Adjectives and adverbs
Degrees of comparison and adjective vs adverb
Adjectives describe nouns, while adverbs describe verbs, adjectives or other adverbs. Most adverbs of manner are formed by adding -ly to the adjective (quick → quickly), but some are irregular, such as good → well. Adjectives also have three degrees: the positive (tall), the comparative (taller / more beautiful) and the superlative (the tallest / the most beautiful). Short adjectives usually take -er and -est, while longer adjectives use 'more' and 'the most', and a few are irregular: good/better/best, bad/worse/worst, far/farther/farthest. We use 'than' after a comparative (She is taller than me) and 'as ... as' to show that two things are equal (He is as tall as his brother). After link verbs such as be, seem, look, taste, smell and feel we use an adjective, not an adverb, because the word describes the subject. For example: 'It smells good' (adjective) is correct, while 'It smells well' is wrong, but 'She sings well' (adverb) is correct because the word describes how she sings.
Key terms
| Aspect | Adjective | Adverb |
|---|---|---|
| What it describes | a noun (a careful driver) | a verb (he drives carefully) |
| Typical position | before a noun or after a link verb | usually after the verb or its object |
| -ly formation | base form, no -ly (quick, slow) | adjective + -ly (quickly, slowly) |
| After a link verb | used: It smells good | not used: not 'It smells well' |
| Type | Comparative | Superlative |
|---|---|---|
| Short adjective (-er/-est) | taller, bigger | the tallest, the biggest |
| Long adjective (more/most) | more beautiful | the most beautiful |
| Irregular: good | better | the best |
| Irregular: bad | worse | the worst |
| Irregular: little | less | the least |
- 1Spot the signal: The word 'than' shows a comparison between two things, so a comparative form is needed.
- 2Check the length: 'Big' is a short adjective, so it takes -er, not 'more'.
- 3Apply the spelling rule: After a short vowel the final consonant doubles: big -> bigger.
- 4Answer: An elephant is bigger than a dog.
- 1Find the verb: 'Taste' is a link verb, like look, smell, feel and seem.
- 2Decide what is described: The word describes the soup (the subject), not the action, so an adjective is needed.
- 3Reject the adverb: 'Deliciously' is an adverb and would wrongly describe the action of tasting.
- 4Answer: This soup tastes delicious.
An adverb describes a verb, not a noun. Before a noun use the adjective (a careful driver); to describe the verb add -ly (he drives carefully). Mixing them up, such as 'a carefully driver', is a common error.
Do not confuse 'good' and 'well'. 'Good' is the adjective (a good student) and 'well' is its adverb (He speaks well). 'Goodly' and 'gooder' are not real words; the irregular forms are good/better/best.
The irregular comparatives have no -er/-est form: good -> better -> best, bad -> worse -> worst, far -> farther -> farthest. Forms like 'gooder', 'badder' or 'farer' are always wrong.
After a link verb (be, seem, look, taste, smell, feel, sound) use an adjective: 'It smells good', not 'It smells well'. With other verbs that show an action, use the -ly adverb instead.
Rules
- 1Short adjectives form the comparative with -er and the superlative with the ...-est (big → bigger → the biggest); long adjectives use 'more' and 'the most' (more beautiful → the most beautiful).
- 2Use 'than' after a comparative (taller than me) and 'as + adjective + as' to show equality (as tall as), with 'not as ... as' for inequality.
- 3Learn the irregular forms: good/better/best, bad/worse/worst, far/farther(further)/farthest, little/less/least, many/much → more → most.
- 4An adjective describes a noun (a careful driver); an adverb describes a verb (he drives carefully) and is usually formed with -ly, but good → well is irregular.
- 5After link verbs (be, seem, look, taste, smell, feel, sound) use an adjective, not an adverb: 'It smells good', not 'It smells well'.
Practice
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