English Usage

Introduction

Welcome to the new edition of Collins COBUILD English Usage, for students from intermediate to advanced level, and for teachers of English. With the help of the Collins Corpus®, now totalling 4.5 billion words, we have been able to update and revise this title so that it describes how people actually use English now.

What is ‘usage’? Usage deals with the essential details of language, involving aspects of grammar, meaning, idiom, and purpose. It looks at the way words are arranged to express a particular meaning or to do a particular job. Most of the statements in this book are not generalizations, because usage deals with all the things that are not covered by the general rules.

However, there is no strict dividing line between grammar and usage. For this reason, you will also find entries on the most important grammatical points in English, integrated into the main usage section of the book. Extensive cross-referencing helps you to move easily between entry-types.

The book is divided into three main sections: Usage and Grammar, Topics, and a Reference section. The Topics and Reference sections are clearly marked in the shaded area at the side of each page.

The Usage section

A large number of the entries in the Usage section consist of short notes on individual words and phrases. Two words like although and though may be easily confused; or one word may need to go with another, for example afford needs to be preceded by can, could, or be able to.

Other entries are longer: they might deal with words that have a lot of meanings, or they might focus on ‘function words’; these are small words like and and that, which serve to express grammatical relationships between parts of a sentence. You can find out more about any of the grammatical terms that are used in the explanations by looking at the relevant Grammar Finder entry.

Using the evidence from our American corpus, we have also updated the coverage of American English for this new edition.

The Topics section

The Topics section is divided into two subsections: (1) straightforward topics such as ‘Meals’, ‘Places’, and ‘Transport’, and (2) functional aspects of English such as ‘Agreeing and disagreeing’, ‘Apologizing’, ‘Thanking’, and ‘Warning’. It also covers certain areas of written English such as writing emails and letters.

The Reference section

The Reference section gives information on layout, rules, and formation in the following essential areas of English:

Abbreviations

Capital letters

Days and dates

Irregular verbs

Measurements

Nationality words

Numbers and fractions

Plural forms of nouns

Punctuation

Spelling

Verb forms (formation of)

All the entries in each section are arranged in alphabetical order, and related areas are cross-referenced throughout.

The examples

Thousands of real extracts from the constantly updated Collins Corpus® are used to demonstrate the usage points. Where appropriate, they have been cut down or simplified, so that they help you to focus on the usage point that they illustrate.

Our intention is that this should be a practical, comprehensive, and accessible guide to English usage. As well as being an easy-to-use reference book, we hope that it is written in a way that will encourage you to learn while browsing and enjoying at your leisure.

COBUILD is always keen to know how the reference books and dictionaries are appreciated, and we have set up an email address (collins.elt@harpercollins.co.uk) for your comments and criticisms, so that future editions can continue to meet your needs.

Guide to the Usage

The aim of this book is to help learners of English to choose the right words and structures for the meaning they want to communicate. Each entry is based on the latest evidence from the Collins Corpus®, which now totals over 4.5 billion words. Both learners and teachers will find the book useful as an authoritative reference on how English is actually used today.

To help you find what you want more easily, this new edition of Collins COBUILD English Usage has been divided into three sections: Usage and Grammar, Topics, and the Reference section. The following pages look at each of these in turn. You will also find an index at the back of the book to show you where to find specific items.

1. The Grammar and Usage section

There are several types of Usage entry, and these are explained below.

Entries for individual words

The entries for individual words explain how to use the word, for example by saying which preposition should be used after it, or whether you should use a to-infinitive or an -ing form after it. For example, at the entry for agree:

3

  ‘agree to’

If you agree to a suggestion or proposal, you say that you will allow it to happen.

He had agreed to the use of force.

This book deals with words that often cause problems for learners. Notes often mention what learners should not say, as well as what they should say. Common errors are clearly marked like this:

!

BE CAREFUL

Both homework and housework are uncountable nouns. Don’t talk about ‘a homework’ or ‘houseworks’.

The correct word or expression is also given, followed by examples of correct usage:

If someone has a bad injury, don’t say that they are ‘very hurt’. Say that they are badly hurt or seriously hurt.

The soldier was badly hurt.

Last year 5,000 children were seriously hurt in car accidents.

Entries for easily confused words

If two or more words are sometimes confused with each other, all the words are given in the entry heading. For example, the entry headed accept – except explains the differences between accept and except:

accept – except

Don’t confuse accept /æk'sept/ with except /ɪk'sept/.

1

  ‘accept’

Accept is a verb. If someone offers you something and you accept it, you agree to take it.

I never accept presents from clients.

➔ See accept

2

  ‘except’

Except is a preposition or conjunction. You use it to show that a statement does not include a particular thing or person.

