Adjective or Adverb - Which to Use?

Sometimes students are not sure when to use an adverb or an adjective. This short guide provides an overview and rules to using both adjectives and adverbs.

Adjectives Modify Nouns

• Adjectives are placed directly before a noun:

  Examples:

  Tom is an excellent singer.

  I bought a comfortable chair.

  She's thinking about buying a new house.

• Adjectives are also used in simple sentences with the verb 'to be'. In this case, the adjective describes the subject of the sentence:

  Examples:

  Jack is happy.

  Peter was very tired.

  Mary'll be excited when you tell her.

• Adjectives are used with sense verbs or verbs or appearance (feel, taste, smell, sound, appear and seem) to modify the noun which comes before the verb:

  Examples:

  The fish tasted awful.

  Did you see Peter? He seemed very upset.

  I'm afraid the meat smelled rotten.

Adverbs Modify Verbs, Adjectives and Other Adverbs

• Adverbs are easily recognized because the end in '-ly' (with a few exceptions!):

  Examples:

  Adjective careful Adverb carefully

  Adjective quick Adverb quickly

• Adverbs are often used at the end of a sentence to modify the verb:

  Examples:

  Jack drove carelessly.

  Tom played the match effortlessly.

  Jason complained about his classes constantly.

• Adverbs are used to modify adjectives:

  Examples:

  They seemed extremely satisfied.

  She paid increasingly high prices.

  I was suddenly surprised by Alice.

• Adverbs are also used to modify other adverbs:

  Examples:

  The people in the line moved incredibly quickly.

  She wrote the report unusually neatly.

More Adjective and Adverb Help

Adjectives Explained

Adjective Order

Adjective Order Quiz

Adverbs Explained

Adverb Clauses

Adverbs of Frequency