Adverb or Adjective #1
Adverbs and adjectives both describe, but they’re used differently. Examine the
chart and examples below to see how each is used.
Adverbs Modify Adjectives Modify
Verbs nouns pronouns
Adjectives
Other adverbs
For example:
For example:
noun adjective
Verb adverb ^ ^
^ ^ Mike was tired after the race.
My sister drives carefully.
Directions: Look at the sentences below and decide whether an adverb or adjective is needed.
Circle your choice. Then underline the word it modifies. (Hint: adverbs usually, but not
always, end in “ly”).
1. The house looked (empty, emptily).
2. Jason pitched (wild, wildly).
3. The choir sang (good, well).
4. Those hills look (beautiful, beautifully).
5. The teams were matched (even, evenly).
6. The cheese on this cracker tastes (strange, strangely).
7. You print so (neat, neatly).
8. Ron arrived (prompt, promptly) at ten.
9. I go to the gym (regular, regularly).
10.The snow fell (steady, steadily).
11.The solution to the crime seemed (obvious, obviously).
12.The hem of the skirt was (real, really) crooked.
Adjectives or Adverbs? #2
Directions: Determine whether each underlined word below is an adjective or an adverb.
1. The woolly mammoth is believed to be the ancestor of the modern elephant.
2. She jumped up suddenly and left the room.
3. This recipe calls for coarsely ground nuts. Adjective adverbs
4. The early bird gets the worm.
5. She speaks so softly that I can hardly hear her.
6. She has curly blond hair and blue eyes.
7. “Come here, quickly,” she said, “and help me get this curtain hung.”
8. At the pet shop a cuddly little kitten snuggled up to me, and I almost bought it.
9. A nicely trimmed hedge is an asset to a yard.
10.His kingly bearing makes him a perfect choice for the role of pharaoh in our play. 11.That
oil painting is absolutely magnificent!
12.Toothpaste ads on television always feature models with gleaming, pearly teeth. 13.“I’m
the greatest,” he said jokingly, as he flexed his almost nonexistent muscles.
Adverbs and Adjectives #3
Directions: For each of the following sentences, identify the underlined word as either an
adjective or an adverb.
1. Music has accompanied drama since old times.
2. Beethoven, a composer, tirelessly devoted himself to his music.
3. He often worked late.
4. In the old days, musical selections were performed live by great pianists.
5. Beethoven was terribly shocked when he learned he was losing his hearing when he was
in his late twenties.
6. His condition gradually worsened.
7. Music in silent films (films with no talking) had little, if any, connection to the on-
screen action and presented little variation from one scene to the next.
8. Today music plays a special role in the production of movies.
9. Can you think of any good movie soundtracks?
10. Recently, I saw a movie that had a really good soundtrack.
Adjectives adverbs
Adverbs and Adjectives #4
Directions: Identify each of the underlined words as either an adjective or an adverb.
1. Karaoke became a major trend in Japan and around the world.
2. Many people sing karaoke, even though some sing poorly.
3. The concept of karaoke is not a new one.
4. The word “karaoke” means “empty orchestra” in Japanese.
5. Powerful speakers play the background music.
6. Meanwhile, the lyrics are displayed on a large screen.
7. Sometimes the lyrics move by too quickly and singers get lost.
8. What do you think is the most popular song for karaoke singers?
9. Karaoke can be challenging when the songs are chosen randomly for you.
10. Karaoke is so fun, I am sure it will be around for a long time.
Adjectives adverbs
Adjective or Adverb Exercise #5
Directions: Choose the correct item from the choices in the parentheses.
1. He (correct, correctly) defined the terms. The answer sounded (correctly, correct).
2. She (quickly, quick) adjusted the fees. She adapted (quick, quickly) to any
situation.
3. He measured the floor (exact, exactly). They proved to be (perfectly, perfect)
(exact, exactly) measurements.
4. The stillness of the tomb was (awfully, awful). The tomb was (awfully, awful) still.
5. It was a (dangerously, dangerous) lake to swim in. The man was (dangerous,
dangerously) drunk. The gas smelled (dangerously, dangerous).
6. She performed (magnificent, magnificently). It was a (magnificent,
magnificently) beautiful performance.
7. Her voice sounds (beautifully, beautiful). She sang the song (exact, exactly) as it was
written. We heard it (perfectly, perfect).
8. He was a very (sensibly, sensible) person. He acted very (sensible, sensibly).
9. Mike wrote too (slow, slowly) on the exam. He always writes (slow, slowly).
10. Talk (softly, soft) or don't talk at all. The music played (softly, soft).
11. Andrea knows the material very (good, well). She always treats us (good, well).
12. You must send payments (regular, regularly). We deal on a (strictly, strict) cash basis.
13. The mechanic's tools were (well, good). The foreman said that his work was (good,
well) done.
14. She worked (careful, carefully) with the sick child. She was a very (careful,
carefully) worker.
15. He did not pass the course as (easy, easily) as he thought he would.
16. I find this novel very (interesting, interestingly). It was (interesting,
interestingly) written.
Adjective or Adverb #6
Directions: Write down the correct form of the red word in parentheses (adjective or adverb).
1. Tom is (slow) slow . He works slowly .
2. Sue is a (careful) careful girl. She climbed up the ladder carefully .
3. The dog is (angry) angry . It barks angrily .
4. He acted (excellent) excellently . He's an excenllent actor.
5. They learn English (easy) easily . They think English is an easy language.
6. Max is a (good) good singer. He sings well .
7. It's (awful) awfully cold today. The cold wind is awful .
8. Dogs rely on their noses as they can smell (extreme / good) extremely well . If that is
true, why does dog food smell so (terrible) terrible ?
9. The little boy looked (sad) sad . I went over to comfort him and he looked at me
sadly .
10. I tasted the soup (careful) carefully but it tasted (wonderful) wonderful .
