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Adverbs
Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2003 8:48 am
by mwert
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Anyone knows what is the explanation for having adverbs before adjectives e.g reasonably cheap,terribly sorry,surprisingly easy etc
I usualy say that the adverb describes the verb but I don't know how to explain these cases to my students (or to myself
..)
Michal
Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2003 3:37 pm
by Lorikeet
I thought adverbs could also modify adjectives. Certainly "very big" has nothing to do with a verb.
Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2003 4:28 pm
by dduck
I second that notion.
Iain
Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2003 8:34 pm
by mwert
Thank You.
My mistake of course .Something I studied many years ago (I still have a book that says the same...).
Well,I went over some other Grammar books and ...yes... adverbs can modify verbs, as well as adjectives and adverbs....
I'm so embarrassed
Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2003 9:37 pm
by Lorikeet
Don't be embarrassed! Questions always get us thinking anyway. It just goes to show you how careful we have to be in teaching things, because students hear what they think we said and remember it, even if it's wrong!
Posted: Sat Aug 16, 2003 6:31 am
by LarryLatham
Oh my, yes.
And if the textbook is wrong (which we all should know is much more common--at least in grammar--than we'd like to admit) we really have problems with students invoking the power of the printed word.
If someone wrote it in a book it has to be right, right? 
By all means, we should be thanking you,
mwert, for bring up the subject. We all need the practice of thinking it through.
Larry Latham