All the boys except Paul started to giggle.

➔ See except

Other entries distinguish between words which have similar basic meanings, but are used in slightly different ways:

called – named

You use called or named when you are giving the name of someone or something. Named is less common than called, and is not usually used in conversation.

Did you know a boy called Desmond?

We passed through a town called Monmouth.

A man named Richardson confessed to the theft.

You can use called either after a noun or after be.

She starred in a play called Katerina.

The book was called The Goalkeeper’s Revenge.

You usually use named immediately after a noun.

The victim was an 18-year-old girl named Marinetta Jirkowski.

Grammar Finder entries

The Grammar Finder entries in this book contain grammatical information on all of the main grammatical points that you may need to refer to in your studies.

The longer Grammar Finder entries have a ‘menu’ at the start of the entry to help you find what you need easily. For example:

Questions

1

yes/no questions

2

‘be’

3

‘have’

4

negative yes/no questions

5

answers to yes/no questions

6

wh-questions

7

wh-word as subject

8

wh-word as object or adverb

9

questions in reply

10

indirect ways of asking questions

There is also a Glossary of grammatical terms on pages 763 to 773.

If you want to study English grammar in greater depth, or if you require more detail on a particular point, you should turn to COBUILD English Grammar.

2. The Topics section

The Topic entries in this book deal with two types of topic: (1) straightforward topics such as ‘Meals’, ‘Places’, and ‘Transport’ (Section A: Subject areas), and (2) functional aspects of English such as ‘Agreeing and disagreeing’, ‘Apologizing’, ‘Thanking’, and ‘Warning’ (Section B: Communication skills). The section also covers certain areas of written English such as writing emails and letters.

The longer Topic entries have a ‘menu’ at the beginning to help you to find what you need easily:

Agreeing and disagreeing

1

asking for agreement

2

expressing agreement

3

strong agreement

4

partial agreement

5

expressing ignorance or uncertainty

6

expressing disagreement

7

strong disagreement

In Topic entries, formal and informal ways of saying something are often described. People use informal expressions when they are speaking to friends and family members. They use formal expressions when they are speaking to people they do not know well, or when they are in a formal situation such as a meeting.

3. The Reference section

Entries in the Reference section tell you about particular groups of words that are used in a particular way, for example abbreviations or words that are used to refer to nationalities. There are also entries on spelling and punctuation.

4. General points

Register information

Sometimes, information is given explaining which words and expressions are used in conversation and informal writing, and which are mainly used in formal speech or writing:

2

  ‘a couple of’

In conversation and informal writing, you can refer to two people or things as

a couple of people or things.

I asked a couple of friends to help me.

We played a couple of games of tennis.

When a word, expression, or structure occurs only in novels and written descriptions, we say that it occurs only ‘in stories’. For example dress is used to mean ‘put on your clothes’ in stories, but in conversation you would say get dressed. Words described as ‘literary’, such as the adverb seldom, are used in poetical writing and passionate speeches.

If a word or expression is described as not being used ‘in modern English’, this means that you may come across it in a book written some time ago, but it would not sound natural in writing today, and should definitely not be used in conversation. For example, in modern British English, go swimming is used in preference to bathe. If a word is described as ‘old-fashioned’, it occurs in old books and may still be used by older people today, but is becoming uncommon.

If a word or expression is described as not being used ‘in standard English’, this means that speakers of some varieties of English use it, but it would be regarded as incorrect by most people.

A word that is described as ‘neutral’ is used simply to show that someone or something has a particular quality. A word that ‘shows approval’ shows that you admire the person you are describing. A word that ‘shows disapproval’ shows that you disapprove of the person.

American English

There is often a difference between British and American usage. The US flag symbol highlights information about these differences. For example:

In American English, the floor which is level with the ground is called the first floor, the floor above it is the second floor, and so on.

!

Be Careful

‘Be Careful’ highlights points where people often have problems with a particular aspect of English, often because it is a feature where English is different from many other languages. For example:

!

BE CAREFUL

Don’t say that someone ‘has difficulty to do’ something.

Spoken English

The speech bubble symbol identifies paragraphs describing structures that are most commonly found in spoken English. For example:

In conversation, you can use ‘I mean’ to explain or correct something that you have just said.

Examples

Collins COBUILD English Usage gives thousands of examples of usage, all of which are taken from the Collins Corpus®, and show English as it is really used today. The corpus is contantly updated which ensures that the examples used in this book are up to date and relevant.

Cross-references

When information about the use of a word, or additional related information, is to be found in another entry, a cross-reference is given, explaining which section of the book to look in:

2

  ‘bare’

Bare is usually an adjective. Something that is bare has no covering.

