Adverb and Adjective Choices in Conversation
2025-03-07
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1From VOA Learning English, this is Everyday Grammar.
2Imagine two American students are talking outside of their school.
3Let's listen to the imaginary conversation:
4A: Today is going slow.
5B: Yeah. I guess we should study for our grammar test.
6A: That sounds like a terrible idea.
7B: Yeah, but if we don't study, we won't do good on the test.
8A: Fine. Let's go study our notes quick. Then we can play video games.
9These bad students may hate grammar, but they just taught you some common grammatical structures in conversational American English.
10In today's report, we will study how conversational grammar differs from written and formal grammatical structures.
11We will show you how some Americans use adjectives and adverbs in casual conversation.
12Adjectives are words that give information about nouns.
13They generally appear before nouns, although they also appear after linking verbs.
14Here are two examples:
15You are a good student.
16Learning English is fun.
17In the two example sentences, the words "good" and "fun" are adjectives.
18They are telling you something about a noun.
19Adverbs are often used to modify adjectives or verbs.
20They give information about reason, manner, time, and so on.
21For example, the adverb loudly appears in this sentence:
22We sang loudly.
23The adverb loudly modifies the past tense verb, sang.
24It tells about the way in which the subject, we, sang.
25Adverbs often have an -ly ending, but there are many that do not.
26You can read more about adverbs in past Everyday Grammar stories.
27Let's think back to the conversation we heard at the beginning of the story:
28A: Today is going slow.
29B: Yeah. I guess we should study for our grammar test.
30A: That sounds like a terrible idea.
31B: Yeah, but if we don't study, we won't do good on the test.
32A: Fine. Let's go study our notes quick. Then we can play videogames.
33Notice that the words are used differently from what might be taught in an English class.
34In casual conversation, Americans often use adjective forms in place of adverbs.
35They may use adjective forms to modify verbs.
36For example, the students use good - a word that is normally an adjective - as an adverb.
37One student says "we won't do good on the test."
38In writing and in formal conversation, Americans generally do not use the word "good" this way.
39Instead, they use the word well.
40In formal writing or speaking, you would be more likely to see or hear the sentence "we won't do well on the test."
41Americans also may use an adverb but choose not to say an -ly ending.
42For example, the student says "today is going slow," instead of "today is going slowly."
43You would be more likely to read "slowly" in academic writing, write Susan Conrad and Douglas Biber, two English grammar experts.
44These grammatical structures are not necessarily slang.
45They are not necessarily impolite, either.
46You might hear some of these structures in a restaurant, at a job fair, or even at work.
47For example, a boss might tell an employee "We need to do this quick," about a project that must be completed quickly.
48This is the same pattern that the students used in their conversation.
49Conrad and Biber say that in formal speech and writing, adjective forms are almost never used to modify verbs.
50In addition, adverbs with -ly endings are more common in writing - particularly in academic and news writing.*
51The good news is this: we are not asking you to memorize any of the patterns we have talked about today.
52What we hope to do is show you that the grammatical patterns in conversation do not always match the patterns used in formal writing or speech.
53There is more flexibility in casual speech.
54Understanding this idea will help you understand Americans when they speak, and it will help you sound more natural when you speak to Americans.
55You might also be pleased to know that Americans will not judge you severely if you use an adjective in place of an adverb.
56In fact, they probably would do the same!
57I'm Jill Robbins.
58And I'm John Russell.
