(d) They line up for getting up the bus. No. They line up to get on the bus.

(e) He goes to work in his new car. Okay

(f) Teacher Lee praised Ali for his well results. No - well is an adverb. Good is an adjective. I think "marks" or "score" sounds better than "results." Perhaps his "good test results." We also don't say "Teacher Lee." We'd say either "The teacher" or "Mr. /Mrs. /Miss Lee."

Teacher Lee praised Ali ~~well~~ because he took 100 marks. 100 marks is not idiomatic in American English - but I don't know if it is where you live. If you want to say he gave him a lot of praise, say "The teacher gave Ali a lot of praise" or "The teacher gave high praise to Ali..." See above about "Teacher Lee."

She praised the student's results well. See above. She gave the students a lot of praise for their good test results.

Re: On the beach

Selecter — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 21:07:26 GMT

Conchita57 wrote:
According to Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary, 'wade' is also American English for 'paddle':

paddle (WALK) UK
verb [ I ] (US wade)
to walk with bare feet through shallow water, often at the edge of the sea:

We rolled up our trousers and paddled along the seashore.

wade
verb
1 [I usually + adverb or preposition; T] to walk through water with difficulty because of the pressure of the water against your legs:

The river was full but we managed to wade across.
We waded a shallow river.

That's right but wade and paddle have differences in meaning even in american english. At least your post didn't prove that both mean the same thing (walk across the river and walk along the seashore aren't the same thing)