Common Adverb Errors: Adverb-Adjective Agreement

Adverbs are used to modify adjectives, verbs, and other adverbs. However, they must agree in degree with the adjective they modify. Here are some common mistakes:

Using the Wrong Degree of Adverb

• Incorrect: He is very tall.
• Correct: He is extremely tall. (Using “extremely” to modify the superlative adjective “tall”)
• Incorrect: The movie was quite good.
• Correct: The movie was pretty good. (Using “pretty” to modify the positive adjective “good”)

Practice Exercises:

1. He is (very/extremely) tall.
2. The movie was (quite/very) good.
3. He is (somewhat/very) tired.
4. The food was (quite/extremely) delicious.
5. She is (very/extremely) intelligent.

Answers:

1. extremely
2. pretty
3. somewhat
4. extremely
5. very

Adverb-Adjective Agreement Practice

Identify the correct adverb in each sentence.

1. He is (very/extremely) tall.
2. The movie was (quite/very) good.
3. He is (somewhat/very) tired.
4. The food was (quite/extremely) delicious.
5. She is (very/extremely) intelligent.
6. The book is (somewhat/very) interesting.
7. The weather is (quite/extremely) cold.
8. He is (very/extremely) handsome.
9. The movie was (somewhat/very) boring.
10. The food was (quite/extremely) spicy.

Answers:

1. extremely
2. pretty
3. somewhat
4. extremely
5. very
6. somewhat
7. extremely
8. very
9. somewhat
10. extremely