The grass was warm under her bare feet.

The walls were bare.

➔ See bare – barely

Pronunciation guide

British English vowel sounds

American English vowel sounds

consonant sounds

Letters

These are vowel letters:

a e i o u

These are consonant letters:

b c d f g h j k l m n p q r s t v w x y z

The letter y is sometimes used as a vowel, for example in ‘shy’ and ‘myth’.

USAGE

AND

GRAMMAR

Aa

a – an

1

  ‘a’ and ‘an’

You usually use a and an when it is not clear or important which specific thing or person you are referring to. You only use a and an with singular countable nouns. When you are talking about a specific person or thing, you usually use the.

She decided to buy a car.

He parked the car in front of the bakery.

➔ See Determiners

➔ See the

You can describe someone or something using a or an with an adjective and a noun, or with a noun followed by more information.

His brother was a sensitive child.

The information was contained in an article on biology.

!

BE CAREFUL

Don’t omit a or an in front of a noun when the noun refers to someone’s profession or job. For example, you say ‘He is an architect’. Don’t say ‘He is architect’.

She became a lawyer.

2

  ‘a’ or ‘an’?

You use a in front of words beginning with consonant sounds and an in front of words beginning with vowel sounds.

Then I saw a tall woman standing by the window.

We live in an old house.

You use an in front of words beginning with ‘h’ when the ‘h’ is not pronounced. For example, you say ‘an honest man’. Don’t say ‘a honest man’.

The meeting lasted an hour.

An is used in front of the following words beginning with ‘h’:

heir

heiress

heirloom

honest

honorary

honour

honourable

hour

hourly

You use a in front of words beginning with ‘u’ when the ‘u’ is pronounced /juː/ (like ‘you’). For example, you say ‘a unique occasion’. Don’t say ‘an unique occasion’.

He was a university professor.

She became a union member.

A is used in front of the following words:

ubiquitous

unanimous

unicorn

unification

uniform

uniformed

uniformity

unifying

unilateral

unilateralist

union

unique

unisex

unit

united

universal

universe

university

uranium

urinal

urinary

urine

usable

usage

use

used

useful

useless

user

usual

usually

usurper

utensil

uterus

utilitarian

utility

utopian

You use an in front of an abbreviation when the letters are pronounced separately and the first letter begins with a vowel sound.

Before she became an MP, she was a social worker.

He drives an SUV.

3

  ‘a’ meaning ‘one’

A and an are used to mean ‘one’ in front of some numbers and units of measurement.

➔ See Reference sections Numbers and fractions, Measurements

ability – capability – capacity

Do not confuse ability with capability and capacity.

1

  ‘ability’

You often use ability to say that someone can do something well.

He had remarkable ability as a musician.

…the ability to bear hardship.

2

  ‘capability’

A person’s capability is the amount of work they can do and how well they can do it.

…a job that was beyond the capability of one man.

…the director’s ideas of the capability of the actor.

3

  ‘capacity’

If someone has a particular capacity, a capacity for something, or a capacity to do something, they have the qualities required to do it. Capacity is a more formal word than ability.

…their capacity for hard work.

…his capacity to see the other person’s point of view.

a bit

➔ See bit

able – capable

Able and capable are both used to say that someone can do something.

1

  ‘able’

If someone is able to do something, they can do it either because of their knowledge or skill, or because it is possible.

He wondered if he would be able to climb over the fence.

They were able to use their profits for new investments.

If you use a past tense, you mean that someone has actually done something.

We were able to reduce costs.

➔ See can – could – be able to

2

  ‘capable’

If someone is capable of doing something, they have the knowledge and skill to do it.

The workers are perfectly capable of running the organization themselves.

You can say that someone is capable of a particular feeling or action.

He’s capable of loyalty.

I don’t believe he’s capable of murder.

You can also use capable of when you are talking about what something such as a car or machine can do.

The car was capable of 110 miles per hour.

3

  ‘able’ or ‘capable’

If you describe someone as able or capable, you mean that they do things well.

He’s certainly a capable gardener.

Naomi was a hard-working and able student.

about

1

‘about’

You use about when you mention what someone is saying, writing, or thinking.

Manuel told me about his new job.

I’ll have to think about that.

You can say that a book is about a particular subject or that it is on that subject.

She is writing a book about politics.

I’m reading Anthony Daniels’ book on Guatemala.

You can also use about to say what a novel or play deals with. Don’t use ‘on’.

This is a novel about ethics.

They read a story about growing up.

2

‘about to’

If you are about to do something, you are going to do it soon.

You are about to cross the River Jordan.

I was about to go home.

!

