Chapter 12 Adjectives and Adverbs (TGE)
0. INTRODUCTION
• Adjectives describe characteristics or properties of nouns.
• Adverbs perform a similar function in modifying verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs.
1. CHARACTERISTICS OF ADJECTIVES
Stacking of Adjectives and Word Order
• Adjectives can occur one after another, referred to as ‘stacking’.
• Stacks of more than three adjectives rarely occur.
• There is a preferred order of multiple adjectives:
subjective judgment/evaluation - measurement - color - material - noun ugly - old - yellow - tin - bucket (1) An ugly, old, yellow tin bucket stood beside the stove.
• Changing the word order make the phrases uncomfortable for native speakers:
(2) a. ? an old, ugly, yellow tin bucket b. ? an ugly, yellow, old tin bucket c. ? an ugly, old tin yellow bucket
Gradability of Adjectives
• Two types of adjectives:
- gradable: adjectives that can be modified by degree adverbs such as very.
old, young, cold, strong, tall, ...
- non-gradable/absolute; adjective that cannot be modified by degree adverbs.
right, wrong, legal, illegal,
• gradable adjectives - comparative (-er, more) and superlative forms (-est, most) Inflections - er/est More/Most
lively livelier liveliest more lively most lively private *privater *privatest more private most private
good better best *more good *most good
⇒ the length of syllable: more than one and half - more/most: private, beautiful one and half or less - er/est: old, older, oldest
easy, easier, easiest
exceptions: handsomer, handsomest, more/most handsome
• Negative gradability: less and least
(3) a. The result was less successful than anticipated.
b. His third campaign was the least successful of all his attempts.
Gradability of Absolute Adjectives
• absolute adjectives - nongradable
absolute, complete, correct, essential, impossible, perfect, pregnant, ultimate, unique, etc.
• However, native speakers use degree words with those adjectives often:
(4) a. He has the most complete game of the top 10 pros.
b. After the first four months they found it somewhat impossible to control the outbreaks of sporadic violence.
c. It's the most perfect copier ever invented.
Gradability of Participial Adjectives
• Present and past participle forms of verbs are adjectives. - participial adjectives
(5) a. That was really an interesting lecture.
b. He was standing around with a bored expression his face.
• Present participial adjectives:
amazing, boring, corresponding, encouraging, exciting, existing, following, increasing, interesting, leading, missing, outstanding, promising, remaining, threatening, underlying, willing, working, etc.
• Past participial adjectives:
advanced, alleged, armed, bored, complicate, confused, depressed, determined, disabled, disappointed, educated, excited, exhausted, frightened, pleased, surprised, tired, unemployed, unexpected, worried, etc.
• Present and past participial adjectives - only more/most comparative and superlatives.
exceptions: tireder not more tired
(6) a. That was the most amazing performance I've ever witnessed.
b. *That was the amazingest performance I've ever witnessed.
c. When she heard that the plane was overdue she became even more worried.
d. *When she heard that the plane was overdue she became even worrieder.
e. I couldn't be less concerned.
f. Of the many solutions to this problem, he is the least promising.
Modification of Adjectives
• Adjectives are modified by adverbs.
Adv Adj (7) a. These shrimp are [unusually][large].
Adv Adj b. They appear to be [remarkably][happy].
Summary (p. 240)
Exercise 12.1
Indicate whether the comparative or superlative form of each adjective in these sentences in grammatical or ungrammatical. If a form is ungrammatical, explain why.
Example: That was the interestingest lecture that I have heard in a long time.
Answer: ungrammatical(Participial adjectives form their superlative versions with most, not with an -est ending.)
1. The test they used to measure the students' proficiency is less reliable than the one at is usually used.
2. This is the most unique example of iconography that I have ever seen.
3. She supplied a less convincing alibi than the other suspect.
4. As it got darker, the two children became worrieder and worrieder.
5. That puppy over there is a lot more lively than the others.
2. POSITIONS OF ADJECTIVES
• Two types of adjectives by their positions: attributive and predicative.
- attributive adjectives appear before nouns; modifying a head noun.
