Business English: A Practice Book by Rose Buhlig

THE ADJECTIVE AND THE ADVERB AS a rule, adverbs present more difficulty than do adjectives. Careless pupils frequently use an adjective when an adverb is necessary; as, _Wrong_: He solved the problem very _quick_. _Right_: He solved the problem very _quickly_. _Wrong_: This is _real_ good candy. _Right_: This is _really_ (or _very_) good candy. Until the habit of correct usage is formed, every sentence must be watched. When a word modifies a verb, an adjective, or an adverb, another adverb must be used, and an adjective may not correctly be substituted. As a rule, adverbs express the following ideas: _Time_: We arrived _early_. _Place_: We have been _here_ since January. _Manner_: He walked _steadily_ onward. _Cause_: _Why_ did you refuse the offer? _Degree_: I am _very much_ surprised. _Number_: I did it _once_ not _twice_. _Assertion_: } _Denial_: } I do _not_ agree. Adverb modifying a verb: See how _slowly_ the man walks! Adverb modifying an adjective: The weather has been _extremely_ warm. Adverb modifying an adverb: He dictates _very_ rapidly. It must be remembered, however, that verbs of the senses--_taste_, _feel_, _look_, _smell_, _sound_, and the like--are sometimes almost equal in meaning to the verb _be_. In that case, they are followed by adjectives and not by adverbs; as, _Adjective_: He looked _angry_. _Adverb_: He looked _angrily_ at us. =Exercise 90= Name the adjectives in the following selection, explaining with what noun each belongs. Name the adverbs, explaining what part of speech each modifies. Since 1904 the number of live cattle exported from this country has been steadily growing smaller. Exports of dressed beef have also shrunk to such insignificant proportions that the United States is no longer an important factor in the foreign markets for beef. Often has it been said that the competition of cheap Argentine beef has deprived us of foreign markets. It would be more nearly true to say that foreigners buy the inferior article only because we cannot supply them with all they want of the best grade. Take, for instance, the Englishman's willingness to pay considerably more for American corn-fed beef than for Argentine. The raising of cattle is important, also, from the standpoint of the leather business. Obviously, with a 21 per cent increase in population in each decade, many more shoes are necessary. Automobile and other industries are making constantly increasing demands for leather. Shoes cannot become cheaper in the face of increased demand and diminished supply. Too much depends upon the cattle industry for us to allow it to wane. =Exercise 91= Which of the italicized words should you use in the following, and why?