It's that time of year when the newspapers are giving away freebies to try to get people to buy them regularly. It's been particularly useful for me and my class this week because The Guardian and The Observer have been giving away booklets every day about creative writing. They contain many handy hints, food for thought and writing exercises.
On Saturday 27th, The Guardian is also giving away a 110-page guide to English - another very useful free gift for my students. From time to time we discuss grammar and punctuation. There are always a few things that catch a lot of them out, so it's useful to do some revision.
Let's hope that all this talk of creative writing will inspire more people to put pen to paper and try it for themselves - or sign up for creative writing courses and discover the joy of discovering writing in the company of other like-minded people.
So do buy The Guardian this week or if you know someone who's a regular Guardian reader, ask them to let you have the creative writing guides. Happy reading!
Showing posts with label English language. Show all posts
Showing posts with label English language. Show all posts
Tuesday, 23 September 2008
Thursday, 5 June 2008
'Get It Right' - Part 3 - Adjectives and Adverbs
Adverb or Adjective?
Both adverbs and adjectives modify (describe) something. Adverbs describe how something is done - quickly, carefully, sweetly, roughly, scarily - whereas adjectives describe what something is like - quick, careful, sweet, rough, scary.
How to Spot an Adverb
It's easy to spot the difference between an adjective and an adverb. Adverbs often end in -ly, though there are a few exceptions.
Puzzle
Can you spot the adverbs in the following list?
hoarsely good excitement foolishly enthusiastically wrong well bubbly uniquely holy mad old
The answer can be found at the end of this posting.
When Do You Use an Adverb?
Whether you need to use an adverb or an adjective depends on what it is that you want to describe - whether you're talking about the way something is done or what something is like.
Adverbs
Adverbs are attached to a verb - a doing word - and describe how the verb is being done. For example, take the following sentence:
The burglar crept softly into the house.
What is it that is being described? It's the way the burglar crept. Crept is a verb, so softly must be an adverb.
Adjectives
Adjectives are attached to a noun - a naming word - and describe what the noun is like. For example:
The nurse spoke to the patient in a soft voice.
What is it that is soft? It's the nurse's voice. Voice is a noun, so soft must be an adjective.
An Adverb instead of an Adjective
Of course, you could rewrite the sentence so that it uses an adverb instead:
The nurse spoke softly to the patient.
The next time you're reading something, why not see if you can spot for yourself which are the adjectives and which are the adverbs?
Tomorrow's Blog
This is the last in this week's mini-series about the nuts and bolts of the English language. Tomorrow we'll look at how to write an opening to a story or article that will make your readers want to read on.
The Writing Wizard
Both adverbs and adjectives modify (describe) something. Adverbs describe how something is done - quickly, carefully, sweetly, roughly, scarily - whereas adjectives describe what something is like - quick, careful, sweet, rough, scary.
How to Spot an Adverb
It's easy to spot the difference between an adjective and an adverb. Adverbs often end in -ly, though there are a few exceptions.
Puzzle
Can you spot the adverbs in the following list?
hoarsely good excitement foolishly enthusiastically wrong well bubbly uniquely holy mad old
The answer can be found at the end of this posting.
When Do You Use an Adverb?
Whether you need to use an adverb or an adjective depends on what it is that you want to describe - whether you're talking about the way something is done or what something is like.
Adverbs
Adverbs are attached to a verb - a doing word - and describe how the verb is being done. For example, take the following sentence:
The burglar crept softly into the house.
What is it that is being described? It's the way the burglar crept. Crept is a verb, so softly must be an adverb.
Adjectives
Adjectives are attached to a noun - a naming word - and describe what the noun is like. For example:
The nurse spoke to the patient in a soft voice.
What is it that is soft? It's the nurse's voice. Voice is a noun, so soft must be an adjective.
An Adverb instead of an Adjective
Of course, you could rewrite the sentence so that it uses an adverb instead:
The nurse spoke softly to the patient.
The next time you're reading something, why not see if you can spot for yourself which are the adjectives and which are the adverbs?
Tomorrow's Blog
This is the last in this week's mini-series about the nuts and bolts of the English language. Tomorrow we'll look at how to write an opening to a story or article that will make your readers want to read on.
The Writing Wizard
I have a new blog site, The Writing Wizard, in which I will be applying my magic touch to your writing problems. I'll be providing advice, tuition, and inspiration for aspiring writers.
You can read The Writing Wizard on http://www.bloglines.com/blog/GaleBarker.
Solution to the puzzle: The adverbs are: hoarsely foolishly enthusiastically well uniquely.
Well is one of the exceptions - an adverb that doesn't end in -ly. Bubbly and holy end in -ly, but they are actually adjectives.
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