- predicative adjectives appear after a verb; functioning as predicates.
(8) a. That big car is his. attributive b. They chose a young man for the job. attributive
(9) a. She is insane. predicative
b. You have got [your priorities wrong]. predicative c. She found [him dreadfully dull]. predicative
• Majority of adjectives including participial adjectives can be attributive or predicative both.
(10) a. That elephant has a really big trunk. attributive b. That elephant's trunk is really big. predicative c. He gave an interesting talk. attributive d. His talk was interesting. predicative
• Verb or adjective?
: Frightening itself can be either verb or adjective. How do we know it?
=> adjectives can be modified by the degree adverb very, but verbs cannot.
(11) a. Her story was very frightening. present participial adjective b. *John was very frightening her. verb (participle)
c. John was too startled to move. past participial adjective d. *John was too startled by his boss. verb (participle)
• Ambiguous status of past participle: either verb or adjective
Past participles are not modified by very, but they can be adjectives when they are interpreted as denoting states.
(12) The shop is closed at five o'clock.
=> closed in (12) can be either verb or adjective;
▪ verb when it is interpreted as an event (‘it is closed by somebody’)
▪ adjective when it is interpreted as a state (‘it is in the state of being closed’).
- The window was broken.
- The toy was assembled.
Attributive-Only Adjectives
A. drunken, erstwhile, eventual, future, mere, principal, utter etc. are used as noun-modifiers.
(13) a. At last night's party, he saw one of his former wives.
b. *At last night's party, he saw one of his wives who is former.
c. She thought that he was an utter fool.
d. *In terms of being a fool, he was utter.
His new friend. *His friend is new.
His new jacket. His jacket is new. (inherent property of the jacket) => new: time-related adjective
B. Adjectives of Degree
• describing the degree of the property of the head noun (14) a. an absolute hero.
b. a complete ballplayer c. a total moron
d. sheer nonsense
C. Quantifying Adjectives
• Indicating the amount, quantity, or frequency of the head noun.
(15) a. the only way b. the entire crew c. an occasional cloud d. the unusual suspects
D. Adjectives of Time and Location
• Placing a head noun within a particular time or location.
(16) a. a future appointment b. an old friend
c. his former girlfriend d. a previous version e. her left arm
f. the northeastern provinces
E. Associative Adjectives
• Describing properties of a head noun in terms of some entity that is associated with it.
(17) a. a mathematical journal b. urban planning
c. a gothic novelist d. a public official e. a moral dilemma
F. Adjective Compounds
• Compound adjectives are used only attributively (18) a. grayish-blue adjective + adjective b. big-name adjective + noun c. street- smart noun + adjective
(19) a. He was driving a grayish-blue foreign sports car.
b. There were a number of big-name Hollywood producers at the party.
c. Mr. Stenson turned out to be a clean-shaven young man dressed in a white flannel suit.
d. He has just produced his fifth best-selling novel and is on tour promoting it.
e. They went for a short ride in a glass-bottom boat to a coral reef, where they saw differently colored coral and thousands of multicolored fish.
f. He is a world-renowned physicist.
(20) a. His foreign sports car is grayish blue. (two words) b. *The Hollywood producers were big name.
c. *That boat is glass bottom.
d. The physicist is world renowned.
Predicative-Only Adjectives
A. Adjective Beginning with the Prefix A-
- afloat, afraid, aghast, alive, asleep, awake, ...
(21) a. The young girl was asleep, so she did not hear the storm outside.
b. *The asleep girl did not hear the storm outside.
c. The rescue squad finally discovered a man who was still alive.
d. *The rescue squad was happy to discover an alive man.
B. Adjectives That Take Complements
- able to , fond of, surprised at, interested in, ...
(22) a. She is liable to make a scene. infinitive b. *The liable person has to pay.
c. He is devoid of any humor. prepositional phrase d. *He was a devoid comic.
C. Adjectives Referring to Medical Conditions or Health - faint, ill, poorly, unwell, well, ...
(23) a. He feels faint.
b. *They revived the faint patient.
c. My mother is ill.
d. *They took the ill woman to the hospital.