BE CAREFUL

Don’t use an -ing form in sentences like these. Don’t say, for example, ‘You are about crossing the River Jordan’.

➔ See around – round – about

above – over

1

used for talking about position and height

If something is higher than something else, you can say that the first thing is above or over the second thing.

He opened a cupboard above the sink.

There was a mirror over the fireplace.

If one thing is much higher than another thing, or there is a lot of space between them, you usually use above.

We heard a noise in the apartment above ours.

You usually use over when one thing is at a higher level than another thing, and the first thing is moving.

A plane flew over the city.

2

used for talking about measurements and quantities

Above and over are both used to talk about measurements, for example, when you are talking about a point that is higher than another point on a scale.

Any money earned over that level is taxed.

The temperature rose to just above forty degrees.

!

BE CAREFUL

Don’t use above in front of a number when you are talking about a quantity or number of things or people. For example, don’t say ‘She had above thirty pairs of shoes’. You say ‘She had over thirty pairs of shoes’ or ‘She had more than thirty pairs of shoes’.

They paid out over 3 million pounds.

He saw more than 800 children, dying of starvation.

3

used for talking about distance and time

You use over to say that a distance or period of time is longer than the one mentioned.

The mountain is over twelve thousand feet high.

Our relationship lasted for over a year.

absent

1

‘absent’

If someone is absent from a meeting, ceremony, or place, they are not there.

Gary O’Neil has been absent from training because of a stomach virus.

Their children are frequently absent from school.

You use from after absent in sentences like these. Don’t use ‘at’.

If it is clear what meeting, ceremony, or place you are talking about, you can simply say that someone is absent.

The Mongolian delegate to the assembly was absent.

2

‘not at’ and ‘not there’

Absent is a fairly formal word. In conversation and in less formal writing, you say that someone is not at a meeting, ceremony, or place, or that they are not there.

She wasn’t at Molly’s wedding.

I looked in the kitchen but Magda wasn’t there.

accept

If someone offers you something and you accept it, you agree to take it.

Jane accepted a slice of cake.

1

advice and suggestions

If you accept someone’s advice or suggestion, you decide to do what they advise or suggest.

I knew that they would accept my proposal.

!

BE CAREFUL

However, don’t say that you ‘accept to do’ what someone suggests. You say that you agree to do it.

The princess agreed to go on television.

She agreed to let us use her flat while she was away.

2

situations and people

If you accept a difficult or unpleasant situation, you recognize that it cannot be changed.

They refused to accept poor working conditions.

Astronauts accept danger as part of their job.

accept – except

Don’t confuse accept /æk'sept/ with except /ɪk'sept/.

1

‘accept’

Accept is a verb. If someone offers you something and you accept it, you agree to take it.

I never accept presents from clients.

➔ See accept

2

‘except’

Except is a preposition or conjunction. You use it to show that a statement does not include a particular thing or person.

All the boys except Paul started to giggle.

➔ See except

acceptable

You say that something is acceptable when it is satisfactory, or when people do not object to it.

To my relief he found the article acceptable.

Are we saying that violence is acceptable?

You do not say that someone is ‘acceptable’ to do something. You say that they are willing to do it.

Ed was quite willing to let us help him.

Would you be willing to go to Berkhamsted?

accommodation

Accommodation is where you live or stay, especially when you are on holiday or when you are staying somewhere for a short amount of time. In British English, accommodation is an uncountable noun. Don’t talk about ‘accommodations’ or ‘an accommodation’.

There is plenty of student accommodation in Edinburgh.

We booked our flights and accommodation three months before our holiday.

Speakers of American English usually talk about accommodations.

The hotel provides cheap accommodations and good food.

!

BE CAREFUL

Don’t talk about ‘an accommodation’ in either British English or American English. Don’t say, for example, ‘I’m looking for an accommodation near the city centre’.

Say ‘I’m looking for accommodation near the city centre’ or in American English, ‘I’m looking for accommodations near the city centre’.

accompany

If you accompany someone to a place, you go there with them.

She asked me to accompany her to the church.

Accompany is a fairly formal word. In conversation and in less formal writing, you use go with or come with.

I went with my friends to see what it looked like.

He wished Ellen had come with him.

However, there is no passive form of go with or come with. If you want to use a passive form, you must use accompany.

He was accompanied by his wife.

She came out of the house accompanied by Mrs Jones.

accord

If you do something of your own accord, you do it freely and because you want to do it.

She knew they would leave of their own accord.

!

BE CAREFUL

You must use ‘own’ in sentences like these. You do not say, for example, ‘She had gone of her accord’.

You also do not say that someone does something ‘on’ their own accord.

according to

1

‘according to’

You can use according to when you want to report what someone said.

