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Adjectives & adverbs

Find answers to questions about adjectives and adverbs.

'actually', 'in fact' and 'well'
Yukki from Japan asks about the difference between these words
Adjectives order
Our language expert answers a question from Pasan in Sri Lanka
Adverbials
If you don't know what an adverbial is, you'd better read this immediately
'appropriate' or 'suitable'; 'adequate', sufficient' and 'enough'
Roger Woodham explains the similarities and differences between these words
'approximately' / 'roughly' / 'about' / 'nearly'
Samad from Iran wants to know the differences between these words
'as well'
Find out about the different uses of 'as well'
'besides'
Sanjay Khumar Bhola from India asks about the difference between 'besides' and 'beside'
'busy with' or 'busy about'?
If you are not busy with anything at the moment, perhaps you should read about 'busy'
Collocations
Are you completely sure why can't you say 'utterly excited'?
Comparatives and superlatives 1: basic rules
Babak Bagheri asks for an overview of comparatives and superlatives, including hyphenated adjectives
Comparatives and superlatives 2: two-syllable adjectives
Roger Woodham explains when, and when not, to use 'more' with two-syllable adjectives
Comparatives and superlatives 3: 'as...as'
Learn about the different grammatical uses of 'as'
Compound adjectives
Tomokje lives in a 'densely-populated' country and asks about compound adjectives
'concern', 'concerned' and 'concerning'
Eunice Cheung from Hong Kong is concerned about how to use 'concern'
'efficient' or 'effective'
Do you know the difference between these easily confused words?
'eminent' or 'prominent'?
Catherine Chapman explains how to use these two words
Emphatic adverbs
You absolutely must read this question about words such as 'absolutely', 'completely' and 'surely'
'enough', 'sufficient' and 'adequate'
Celine from France asks about the difference between these words
'especially' or 'specially'; 'continuously' or 'continually'
Learners continually ask about the differences between these similar words
Formation and use of adjectives
A fun overview of how to form and use adjectives
'good' or 'well'?
Is this a good answer to the question? Does Roger Woodham explain the answer well?
'hardly'
Roger Woodham explains how the negative meaning of 'hardly' affects a conversation
'hardly', 'rarely' and 'hardly ever'
Pual from Thailand wonders whether 'rarely' and 'hardly' are always the same in meaning
'incredible', 'unbelievable' and 'unimaginable'
Learn about the similarities between these words
Inversion 1: negative expressions and 'only'
Only on this page can learners find out about inversion
Inversion 2
Rarely has there been such a good answer to the question of inverted word order
Inversion 3: 'no sooner...than...'
Professor Michael Swan answers this question about inversion in negative phrases
Irregular adjectives and adverbs
Adjectives and adverbs with confusing spelling: Are 'hard' and 'hardly' both adverbs?
'likely'
You are likely to understand the grammar and meaning of 'likely' if you read this
Participles 1: '-ed' and -ing'
Tutul Rahmen from Bangladesh asks when to use participles as adjectives
Participles 2: 'bored' or 'boring'?
If you are interested in the difference between 'bored' and 'boring' you should read this answer
Participles 3: '-ed' adjectives
Roger Woodham explains how to form adjectives from some verbs
Participles 4: 'interesting'
A detailed look at 'interesting' and a general view on participle adjectives
'Pitiful'
Sandro from the U.S.A. asks: 'How can I use the word pitiful in a sentence?'
Position of adjectives in a sentence
Hwang Minsu from Korea asks when we put adjectives before or after nouns
Position of adverbs
Roger Woodham gives an overview of where to place adverbs in a sentence
Possibility 1: 'maybe', 'perhaps', 'may' and 'might'
Is there a difference between 'perhaps' and 'maybe'? What about 'may' and 'might'? Perhaps
'quite'
Steven Tan from Singapore asks about the two different meanings of quite
'so' and 'very'
Halimatus from Malaysia is so confused that he decides to ask this question
'so' and 'such'
This is such a good answer about a grammar point that is so important
'though', 'as though' and 'like'
Tamas from Hungary asks about the use of 'though'
Time markers 1: 'before' and 'ago'
Song Sang-Hoon from South Korea asks which tenses to use with these words
Time markers 2: 'ever'
Tiffany Teng from Singapore asks why you can't say 'I've ever been to London.'
Time markers 3: adjectives and adverbs
Roger Woodham deals with a range of expressions, such as 'late', lately' and 'instantly'
Time markers 4: 'always' and 'ever'
Andrea from Italy has always wanted to know about the difference between 'always and 'ever'
Time markers 5: 'yet', 'still' and 'already'
Learn about the meaning and use of these words
'well and truly'
Katie Burton is well and truly confused by this phrase. Can Karen Adams help?
'worth' and 'worthwhile'
Roberto Miguel from Argentina asks about the difference between these words
'yet'
Did you know there are two different uses of yet: as an adverb or as a conjunction?

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