- ill can be used attributively if it is modified: a mentally ill patient
Summary (p. 245)
Exercise 12.2
Indicate whether each sentence below is grammatical or ungrammatical. If a sentence is ungrammatical, explain why.
Example: The alive man was taken to the hospital.
Answer: ungrammatical (Alive is an adjective with the prefix a- and occurs only predicatively.)
1. Susan turned out to be the eventual winner.
2. The fireman picked up the afraid child and carried him out of the blazing building.
3. The audience was aghast when the president admitted that he was wrong.
4. The nurse helped the ill woman to a chair and called the doctor on duty.
5. He was a full-time job now.
3. ADJECTIVE PHRASES
• An adjective can form a phrase with modifiers or complements:
Adj (24) a. The customers were [angry].
Adv Adj
b. He was [[extremely][upset]]. - mod+A Adj PP
c. He was [[upset][about the poor service]]. – A+compl Adv Adj PP
d. He was [[extremely [upset][about the poor service]]. - mod+A+compl
Adjectives + PP complements
(25) My father was grateful for the police officer's intervention.
A. Adjective + about
- angry, annoyed, concerned, delighted, glad, happy, mad, pleased, upset, ...
; these adjectives can be followed by at as well as about.
(26) They were concerned about the possibility that he might refuse.
B. Adjective +at
- adept, aghast, alarmed, amazed, angry, awful, clever, disgusted, gifted, great, hopeless, indignant, mad, pleased, skilled, talented, terrible, ...
(27) a. The author was amazed at the reaction he received from the critics.
b. I am really terrible at sports.
C. Adjective +for
- answerable, anxious, bad, difficult, eager, easy, good, grateful, greedy, necessary, prepared, responsible, sorry, ...
(28) a. Everyone knows that smoking is not good for you.
b. We are very sorry for the inconvenience.
D. Adjective +with
- angry, bored, busy, cautious, careful, conversant, cross, disappointed, enchanted, familiar, fed, fraught, furious, happy, impatient, pleased, obsessed, riddled, satisfied, strict, tinged
(29) Yes, I am familiar with that term.
Summary (p. 247)
Exercise 12.3
Indicate whether each sentence below is grammatical or ungrammatical. If a sentence is ungrammatical, supply an appropriate correction.
Example: We are amazed with his reaction to our suggestion.
Answer: Ungrammatical
correction: at his reaction
1. Linda is terribly worried at this situation.
2. He was afraid about the possibility that his remarks might have been misunderstood.
3. Yes, I'm familiar with the program.
4. He's responsible with this mission, so he'll have to come up with a solution.
5. We were glad at the response we received.
4. CHARACTERISTICS OF ADVERBS
• Adverbs – words that supplies information about how, where, when, why, and to what extent.
- (TG) not a good definition; where, when – PP, why – S
• Adverbs play a function to modify adjectives, adverbs, verbs and clauses.
• Adverbs are fluid in terms of their position in a sentence.
(30) a. She had a surprisingly high score. modifying an adjective b. He comes relatively often. modifying an adverb c. He behaved abominably. modifying a verb d. Surprisingly, she had a high score. modifying a clause e. She had a high score, surprisingly. modifying a clause
-ly and Other Adverbs
• -ly adverbs:
Adjective Adverb (31) a. quick quickly b. fine finely c. accurate accurately d. dangerous dangerously (N+ly=A; friendly, manly, ...)
• Adverbs taking identical forms to adjectives: fast, hard, high, late, low (32) a. He is a fast worker.
b. He works fast.
• Adverbs with same and different meanings (their adjectives) (33) a. He tried on the suit and found that it was a tight fit.
b. He gripped the dog's collar tightly.
(34) a. She cried when she saw the dead dog. - not alive b. You're dead right. - ‘completely’
Types of Adverbs A. Manner Adverbs
- how actions care carried out;
erratically, hesitatingly, loudly, methodically, quickly, quietly, slowly, (35) He walked quickly across the plaza.