According to Dr Santos, the cause of death was drowning.

You can also use according to when you want to report information given in a book or a document.

The road was forty miles long, according to my map.

In conversation, instead of saying ‘According to George, the roads are very slippery this morning’, you often say ‘George says the roads are very slippery this morning’.

Arnold says they do this in Essex as well.

Car sales have fallen this year, the report says.

2

‘in my opinion’

If you want to emphasize that what you are saying is your own opinion, you say ‘In my opinion…’ or ‘In our opinion…’.

In my opinion we face a national emergency.

The temple gets crowded, and in our opinion it’s best to visit it in the evening.

!

BE CAREFUL

Don’t say ‘according to me’ or ‘according to us’.

Don’t use according to and opinion together. Don’t say, for example, ‘According to the bishop’s opinion, the public has a right to know’. You say ‘The bishop’s opinion is that the public has a right to know’.

The psychiatrist’s opinion was that John was suffering from depression.

➔ See Topic entry Opinions

accuse – charge

1

‘accuse’

If you accuse someone of doing something wrong, you say that they did it.

He accused them of drinking beer while driving.

He is accused of killing ten young women.

!

BE CAREFUL

Don’t say that you accuse someone ‘for’ doing something wrong.

2

‘charge’

When the police charge someone with committing a crime, they formally accuse them of it.

He was arrested and charged with committing a variety of offences.

accustomed to

1

‘accustomed to’

If you are accustomed to something, you have become familiar with it and you no longer find it strange. Accustomed to usually comes after linking verbs such as be, become, get, and grow.

It did not get lighter, but I became accustomed to the dark.

I am not accustomed to being interrupted.

!

BE CAREFUL

Don’t say that someone is ‘accustomed with’ something.

2

‘used to’

In conversation and in less formal writing, you don’t usually say that someone is ‘accustomed to’ something. You say that they are used to it. Used to usually comes after be or get.

The company is used to much stronger growth.

It’s very noisy here, but you’ll get used to it.

➔ See used to

You can say that someone is accustomed to doing something or used to doing something.

The manager is accustomed to working late.

We are used to queueing.

!

BE CAREFUL

Don’t say that someone is ‘accustomed to do’ something or ‘used to do’ something.

actual

1

‘actual’

You use actual to emphasize that the place, object, or person you are talking about is the real or genuine one.

The predicted results and the actual results are very different.

The interpretation bore no relation to the actual words spoken.

!

BE CAREFUL

You only use actual in front of a noun. You do not say that something ‘is actual’.

2

‘current’ and ‘present’

You do not use ‘actual’ to describe something that is happening, being done, or being used at the present time. Instead you use current or present.

The store needs more than $100,000 to survive the current crisis.

Is the present situation really any different from many others in the past?

actually

You use actually when you want to emphasize that something is true, especially if it is surprising or unexpected.

All the characters in the novel actually existed.

Some people think that Dave is bad-tempered, but he is actually very kind.

You also use actually when you are mentioning something that is very surprising.

You put actually in front of the surprising part of what you are saying.

He actually began to cry.

The value of oil has actually been falling in the last two years.

You can use actually if you want to correct what someone says.

‘Mr Hooper is a schoolteacher.’ – ‘A university lecturer, actually.’

If someone suggests something and you want to suggest something different, you can say ‘Actually, I’d rather…’, or ‘Actually, I’d prefer to…’.

‘Shall we go out for dinner?’ – ‘Actually, I’d rather stay in tonight.’

!

BE CAREFUL

Don’t use actually when you want to say that something is happening now. Use at present, at the moment, or right now.

He’s in a meeting at the moment.

➔ See now

GRAMMAR FINDER

Adjectives

1

form

2

qualitative adjectives

3

comparatives and superlatives

4

classifying adjectives

5

colour adjectives

6

emphasizing adjectives

7

postdeterminers

8

compound adjectives

9

position of adjectives

10

coordination of adjectives

11

order of adjectives

12

adjectives with prepositions and other structures

An adjective is a word that is used to describe someone or something, or to give information about them.

1

form

The form of an adjective does not change: the same form is used for singular and plural and for male and female.

We were looking for a good place to camp.

Good places to fish were hard to find.

2

qualitative adjectives

Qualitative adjectives are adjectives that indicate that someone or something has a particular quality. For example, sad, pretty, happy, and wise are qualitative adjectives.

…a sad story.

…a small child.

Qualitative adjectives are sometimes called gradable adjectives. This means that the person or thing described can have more or less of the quality mentioned. One way of indicating the amount of a quality that something or someone has is by using adverbs such as very and rather.

➔ See Adverbs and adverbials for a list of adverbs used to indicate degree

…an extremely narrow road.

