Prompt Proofing Blog Post: The 'Ad Words'

    VANCOUVER, BC, February 03, 2012 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Adverbs, as their name suggests, describe verbs; adjectives describe nouns. For those interested in improving their writing technique, this is an important distinction. The inappropriate use of these descriptive words is becoming more and more common. Consider the following, variations of which are commonly seen:

- Since we changed our Internet provider, websites load much quicker.

- Having a transitional period made the changeover go smoother.

- As she approached the office she walked slower.

Quicker, smoother and slower are all comparative adjectives yet they are used in the above sentences to describe verbs. In these examples adverbs should be used instead.

Compare:

- Since we changed our Internet provider, websites load much more quickly.

- Having a transitional period made the changeover go more smoothly.

- As she approached the office she walked more slowly.

There are some words which do not change, regardless of whether they are used as adjectives or adverbs. For example:

fast, hard, early

- Ann is a fast runner. (adjective) She runs fast. (adverb)

- Bill is a hard worker. (adjective) He works hard. (adverb)

- Sue is an early riser. (adjective) She always gets up early. (adverb)

Of course, in addition to describing verbs, adverbs can also be used to modify adjectives OR other adverbs. (Just as you thought we had it sorted!)

For example:

- The grave was exactly six feet deep.

- Joe was really tired.

- With only seconds to go, Tom needed to think extremely quickly.

Check back at the beginning of March for more grammar / spelling tips.

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