Degree Adverbs
- how much, degree to which the verbal action is carried out.
; awfully, barely, completely, dreadfully, enormously, extremely, greatly, hugely, infinitely, minutely, really, relatively, slightly, somewhat, thoroughly, ...
(36) a. The price of stocks has increased enormously.
b. I agree completely with everything that has been said.
B. Duration Adverbs
• Expressions answering How long.
: briefly, momentarily, permanently, temporarily, etc.
(37) He's temporarily staying with his cousin until he finds a new place.
C. Frequency Adverbs
• Expressing the frequency, answering how often.
; always, constantly, continually, never, occasionally, often, regularly, sometimes,
usually, ...
(38) She often comes in over an hour late.
D. Time Adverbs
• Expressing the time, answering when.
; already, earlier, later, now, subsequently, then, ...
(39) He has already spoken to her about it.
E. Instrumental Adverbs
• Expressions answering by what means.
; forming the adverbs with -ly to adjectives - mechanical-mechanically, hydraulic-hydraulically
(40) It has been mathematically proven to be correct.
F. Place Adverbs
• Expressions answering where.
; creating adding -ly to adjectives, or others
- local-locally, abroad, inside, here, outside, there
(41) a. The grapes are grown locally.
b. The owner of the restaurant told them to take their argument outside.
G. Additive and Restrictive Adverbs
• Additive adverbs expressing addition
; also, as well, even, too,
• Restrictive (focus) adverbs restricting meaning of an action/proposition ; exclusively, just, merely, only, purely, solely, ...
(42) a. The thief also took the VCR. additive adverb b. The thief took the VCR too. additive adverb c. You can only get off at this stop. restrictive adverb
H. Act-Related Adverbs
• Providing background or motive for the action.
- deliberately, expressly, knowingly, voluntarily, willfully
(43) She deliberately left the gas on.
I. Stance Adverbs (sentential)
• Expressing the speaker’s or writer’s attitude or judgment about the statement.
- foolishly, regrettably, obviously, certainly, probably,
arguably, assuredly, decidedly, definitely, incontestably, incontrovertibly,
conceivably, imaginably, maybe, perhaps, possibly, allegedly, apparently, purportedly, reportedly, ...
generally, in general, largely, mainly, in the main, typically, in fact, for a fact, really, truly,
in our/my opinion, in my/our view, from our perspective, sort of, kind of, roughly,
(44) a. Alice foolishly tried to have John fired.
b. He regrettably chose to ignore my advice.
(45) a. He will undoubtedly experience some feelings of remorse when he hears the bad news about his old friend.
b. It is probably not as luxurious as the car he owned.
(46) a. The king reportedly refused to eat his asparagus.
b. The request for discretionary spending by the president will apparently exceed what Congress had anticipated.
(47) a. Young children typically utter their first words near their first birthday.
b. New assistant professors generally have a teaching loads of two courses per semester.
(48) In fact, there is no scientific evidence that any one race is superior to any other.
(49) In our view, his proposal is a step in the wrong direction.
(50) I ain't seen this series. I just sort of remember from the last series.
(51) The ration of clerks to total employees in the same manufacturing industries roughly averages 9 percent.
J. Connective Adverbs
• Linking sentences, passages: - additionally, alternatively, moreover, therefore
(52) a. The use of hydrogen would reduce the price of fuel for vehicles. Additionally, it would be good for the environment.
b. It has been reported that the company has received several new orders from Asian countries. However, company officials would not confirm this.
Summary (p. 251)
Exercise 12.4
In each sentence that follows, identify the adverb by its type (manner, degree, time, instrumental, place, additive, act-related, stance, connective).
Example: She often spends hours in front of her computer.
Answer: Often=frequency adverb
1. Investments in technology stocks have decreased sharply.
2. I kind of think that he said something derogatory about her.
3. He rarely comes in on Friday.
4. She wisely decided to talk to her husband before accepting their offer.
5. Assistant professors are typically expected to produce one article per year.
6. She backed slowly away from the snake, which was coiled and ready to strike.
7. He deliberately sabotaged our efforts.
8. She now lives in a small apartment.
9. He only goes there on Friday.
5. POSITIONS OF ADVERBS
• The position of an adverb in a sentence varies depending on what the adverb modifies.