…a very pretty girl.

…a rather clumsy person.

3

comparatives and superlatives

Another way in which adjectives can be graded is by the use of the comparative and superlative forms -er and -est and the comparatives more and most. The comparative is used to say that something has more of a quality than something else, or more than it used to have. The superlative is used to say that something has more of a quality than anything else of its kind, or more than anything else in a particular group or place.

➔ See Comparative and superlative adjectives

4

classifying adjectives

Classifying adjectives are adjectives that are used to indicate that something is of a particular type. For example, if you say financial help, you are using the adjective financial to classify the noun help. There are many different kinds of help: financial help is one of them. These adjectives cannot be graded and do not have comparative or superlative forms. They are sometimes called non-gradable adjectives.

…my daily shower.

…Victorian houses.

…civil engineering.

5

colour adjectives

Colour adjectives are used to indicate what colour something is.

…a small blue car.

Her eyes are green.

To specify a colour more precisely, a word such as light, pale, dark, or bright is put in front of the adjective.

…light brown hair.

…a bright green suit.

…a dark blue dress.

Colour words are also nouns. When they are nouns, they are typically used in the singular with no determiner.

I like blue.

Christina always wore red.

Yellow is my favourite colour.

The more frequent colour words can be used in the plural, or in the singular with a determiner, to refer to the different shades of a colour.

They blended in well with the greens of the landscape.

The shadows had turned a deep blue.

6

emphasizing adjectives

Emphasizing adjectives are used in front of a noun to emphasize a description of something or the degree of something.

He made me feel like a complete idiot.

Some of it was absolute rubbish.

World Cup tickets are dead expensive you know.

The redundancy of skilled workers is a terrible waste.

It was the supreme arrogance of the killer that dismayed him.

The following adjectives are emphasizing adjectives:

absolute

awful

complete

dead

entire

mere

outright

perfect

positive

pure

real

sheer

simple

supreme

terrible

total

true

utter

7

postdeterminers

There is a small group of adjectives called postdeterminers that you use to indicate precisely what you are referring to. These adjectives come after a determiner and in front of any other adjectives.

…the following brief description.

He wore his usual old white coat.

They also come in front of numbers.

What has gone wrong during the last ten years?

The following adjectives are used in this way:

additional

certain

chief

entire

existing

first

following

further

last

main

next

only

opposite

other

particular

past

present

previous

principal

remaining

same

specific

usual

whole

A large number of adjectives end in -ed or -ing.

8

compound adjectives

Compound adjectives are made up of two or more words, usually written with hyphens between them. They may be qualitative, classifying, or colour adjectives.

He was giving a very light-hearted talk.

Olivia was driving a long bottle-green car.

…a good-looking girl.

…a part-time job.

9

position of adjectives

Most adjectives can be used in front of nouns to give more information about something that is mentioned.

She bought a loaf of white bread.

There was no clear evidence.

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BE CAREFUL

Adjectives cannot usually be used after a determiner without being followed by either a noun or one. Don’t say, for example, ‘He showed me all of them, but I preferred the large’. Say ‘He showed me all of them, but I preferred the large one’.

➔ See one

➔ See the for information on the use of the with an adjective to refer to a group of people

Most adjectives can also be used after a linking verb such as be, become, get, seem, or feel.

The room was large and square.

I felt angry.

Nobody seemed amused.

He was so exhausted that he could hardly keep awake.

Some adjectives are normally used only after linking verbs, not in front of nouns, when used with a particular meaning. For example, you can say ‘She was alone’ but you cannot say ‘an alone girl’.

The following adjectives are normally used only after linking verbs:

afraid

alike

alive

alone

ashamed

asleep

awake

glad

ill

ready

sorry

sure

well

There are many other adjectives that are only used after a linking verb in one or more of their meanings.

Instead of using these adjectives in front of a noun, you can sometimes use an alternative word or expression. For example, instead of ‘the afraid child’ you can say ‘the frightened child’.

10

coordination of adjectives

When two adjectives are used after a linking verb, a conjunction (usually and) is used to link them. With three or more adjectives, the last two are linked with a conjunction, and commas are put after the others.

The day was hot and dusty.

The house was old, damp and smelly.

When more than one adjective is used in front of a noun, the adjectives are not usually separated by ‘and’. Don’t say ‘a short, fat and old man’.

➔ See and for more information on how to link adjectives

11

order of adjectives

When more than one adjective is used in front of a noun, the usual order is as follows:

qualitative adjective – colour adjective – classifying adjective

…a little white wooden house.

…rapid technological advance.

…a large circular pool of water.

…a necklace of blue Venetian beads.

