Adverbs and adjectives are two distinct word classes. Both are important parts of speech in English grammar, and both are used to describe something. The key difference between them lies in what they describe.
Adjectives describe nouns or pronouns.
- Miss Pinkerton was a rich and pretty lady.
Adverbs describe verbs.
- Miss Pinkerton could sew and embroider beautifully.
In order to pinpoint the difference between adverbs and adjectives, two things require assessment: the role they play in a sentence and what they aim to describe—a person, an object, an action, or an event.
Look at this sentence:
- The dog is a fast runner.
Here, fast is an adjective because it describes the noun runner.
Here’s another sentence:
- The dog ran fast.
Here, fast is an adverb because it describes the verb ran.
Rules for Adverbs
It is very easy to identify adverbs because they nearly always describe verbs. They can also, albeit infrequently, be used to describe adjectives or other adverbs.
1. Most adverbs are formed by adding the suffix -ly to an adjective.
For example:
- Nice – nicely
- Beautiful – beautifully
- Quick – quickly
- Bad – badly
2. As an exception to the above rule, words that end in -ble drop the -e before taking on -ly. The words true and due also follow this rule.
For example:
- Suitable – suitably
- Comfortable – comfortably
- Predictable – predictably
- True – truly
- Due – duly
3. Adjectives that end in -y change to -i before adding -ly, unless they have a single syllable, like dry or sly.
For example:
- Happy – happily
- Pretty – prettily
- Nasty – nastily
- Merry – merrily
4. Adverbs can also be formed by simply adding -y to a noun.
For example:
- Rain – rainy
- Wind – windy
- Sun – sunny
- Cloud – cloudy
5. Some adverbs are formed in an arbitrary manner, with no regard for the above-mentioned rules.
For example:
- Fast – fast
- Good – well
6. Some adverbs are spelt the same way as the adjectives to which they are related. In such cases, it might be difficult to tell whether the word is an adverb or an adjective. The rule here is to look at the words that precede or follow it. If it comes with a verb, it is probably an adverb.
For example:
- They met early the next morning.
- The visit was cut short due to rain.
- Are you planning to stay long there?
- He came late to the meeting.
7. Some adverbs are used to modify adjectives in order to make them more descriptive and give a clearer indication of what the sentence is talking about.
For example:
- It was an extremely stressful day.
- The summer has been very hot so far.
- It was absolutely quiet there.
- The red-haired woman is rather attractive.
8. Adverbs can sometimes be used to modify other adverbs.
For example:
- He is almost always good-humored.
Here, the adverb almost modifies the adverb always, and both are used to modify the word good-humored.
But while it is possible to modify an adverb with another adverb, this can sometimes create a bulky, awkwardly constructed sentence.
9. Adverbs can be used to modify an entire sentence rather than a specific word. In such cases, it is usually found at the beginning of the sentence.
For example:
- Thankfully, I live in the outskirts of an overcrowded metropolis.
- Generally, New York commuters prefer to ride the subway.
- Unsurprisingly, Paris is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world.
Rules for Adjectives
1. Adjectives may precede or follow the words they modify.
For example:
Adjectives preceding nouns
- I watched a cute cat video last night.
- He is reading an interesting book.
Adjectives following nouns
- Isn’t that cat video cute!
- Is that book interesting?
2. Adjectives in English must follow a specific order to sound “right.” Any deviations can make a sentence sound “wrong,” even if it is grammatically correct.
The order of adjectives in English is as follows:
i. Determiners (the, these, our, your, etc.)
Determiners, such as articles, demonstratives, and possessives, always precede the adjectives and nouns they modify.
ii. Quantity (few, many, two, one, etc.)
iii. Opinion (great, wonderful, terrible, surprising, etc.)
iv. Size (large, small, huge, tiny, etc.)
v. Age (new, old, ancient, centuries-old, modern, etc.)
vi. Shape (circular, oval, square, geometric, etc.)
vii. Color (pink, blue, yellow, multicolor, etc.)
viii. Material/Origin (British, metallic, cotton, Asian, etc.)
ix. Qualifier (Labrador puppy, suede jacket, pickup truck, French windows, etc.)
Most people naturally follow this order whenever they use more than one adjective to describe a noun.
3. Commas and adjectives: When a sentence has multiple adjectives, some of those adjectives need to be separated by commas. However, only adjectives that belong to the same category need to be separated by commas.
For example:
- They live in a beautiful, comfortable house.
Adjectives that belong to different categories do not need commas.
For example:
- Their house has a large unkempt garden at the back.
4. Incorrect use of commas with adjectives: In sentences with multiple adjectives, it would be wrong to place a comma between the final adjective and the noun it describes.
For example:
- The quick brown fox jumped over the fat lazy dogs.
- The delicious aroma of spaghetti Bolognese wafted through the large French windows.
No comma should occur between a noun’s determiner and its adjectives.
For example:
- The big green car
- My favorite Italian restaurant
Understanding the differences between adjectives and adverbs can help identify when and how to use them appropriately with the correct parts of speech—nouns or verbs.