Modifying Adjectives and Adverbs
• When adverbs modify adjectives and adverbs, they precede the modified words.
Stacking more than two adverbs sounds clumsy, though such a sentence may be uttered by an excited speaker. - (53c)
(53) a. It was a really beautiful ceremony. adverb-adjective b. He gave her a really incredibly beautiful ring. adverb-adverb adjective c. *He got her a really, fantastically, incredibly beautiful ring.
Modifying Verbs
• Adverbs modifying verbs appear
IP (S)
NP I’
I VP | V’
| V’
V NP/PP
S-avd Subj (have) Asp-adv V-adv Verb Obj/Comp V-adv PP(adjunct) S-adv
Obviously often quickly carefully fortunately
(54) a. He often takes the metro.
b. * He takes often the metro.
c. She sometimes reads detective novels.
d. *She reads sometimes detective novels.
(55) a. He quickly slipped the key into his pocket. manner b. He really enjoyed the concert. degree
c. He briefly considered the proposal before he rejected it. duration d. She often takes the bus to work. frequency
e. They have already seen it. time
f. It was arithmetically confirmed. instrumental g. They expressly asked him to do it. act-related
(56) a. He tiptoed quietly out of the room. manner b. The price of stocks rose enormously in the late 1990s. degree c. He's staying temporarily with his parents. duration d. He's standing outside in the rain. place e. ? She works always in the afternoon. frequency f. ? He will come conceivably on Tuesday. stance
(57) a. He left the room quickly. manner
b. She enjoyed the party tremendously. degree c. He lost his balance momentarily. duration
d. He comes in late sometimes. frequency
e. She's done that already. time
f. Today navigation is done electronically. instrumental
g. *She will leave definitely. stance
(58) a. Earlier he told us a different story.
b. Sometimes she comes in over an hour late.
c. *Always she speaks English to her mother.
d. ?Contentedly they would watch TV for hours.
(59) a. *He fainted almost.
b.*She caught up nearly.
c. Always remember to call your mother once a week.
d. ?She speaks English to her mother always.
• Negative Frequency Adverbs and Inversion - never, scarcely, hardly, seldom, rarely (60) a. Never have I seen anything as brilliant as that. subject-aux inversion b. Seldom does John forget to do his taxes on time. subject-aux inversion c. *Never I have seen anything as brilliant as that.
d. *Seldom John forgets to do his taxes on time.
Modifying Clauses
• Sentential adverbs modify clauses, sentence initially or finally.
- they often set off by a comma/commas.
(61) a. He answered the questions foolishly. - manner (V-adv) b. Foolishly, he answered the question. - attitude (S-adv) (62) a. Regrettably, he had a previous engagement.
b. He is not available just now, unfortunately.
c. There is, in fact, no basis whatsoever to his claim.
d. Reportedly, he will announce his candidacy sometimes next week.
In Embedded Clauses
That Clause
(63) a. John hopes [that he will eventually have his own business].
Infinitive Clause
b. John hopes [to eventually have his own business]. - split infinitive
(64) John hopes eventually to have his own business.
• Split infinitive examples: further, utterly, actually, even, immediately (65) a. It's possible to actually reduce the image to the size of a pinhead.
b. They had intended to even add a third section to the study.
c. She doesn't want to further exacerbate the problem.
• Changing positions of adverbs may result in different interpretations.
(66) a. The city council voted to immediately approve raising the sales tax.
b. The city council voted immediately to approve raising the sales tax.
-> (66a) immediately modifies approve.
(66b) immediately modified voted.
6. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT ADVERBS
Modifying Adjectives and Other Adverbs
• Functions of the same adverbs may vary depending what they modify.
(67) a. After the engine had been overhauled, the car performed perfectly. manner b. I wouldn't worry, John is perfectly capable. degree.
c. She played so unbelievably. manner
d. It was an unbelievably awkward moment. degree
• Some degree adverbs without -ly are used to modify adjectives primarily.