However, classifying adjectives indicating shape, such as circular and rectangular, often come in front of colour adjectives.

…the rectangular grey stones.

…the circular yellow patch on the lawn.

▶ order of qualitative adjectives

The order of qualitative adjectives is normally as follows:

opinions – size – quality – age – shape

We’re going to have a nice big garden with two apple trees.

Their cat had beautiful thick fur.

…big, shiny beetles.

He had long curly red hair.

She put on her dirty old fur coat.

When you refer to ‘a nice big garden’ or ‘a lovely big garden’, you usually mean that the garden is nice because it is big, not nice in some other way.

▶ order of classifying adjectives

If there is more than one classifying adjective in front of a noun, the normal order is:

age – shape – nationality – material

…a medieval French village.

…a rectangular plastic box.

…an Italian silk jacket.

Other types of classifying adjective usually come after a nationality adjective.

…the Chinese artistic tradition.

…the American political system.

▶ comparatives and superlatives

Comparatives and superlatives normally come in front of all other adjectives in a noun phrase.

Some of the better English actors have gone to live in Hollywood.

These are the highest monthly figures on record.

▶ noun modifiers

When a noun phrase contains both an adjective and a noun modifier (= a noun used in front of another noun), the adjective is placed in front of the noun modifier.

He works in the French film industry.

He receives a large weekly cash payment.

▶ adjectives after a noun

You don’t usually put adjectives after nouns. However, there are some exceptions, which are explained below.

You can put an adjective after a noun if the adjective is followed by a prepositional phrase or a to-infinitive clause.

…a warning to people eager for a quick cure.

…the sort of weapons likely to be deployed against it.

The adjectives alive and awake can be put after a noun that is preceded by a superlative, an adverb, or first, last, only, every, or any.

Is Phil Morgan the only man alive who knows all the words to that song?

She sat at the window, until she was the last person awake.

A few formal adjectives are only used after a noun:

designate

elect

emeritus

extraordinaire

incarnate

manqué

par excellence

…British Rail’s chairman designate, Mr Robert Reid.

She was now the president elect.

Doctors, lawyers and engineers are professionals par excellence.

▶ adjectives before or after a noun

A few adjectives have a different meaning depending on whether they come in front of a noun or after it. For example, ‘the concerned mother’ describes a mother who is worried, but ‘the mother concerned’ simply refers to a mother who has been mentioned.

…the approval of interested and concerned parents.

The idea needs to come from the individuals concerned.

The following adjectives have different meanings in different positions:

concerned

involved

present

proper

responsible

➔ See separate Usage entries at these words

Some adjectives that describe size can come after a noun phrase consisting of a number or determiner and a noun that indicates the unit of measurement.

The following adjectives can be used like this:

deep

high

long

square

tall

thick

wide

He was about six feet tall.

The island is only 29 miles long.

Some of these adjectives can also be used after words like knee, ankle, and waist:

The grass was knee high.

The track ahead was ankle deep in mud.

➔ See Topic entry Measurements

Old is used after noun phrases in a similar way.

➔ See Topic entry Age

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adjectives with prepositions and other structures

Some adjectives are usually followed by a particular preposition, a to-infinitive, or a that-clause, because otherwise their meaning would be unclear or incomplete. For example, you cannot simply say that someone is ‘fond’. You have to say that they are fond of something.

They are very fond of each other.

The sky is filled with clouds.

The following lists show some of the adjectives that must be followed by the preposition given when used immediately after a linking verb.

accustomed to

adapted to

allergic to

attributable to

attuned to

averse to

conducive to

devoted to

impervious to

injurious to

integral to

prone to

proportional to

proportionate to

reconciled to

resigned to

resistant to

subject to

subservient to

susceptible to

unaccustomed to

He seemed to be becoming accustomed to my presence.

For all her experience, she was still prone to nerves.

aware of

bereft of

capable of

characteristic of

desirous of

devoid of

fond of

heedless of

illustrative of

incapable of

indicative of

mindful of

reminiscent of

representative of

Smokers are well aware of the dangers to their own health.

We must be mindful of the consequences of selfishness.

unhampered by

descended from

inherent in

lacking in

rooted in

steeped in

swathed in

contingent on

conversant with

filled with

fraught with

riddled with

tinged with

We recognize the dangers inherent in an outbreak of war.

Her homecoming was tinged with sadness.

In some cases, there is a choice between two prepositions. The following adjectives are usually or always used immediately after a linking verb and can be followed by the prepositions indicated:

burdened by/with

dependent on/upon

immune from/to

inclined to/towards

incumbent on/upon

intent on/upon

parallel to/with

reliant on/upon

stricken by/with

We are in no way immune from this danger.

