Adjective vs Adverb

You already know that adjectives describe nouns and adverbs describe verbs. Now it is time to practise choosing the correct form when sentences get trickier.

What You'll Learn

In this lesson, you will learn:

• How to choose between the adjective form and the adverb form in different sentence patterns
• How to handle tricky verbs that can be linking verbs or action verbs (e.g., "look", "feel", "grow")
• How spelling changes work when turning adjectives into adverbs (e.g., dropping -e, changing -y to -ily, adding -ally)
• Special adjective-adverb pairs where the adverb form is completely different (e.g., good/well)

When to Use

1. When a verb can be linking or action: "She looked calm." (linking verb -- calm describes her) vs "She looked calmly at the map." (action verb -- calmly describes how she looked)
2. When the sentence has two possible forms: "He spoke to the crowd nervous / nervously." Ask: Does the word describe a noun or a verb? He spoke nervously -- it describes how he spoke.
3. When you see a describing word after a verb of the senses: "The durian smells strong." (Strong describes the durian, not how it smells -- use the adjective.)
4. When writing about how something was done: "The team worked quiet / quietly in the library." Quietly tells how they worked, so use the adverb.
5. When comparing actions: "She solved the puzzle more quick / quickly than her brother." Use the adverb form because it describes the action of solving.

How to Form

Spelling Rules for Turning Adjectives into Adverbs

You learnt in P3 that most adverbs are formed by adding -ly. Here are the spelling rules in detail:

Tricky Verbs: Linking or Action?

Some verbs can work as linking verbs (use adjective) or action verbs (use adverb). The meaning of the sentence decides which one you need.

Irregular Pairs to Memorise

Key Rules

1. After linking verbs, use an adjective: Linking verbs include is, am, are, was, were, and sense verbs like looks, feels, sounds, tastes, smells when they mean "appears" or "seems". "The kaya toast tastes wonderful."

2. After action verbs, use an adverb: When the verb shows someone doing something, use an adverb to describe how. "She completed the test quickly."

3. Check if the verb is linking or action: Ask "Can I replace this verb with 'is' or 'seems'?" If yes, it is a linking verb and you need an adjective. "She looks tired" = "She seems tired" -- use adjective.

4. Do not confuse "hard" and "hardly": "Hard" as an adverb means with great effort. "Hardly" means almost not at all. "He hardly studied" means he almost did not study. "He studied hard" means he put in a lot of effort.

5. Do not confuse "late" and "lately": "Late" as an adverb means not on time. "Lately" means recently. "He came late" vs "I have not seen him lately."

6. Use "well" as the adverb of "good": "Good" is always an adjective. "Well" is the adverb (except when talking about health: "I feel well" = "I am not sick"). "She did well on her spelling test."

Common Mistakes

Clue Words

Signals that you need an adjective (linking verb before the blank)

is, am, are, was, were, looks, feels, seems, appears, sounds, tastes, smells, becomes, remains, stays, grows (when it means "becomes")

Signals that you need an adverb (action verb before the blank)

runs, walks, speaks, writes, eats, works, plays, sings, dances, reads, drives, swims, climbs, jumps, studies

Words that change meaning with -ly

hard/hardly, late/lately, near/nearly, high/highly, most/mostly

Tip: Try replacing the verb with "is" or "seems". If the sentence still makes sense, use the adjective. "She looks happy" = "She is happy" -- yes! Use the adjective. "She looked carefully" = "She is carefully" -- no! Use the adverb.

Practice Tips

1. The "is/seems" swap test: Replace the verb with "is" or "seems". If the sentence still makes sense, the verb is acting as a linking verb -- use an adjective. If it sounds wrong, the verb is an action verb -- use an adverb.

2. The "How?" test: After an action verb, ask "How?" If the answer describes the action, you need an adverb. "She spoke ___." How did she speak? Clearly. Use the adverb "clearly".

3. Watch out for -ly traps: Not every word ending in -ly is an adverb (e.g., "friendly" is an adjective), and some adverbs do not end in -ly (e.g., "fast", "hard", "well"). Always check what the word describes.

4. Circle the word being described: Find the describing word in the sentence. Draw an arrow to what it describes. If it points to a noun, use the adjective form. If it points to a verb, use the adverb form.

Quick Reference

Decision Guide

Commonly Tested Pairs