(68) a. He was real generous to us.
b. We were darn lucky to be there.
c. That's a pretty good cup of coffee.
• Adverbs modifying comparatives: even, far, way, still (69) a. That's far more interesting.
b. His explanation is way more convincing than yours.
c. The news was even less comforting than we had expected.
In Adverb Phrases
• Adverbs that take complements
Adv pp (70) a. A duel resolves disputes [independently][of the law].
Adv PP
b. These purchases were handled [similarly][to all state purchases].
(71) a. This branch operates separately from the rest of the company.
b. He made his decision independently of the other members of the board.
c. It is done almost identically to the method that is currently preferred.
d. The information was released simultaneously with a description of the new plan.
Summary (p. 257)
Exercise 12.5
Indicate whether each sentence is grammatical. If a sentence is ungrammatical, explain why.
Example: Never we have witnessed such a daring rescue.
Answer: ungrammatical (When never appears in initial position, subject-aux inversion must occur.)
1. I was so dizzy that I fell down almost.
2. She gently set the baby in the crib and ran into the next room to answer the phone.
3. Seldom I have seen a performance as good as that one.
4. John doesn't drive to work every day. He takes sometimes the bus.
5. Always he has to take out the trash.
PROBLEMS THAT ESL/EFL STUDENTS HAVE WITH ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS
• Arabic speakers’ error: *He drives very dangerous.
- Arabic does not have a single-word expression to dangerously.
- not clear about the cause for the error
• L1 influence?
*I am very boring (intended I am very bored.)
Ungrammatical Adjective + to constructions (Spanish)
• Spanish: *a precise method to define a characteristic (a precise method of defining a characteristic)
(72) *The student, who failed a test in the past and now he is capable to pass the test after some preparation, knows that he is not a fool.
(...capable of passing ... )
Positions of Adverbs (Spanish, French)
• Sentence-initial adverbs: Spanish siempre ‘always’, but not in English.
(73) *Always the teachers talk in English.
• French allows an adverb to appear between a verb and its object.
(74) a. Jean regarde souvent la télévision.
John watches often the television b. John often watches television.
c. *John watches often television. (French speakers’ error) d. *Jean souvent regarde la télévision.
Korean: 나는 사과를 천천히/맛있게 먹었다. V-Adv-Obj
Negative Frequency Adverbs in Initial Position (Romance Languages)
• Some Romance languages do not undergo SAI with negative adverbs.
(Portuguese, Spanish, Italian)
(75) Rarmente o Jorge esquece de fazer o seu dever de casa.
rarely Jorge forgets to do his work of home "Rarely does Jorge forgets to do his homework."
(76) *Rarely Jorge forgets to do his homework.
SUGGESTIONS FOR TEACHING ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS
Teaching Adjectives
Activity 1: Forming Sentences with Adjectives (Beginning Through Low Intermediate)
• Role play with a lost-found situation ▷ Divide the class into pairs of students
▷ Student A - the role of a person who lost something Student B - in charge of the Lost and Found Office
▷ Prepare a list of adjectives: size, color, age, and medium-sized, sky-blue, ...
and a list of that are typically lost: luggage, rings, watches, mobile phones, ...
▷ Give the lists to Student A.
▷ Student B asks Student A for more descriptive adjectives, ...
Student A: Do you have a suitcase?
Student B: Well, we have several suitcases. Can you describe it a little more?
Student A: Well, it’s old and scratched.
:
▷ It can be extended to the one which uses multiple adjectives: an old brown scratched suitcase.
Activity 2: Relative Order of Adjective (Beginning Through Low Intermediate)
• TBLT task
• Create two tables in the book (p. 260-261): one of adjectives, one of items.
• Students are allowed to look up the meanings of any adjectives and nouns.
• Students can take the tables home to study the first table and to practice making sentences using the adjectives and nouns. - pre-task stage
• Go over the first table to help students construct NPs that have more than one adjectives - two or three or four adjectives.
