Adjectives and adverbs

Sample sentences

e.g. R&D aims to develop new products and the means to produce them cheaply.

e.g. Qualitative research investigates current product positioning; and why customers currently use a particular product.

e.g. A coal field is an area containing significant coal deposits; the deposits in this coal field have been significantly reduced in recent years.

Form

Adjectives and adverbs are grammatical units.

1. Here are some typical adjective endings and forms:

-ate / - ite - ful - al / - ial - ive - able / - ible

accurate harmful artificial active renewable

- ic - ous - ing - ed - ant / - ent

scientific dangerous mining finished transparent

2. Most adverbs are formed by adding –ly to the adjective.

adjective adverb

harmful harmfully

active actively

dangerous dangerously

scientific scientifically

artificial artificially

3. Some adjectives have the same form as adverbs:

e.g. early / fast / hard / late / straight

e.g. A cage provides fast access to the mine. (adjective)

e.g. The cage raises and lowers miners fast. (adverb)

Uses

1. We use an adjective:

1. To give more information about a noun:

e.g. We carry out pure research.

2. After the verb be:

e.g. All research is scientific.

2. We use an adverb:

1. To give more information about a verb:

e.g. The miners reached the surface safely.

2. To give more information about an adjective:

e.g. The mine is extremely dangerous.

3. To give more information about an adverb:

e.g. Miners work very hard.

4. To give more information about a sentence:

e.g. Firstly, I’ll present the new drilling equipment.

Ex. 13. Form an adjective from the following words by adding the correct suffix:

-ful, -ic, -ous, -y, -ant, -al, -able, -ent, -ed, -ial, -ive, -ible.

1. danger

2. dirt

3. magnet

4. use

5. industry

6. rely

7. origin

8. expense

9. excel

10. experiment

11. wash

12. flex

13. resist

14. pore

Ex. 14. Complete the following sentences with the adjective and adverb in brackets. Use each word once only.

1. The system will shut down _____. There is an _____ temperature control. (automatic / automatically).

2. New testing methods have made the process much more _____. Quality control now runs more _____. (efficient / efficiently)

3. Our aim is to ensure _____ operation at the plant. The manufacturing process should run _____. (smooth / smoothly)

4. Demand for electricity is _____ lower in the evening. Statistics show that there is a _____ fall in demand after 10 p.m. (general / generally)

5. People are becoming more interested in _____ friendly products. There is a growing interest in _____ issues. (environmental / environmentally)

6. Safety procedures must be _____ observed to avoid accidents. The manager in a coal mine must be _____ about activities underground. (strict / strictly)

Ex. 15. Here is a part of a presentation about the textile industry in the UK. Choose the correct word in bold.

The number of people who work in the textile (1) manufactured / manufacturing industry in the UK has fallen (2) considerable / considerably over the last 50 years. Today, it employs (3) approximately / approximate 130,000 people. Textiles for clothing and carpets have always been (4) important / importantly but today there is (5) increasing / increasingly trade in fabrics for (6) industrial / industrially applications. Fabrics are used (7) increasing / increasingly in the healthcare and automotive industries. The export of wool and (8) woolen / wool products has remained fairly (9) constantly / constant over the last 15 years. The UK also has a (10) significant / significantly silk industry, which produces over £170 million worth of goods (11) annual / annually. The UK linen trade has an (12) excellent / excellently reputation for quality and service and British exports remain very (13) healthy / healthily. The UK’s expertise in chemistry is (14) extensive / extensively and this is (15) important / importantly to the (16) dying / dyed industry. The manufacturing of dyestuffs is (16) relative / relatively strong. The sale of carpets contributes to the sale of textiles (17) significant / significantly. The carpet industry has (18) particular / particularly strengths in the (19) high / highly quality end of the market.