1From VOA Learning English, this is Everyday Grammar. 2Imagine two American students are talking outside of their school. Let's listen to the imaginary conversation: 3A: Today is going slow. 4B: Yeah. I guess we should study for our grammar test. 5A: That sounds like a terrible idea. 6B: Yeah, but if we don't study, we won't do good on the test. 7A: Fine. Let's go study our notes quick. Then we can play video games. 8These bad students may hate grammar, but they just taught you some common grammatical structures in conversational American English. 9In today's report, we will study how conversational grammar differs from written and formal grammatical structures. 10We will show you how some Americans use adjectives and adverbs in casual conversation. 11Adjectives and Adverbs 12Adjectives are words that give information about nouns. They generally appear before nouns, although they also appear after linking verbs. 13Here are two examples: 14You are a good student. 15Learning English is fun. 16In the two example sentences, the words "good" and "fun" are adjectives. They are telling you something about a noun. 17Adverbs are often used to modify adjectives or verbs. They give information about reason, manner, time, and so on. 18For example, the adverb loudly appears in this sentence: 19We sang loudly. 20The adverb loudly modifies the past tense verb, sang. It tells about the way in which the subject, we, sang. Adverbs often have an -ly ending, but there are many that do not. You can read more about adverbs in past Everyday Grammar stories. 21Conversation: 22Let's think back to the conversation we heard at the beginning of the story: 23A: Today is going slow. 24B: Yeah. I guess we should study for our grammar test. 25A: That sounds like a terrible idea. 26B: Yeah, but if we don't study, we won't do good on the test. 27A: Fine. Let's go study our notes quick. Then we can play videogames. 28Notice that the words are used differently from what might be taught in an English class. 29In casual conversation, Americans often use adjective forms in place of adverbs. They may use adjective forms to modify verbs. 30For example, the students use good - a word that is normally an adjective - as an adverb. One student says "we won't do good on the test." 31In writing and in formal conversation, Americans generally do not use the word "good" this way. Instead, they use the word well. In formal writing or speaking, you would be more likely to see or hear the sentence "we won't do well on the test." 32Americans also may use an adverb but choose not to say an -ly ending. 33For example, the student says "today is going slow," instead of "today is going slowly." You would be more likely to read "slowly" in academic writing, write Susan Conrad and Douglas Biber, two English grammar experts. 34Not necessarily slang, not necessarily impolite 35These grammatical structures are not necessarily slang. They are not necessarily impolite, either. You might hear some of these structures in a restaurant, at a job fair, or even at work. 36For example, a boss might tell an employee "We need to do this quick," about a project that must be completed quickly. 37This is the same pattern that the students used in their conversation. 38Conrad and Biber say that in formal speech and writing, adjective forms are almost never used to modify verbs. In addition, adverbs with -ly endings are more common in writing - particularly in academic and news writing.* 39What can you do? 40The good news is this: we are not asking you to memorize any of the patterns we have talked about today. 41What we hope to do is show you that the grammatical patterns in conversation do not always match the patterns used in formal writing or speech. There is more flexibility in casual speech. 42Understanding this idea will help you understand Americans when they speak, and it will help you sound more natural when you speak to Americans. 43You might also be pleased to know that Americans will not judge you severely if you use an adjective in place of an adverb. In fact, they probably would do the same! 44I'm Jill Robbins. 45And I'm John Russell. 46John Russell wrote this story for Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor. 47We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section. 48*Please see Conrad and Biber "Real Grammar: A Corpus-Based Approach to English" pgs. 73-75 49** If you would like to read more about adverbs, you might want to try these two resources: 50http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/do-all-adverbs-end-in-ly 51https://www.quora.com/What-is-a-list-of-adverbs-that-dont-end-in-ly 52____________________________________________________ 53Words in This Story 54conversation - n. an informal talk involving two people or a small group of people 55formal - adj. suitable for serious or official speech and writing 56casual - adj. not formal 57modify - v. grammar: to limit or describe the meaning of (a word or group of words) 58manner - n. the way that something is done or happens 59academic - adj. of or relating to schools and education 60slang - n. words that are not considered part of the standard vocabulary of a language and that are used very informally in speech especially by a particular group of people 61impolite - adj. not polite 62pattern - n. the regular and repeated way in which something happens or is done 63memorize - v. to learn (something) so well that you are able to remember it perfectly 64flexibility - n. able to change or to do different things