Hello,
I'm not sure if I should use the words "normal / normally", "nervouse / nervously", "strange / strangely", "calm / calmly" or "weird / weirdly' in the following sentences. I often here the words used interchangalby.
1. Don't act "strange / strangely" becuase you're nervous, try to remain calm and act "normal / normally."
2. I always act "nervous / nervously" and "weird / weirdly" in job interviews.
3. You must learn to act "calm / calmly" if you want to get the job.
grammar question: Don't act too "strange/strangely"
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hereinchina
- Posts: 119
- Joined: Fri May 29, 2009 1:47 pm
Arnie
It seems that, for most if not all, both are possible but there is a difference in meaning/focus. (To me, at least).
Example:
You must learn to act "calm / calmly" if you want to get the job.
* Is the focus on the need to be 'calm' or on the need to 'act'?
* If the focus is on the need to be calm then it should be 'learn to act calm', so that 'act' takes the place of a verb like 'be', provides a (meaningful) link to the adjective.
* If the focus is on the 'act' itself, then it would be 'learn to act calmly', so that the adverb calmly is describing how the acting is done.
In this example, it is clearly 'calm' that needs to be the focus (ie. it is saying '[be] calm' or 'act [as if you are] calm', as opposed to 'do some acting in a calm manner'), so it should be 'act calm'. I can't really think of a good context where 'act' might be the focus (the closest I can get is, "Arnold Schwarzenegger governs well but acts poorly" ???)
Is this one of those regionally variable points? One of those situations where 'act calmly' is considered correct by prescriptive grammars but in which 'act calm' is equally (or more) common in real life use?
Example:
You must learn to act "calm / calmly" if you want to get the job.
* Is the focus on the need to be 'calm' or on the need to 'act'?
* If the focus is on the need to be calm then it should be 'learn to act calm', so that 'act' takes the place of a verb like 'be', provides a (meaningful) link to the adjective.
* If the focus is on the 'act' itself, then it would be 'learn to act calmly', so that the adverb calmly is describing how the acting is done.
In this example, it is clearly 'calm' that needs to be the focus (ie. it is saying '[be] calm' or 'act [as if you are] calm', as opposed to 'do some acting in a calm manner'), so it should be 'act calm'. I can't really think of a good context where 'act' might be the focus (the closest I can get is, "Arnold Schwarzenegger governs well but acts poorly" ???)
Is this one of those regionally variable points? One of those situations where 'act calmly' is considered correct by prescriptive grammars but in which 'act calm' is equally (or more) common in real life use?
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fluffyhamster
- Posts: 3031
- Joined: Tue Oct 26, 2004 6:57 pm
- Location: UK > China > Japan > UK again
One word of caution.
I forgot one thing.
A (Chinese) colleague recently had his son complain about failing a question in an exam:
1) He stayed ____ the water for a few minutes.
a) in b) under c) on
His son had chosen 'in', which is perfectly fine, but the exam treated that answer as incorrect (treating 'under' as the only correct answer). There was no additional context given, either.
So, if your Q is in relation to passing exams in Uni or High School in China (regardless of its use in real life), it probably has to be the adverb in each case.
A (Chinese) colleague recently had his son complain about failing a question in an exam:
1) He stayed ____ the water for a few minutes.
a) in b) under c) on
His son had chosen 'in', which is perfectly fine, but the exam treated that answer as incorrect (treating 'under' as the only correct answer). There was no additional context given, either.
So, if your Q is in relation to passing exams in Uni or High School in China (regardless of its use in real life), it probably has to be the adverb in each case.