• In class, students pair off, with one taking the role of the shopper, the other the role of the salesperson.
• The shopper student chooses a shop (pet store, department store, ... ).
• The sales student is given some options to use in responding to the shopper.
Shopper: I am looking for a table, a dining table.
Salesman: We have a mahogany table.
:
Shopper: I am looking for a small dog.
Salesman: ...
Activity 3: Participial Adjective (Intermediate)
• interested vs. interesting, bored vs. boring
▷ Write the words interested and interesting, and sentences with them.
I am very interested in the movie.
The movie is very interesting.
▷ Explain the meanings of interested - a person’s feeling/concern on something.
interesting - causing a person’s feeling/concern on sth
▷ Hand out slips of papers with pairs of sentences in (77), and have the students choose one form for the blank.
(77) encouraged/encouraging
We got some _____________ results from the last two experiments.
We were _____________ by the results of the last two experiments.
bored/boring
He thought that it was a very _____________ lectures.
He was definitely _____________ by the lecture.
confused/confusing
He gave a rather _____________ answer. I didn't really understand it.
I was _____________ by the answer he gave. I didn't really understand it.
Activity 4 : Adjective + Prepositions Collocations (Intermediate Through Advanced)
• highly frequently used adjectives + prep:
afraid of, aware of, certain of, convinced of
▷ Write one of the adjective + prep - afraid of.
▷ Ask students to tell you what they are afraid of.
▷ Have them respond in full sentences and write them on the board.
▷ Write the rest of the adjectives on the board, and ask the class questions with the adjectives.
(Who are you proud of? What are you fond of?)
▷ Point out that the adjectives are followed by the preposition of.
▷ Divide the class into small groups and have them write down many sentences.
▷ Move around the class and check the sentences.
▷ Extend the activity to the other adjectives.
Teaching Adverbs
Activity 5 : Frequency Adverbs (Low Intermediate)
▷ Write the adverbs on the board in two columns:
the positive frequency adverbs - sometimes, often, always, occasionally, usually the negative ones - never, rarely, scarcely ever, hardly ever, seldom
▷ Name the names of four activities:
watch television go dancing go to a rock concert go to the movies have coffee with friends go to a football game study in the library go swimming go biking
:
▷ The teaches asks students and students answer with a complete answer with an adverb.
▷ Demonstrate: How often do you watch television?
I rarely watch television.
▷ You can add more activities
▷ Have students pair off and ask each other and take turns.
ACTIVITIES
Activity 6: Focusing on Correct Position (Intermediate Through Advanced)
• discovery approach to teaching adverbs’ position
• Present students with examples of frequency adverbs and ask them to figure out the rules.
• French speakers
▷ Present students with correct written sentences (subject adverb verb object), and incorrect ones (S-V-Adv-O)
▷ Ask students whether each sentence is correct, and ask why it is (in)correct.
If they are incorrect, ask them to provide correct ones.
▷ Hand out a short piece of writing (a paragraph from a story, ...) that contains examples of the issue.
▷ Have students work in pair. One student reads the passage sentence by sentence, other student stops the reader when he or she hears a sentence with word order.
The two students decide whether there is an error and if any, they correct it.
▷ The teacher move around the class and monitor the activities, but do not give definite answers.
▷ After the task is over, go over it as a class.
▷ Repeat the process over several semesters. An example of a passage for editing that include errors of adverb placement is shown in (78).
(78) Hi, Alicia!
I am sending you this e-mail to tell you how things are going for me this summer in Vancouver. I didn't write sooner because I couldn't get an Internet connection. But now I have one. I am taking English classes, and I am having a good time in this beautiful city.
Vancouver is really pretty and is right on the water. My classes are good. Always my teachers speak English, so I get lots of practice. I live pretty close to the school, so I take often the bus from my apartment to my classes. There are a lot of students from my school in the building where I live. So I never am alone, and I don't get too homesick. Sometimes on the weekend I take a short trip with my friends outside the city. The weather has been good. Hardly ever we get a lot of rain. I think maybe it rained only once. Talk to you soon.
