Adverbs – English Grammar Shortcut Rules
Adverbs – English Grammar Shortcut Rules
Rule 1 : The adverbs ‘too much’ is used with nouns and ‘much too’ is used with adjectives. Too much pain / Too much insincerity (Nouns)
Much too painful / much too careless (Adjectives) Adverbs examples
His failure is too much painful for me ☓
His failure is much too painful for me ✔
His wife’s rude behavior gives him much too pain ☓
His wife’s rude behavior gives him too much pain ✔
Rule 2 : Before the word ‘Enough’ an adjective under positive form should be used.
He is more intelligent enough to follow you. ☓
He is intelligent enough to follow you. ✔
She is enough lucky to get the job. ☓
She lucky enough to get the job. ✔
Rule 3 : The adverb quite (‘quite means perfectly/ completely) should not be used with the adjective ‘Handsome’.
He is quite handsome. ☓
He is very handsome. ✔
Rule 4 : Late / Lately. The adverb ‘late’ indicates time and lately means recently.
He was punished for coming lately. ☓
He was punished for coming late. ✔
Rule 5 : When we begin a sentence with ‘seldom / never / hardly / rarely / scarcely / barely / neither / never, the rule of inversion should be applied (i.e.,) an auxiliary verb is used before the subject.
Hardly he goes to school. ☓
Hardly does he go to school. ✔
Seldom I got to films. ☓
Seldom do I got to films. ✔
No sooner the school bell rings than all the boys go to their class rooms. ☓
No sooner does the school bell ring, than all the boys go to their class rooms.✔
After Only + adverbial expression.
Only by working hard, he got success. ☓
Only by working hard, did he get success. ✔
Not only but also
Not only she reads but also she writes. ☓
Not only does she read but also writes. ✔
Rule 6 : The adverbial phrase ‘No less than’ should be used with uncountable nouns whereas ‘No fewer than’ is used with countable nouns.
There were no less than forty people who were killed in the accident. ☓
No fewer than forty people were killed in accident. ✔
Rule 7 : The adverb (As) is not used after call and consider.
He called me as a fool ☓
He called me a fool. ✔
I always consider him as my brother. ☓
I always consider him my brother. ✔
Rule 8 : The derived adjectives such as interested / pleased / satisfied / delighted are used with ‘much’ but not ‘very’.
I am very interested to play cricket. ☓
I am much interested to play cricket. ✔
Rule 9 : The adverb ‘very’ is used with positive adjectives and ‘much’ with comparative adjective forms.
He is very clever to understand it. ✔
He is much clever to understand it. ☓
Rule 10 : ‘Very much’ should be used with comparative forms.
It is very much better to stay here tonight. ✔