Exercise 21. Read and translate the sentences. Find and comment on the substantivized adjectives.

1. Haven is where the police are British, the cooks are Italian, the mechanics are German, the lovers are French, and all is organized by the Swiss. Hell is where the cooks are British, the mechanics are French, the lovers are Swiss, the police are German and all is organized by the Italians. 2. Mr. Alexander is writing a book on fundamentals of English Grammar. 3. The prospect of a new business deal gave her a high. 4. His illustrated talk presented the highs and lows of his journey. 5. The place was deserted; all the locals had left with the summer residents. 6. The rest had done him good, he knew that. 7. Another thought struck Ursula all of a sudden. 8. Why do you ignore the obvious? 9. The navy was in the thick of the fighting. 10. She always tries to see the best in people. 11. The authorities are very much concerned with the number of the homeless on London streets. 12. He was a German through and through. 13. It’s a possible. I’ll think about it later. 14. From the sublime to the ridiculous there is only one step.

Exercise 22. Translate the following into English using substantivized adjectives where possible:

1. Слепых обучают ремеслам, чтобы они могли работать. 2. Нужны медсестры для ухода за ранеными. 3. Доктор хочет осмотреть раненого. 4. После отъезда сына они перестали приглашать молодежь. 5. Молодежи нравится все делать по-своему. 6. Англичане любят чай. 7. В гостинице было много англичан. 8. Больной попросил воды. 9. Он считал своим долгом помочь бедняку. 10. Работа по спасению пострадавших продолжалась до глубокой ночи. 11. Ты говоришь как неграмотный человек. 12. Он всегда навещал больных два раза в день. 13. Он надеялся застать юношу дома. 14. Для безграмотных были организованы вечерние занятия. 15. Шестерых из пострадавших было разрешено взять домой.

Exercise 23. Talk on the suggested topics.

1. Your proudest achievement. 2. Your most important decision. 3. Your biggest inspiration. 4. Your most memorable dream. 5. Your biggest business risk. 6. The best year of your life. 7. The thing that interests you most in people. 8. Your greatest regret or disappointment. 9. The worst job you’ve ever had. 10. The greatest help you ever received. 11. The strangest coincidence in your life. 12. The three most important principles you follow. 13. The biggest crisis in your life. 14. Your strongest belief.

THE ADVERBS

The adverb is a word denoting circumstances or characteristics which attend or modify an action, state, or quality. It may also intensify a quality or characteristics.

1. Adverbs vary in their structure. There are simple, derived, compound, and composite adverbs.

a) Simple adverbs are after, here, well, now, soon, etc.

b) In derived adverbs the most common suffix is –ly, by means of which new adverbs are coined from adjectives and participles: lately, immediately, purely, slowly, charmingly.

The less common suffixes are the following:

-wise – clockwise, crabwise;

-ward(s) – backward(s), eastward(s);

-fold – twofold;

-like – warlike;

-way(s) – sideways.

Of these suffixes the first two are more productive than the rest.

c) Compoundadverbs are formed of two stems: sometimes, everywhere, downstairs.

d)Composite phrasal adverbs consist of two or more word-forms: a great deal, now and then, from time to time, a lot of, a sort of.

2. The only pattern of morphological change for adverbs is the same as for adjectives, the degrees of comparison. The three grades are called positive, comparative, and superlative degrees.

a) Adverbs that are identical in form with adjectives take inflections following the same spelling and phonetic rules as for adjectives:

early – earlier – earliest;

late – later – latest;

hard – harder – hardest.

b) Several adverbs ending in –ly (quickly, loudly) form comparatives according to the same pattern, dropping their adverb-forming suffix:

quickly – quicker – quickest;

loudly – louder – loudest.

c) Most two-syllable adverbs in –ly and all polysyllable ones form the comparative and superlative by means of more and most:

wisely – more wisely – most wisely;

deeply – more deeply – most deeply.

The adverb often occurs with both types of comparison:

oftener - oftenest

often –

more often – most often

d) There is a small group of irregular adverbs with comparatives and superlatives formed from different stems:

well – better – best;

badly – worse – worst;

little – less – least;

much – more – most

Farther - farthest

far –

further – furthest

Either father/farthest or further/furthest are used when speaking of places, directions, or distance:

He is too tired to walk any farther/further.

But only further/furthest is used with the meaning ‘more, later’:

Don’t try my patience any further.

We use adverbs, not adjectives, to modify verbs:

We’ll have to think quickly.

She sang badly.

I don’t remember him very well.

Adverbs or adjectives?

a) Some words ending in –ly are adjectives, and not adverbs: friendly, likely, lonely, silly, ugly, lovely:

She gave me a friendly smile.

Her singing was lovely.

There are no adverbs from such adjectives:

She smiled in a friendly way.

He gave a silly laugh.

Daily, weekly, monthly, yearly are both adverbs and adjectives:

It’s a daily paper. – It comes out daily.

An early train. – I got up early.

b) Some adjectives and adverbs have the same form. There is usually a difference in meaning or use:

Clean. The adverb clean means ‘completely’ before the verb to forget:

Sorry I didn’t turn up – I clean forgot.

Dead. The adverb dead is used in certain expressions to mean ‘exactly’, ‘completely’ or ‘very’:

Dead certain, dead right, dead sure.

Direct is often used referring to journeys and timetables:

The plane goes direct from London to Houston without stopping.

Fast can mean both ‘quick’ and ‘quickly’: a fast car goes fast.

c) Some adverbs may have two forms:

Hard. The adverb hard has a similar meaning to the adjectives:

Don’t work too hard.

Hardly means ‘almost not’:

I’ve hardly got any clean clothes left.

High. High refers to height; highly means ‘very much’:

He can jump really high.

I can highly recommend it.

Late. The adverb late has a similar meaning to the adjective late; lately means ‘recently’:

I hate arriving late.

I haven’t been to the theatre much lately.

Well. The adverb well has a similar meaning to the adjective good;

The car runs well.

It’s a good car.

There is also an adjective well, meaning ‘in good health’:

I don’t feel very well.

‘How are you?’ ‘Quite well, thanks’.

d) After the verbs to be, to smell, to taste, to feel, to look, etc. only adjectives are used:

The rose smells sweet.

The room looks tidy.

I feel bad.

EXERCISES