He was curiously immune to teasing.

➔ See that-clauses for lists of adjectives followed by a that-clause

GRAMMAR FINDER

Adverbs and adverbials

1

adverbs and adverbials

2

manner

3

viewpoint adverbs

4

opinion

5

place

6

time

7

frequency

8

duration

9

degree

10

extent

11

emphasis

12

focus

13

probability

14

position: manner, place, time

15

putting the adverbial first

16

position: frequency, probability

17

position: degree, extent

18

position: emphasizing

19

position: focusing

1

adverbs and adverbials

It is important to know the difference between adverbs and adverbials. Adverbials are words or phrases that give information about when, how, where, or in what circumstances something happens. They have a functional role in a clause. An adverb, on the other hand, is a single word that may be used as an adverbial. In fact an adverbial is very often an adverb, but an adverbial may also be a phrase. A few noun phrases can also be used in this way.

The main types of adverbial indicate manner, aspect, opinion, place, time, frequency, duration, degree, extent, emphasis, focus, and probability. These are explained below, and then information is given on the position of adverbials in a clause.

➔ See Sentence connectors for information on adverbials that are used to indicate connections between clauses

2

manner

Adverbials of manner are used to describe the way in which something happens or is done. They may be adverbs, adverb phrases, or prepositional phrases.

They looked anxiously at each other.

He did not play well enough to win.

She listened with great patience as he told his story.

Adverbials of manner are usually adverbs of manner. Most of these are formed by adding -ly to an adjective. For example, the adverbs quietly and badly are formed by adding -ly to the adjectives quiet and bad.

I didn’t play badly.

He reported accurately what they had said.

Some adverbs of manner have the same form as adjectives and have similar meanings. These are the ones most commonly used:

direct

fast

hard

late

loud

quick

right

slow

solo

straight

tight

wrong

I’ve always been interested in fast cars.

The driver was driving too fast.

The adverb of manner related to the adjective good is well.

He is a good dancer.

He dances well.

Well can also be an adjective describing someone’s health.

‘How are you?’ – ‘I am very well, thank you.’

➔ See well

3

viewpoint adverbs

Not all adverbs ending in -ly are adverbs of manner. You use -ly adverbs formed from classifying adjectives to focus on a particular aspect of the topic. For example, if you want to say that something is important from a political point of view, you can say that it is ‘politically important’. Here is a list of the most common of these adverbs:

biologically

commercially

economically

emotionally

financially

geographically

intellectually

logically

morally

outwardly

politically

psychologically

racially

scientifically

socially

statistically

technically

visually

It would have been politically damaging for him to retreat.

We’ve had a very bad year financially.

Speaking is sometimes added to these adverbs. For example, ‘technically speaking’ can be used to mean ‘from a technical point of view’.

He’s not a doctor, technically speaking.

There are some signs of recovery, economically speaking, in the latest figures.

4

opinion

Other -ly adverbs are used as adverbials to show your reaction to, or your opinion of, the fact or event you are talking about. These are sometimes called sentence adverbials.

Surprisingly, most of my help came from the technicians.

Luckily, I had seen the play before so I knew what it was about.

➔ See Topic entry Opinions

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Some -ly adverbs have a different meaning from the adjective to which they seem to be related. For example, hardly has a different meaning from hard.

This has been a long hard day.

Her bedroom was so small she could hardly move in it.

➔ See bare – barely, hard – hardly, late – lately, scarce – scarcely,

short – shortly – briefly, terrible – terribly

5

place

Adverbials of place are used to say where something happens or where something goes. Again they are usually adverbs or prepositional phrases.

A plane flew overhead.

The children were playing in the park.

No birds or animals came near the body.

➔ See Topic entry Places

6

time

Adverbials of time are used to say when something happens.

She will be here soon.

He was born on 3 April 1925.

Come and see me next week.

➔ See Topic entries Days and dates, Time

7

frequency

Adverbials of frequency are used to say how often something happens.

Here is a list of adverbials of frequency, arranged from ‘least often’ to ‘most often’:

▶ never

That was a mistake. We’ll never do it again.

▶ rarely, seldom, hardly ever, not much, infrequently

I very rarely wear a coat because I spend most of my time in a car.

We ate chips every night, but hardly ever had fish.

The bridge is used infrequently.

▶ occasionally, periodically, intermittently, sporadically, from time to time, now and then, once in a while, every so often

He still misbehaves occasionally.

Meetings are held periodically to monitor progress on the case.

Her daughters visited him from time to time when he was ill.

I go back to Yorkshire every now and then.

Once in a while she phoned him.

▶ sometimes

You must have noticed how tired he sometimes looks.

▶ often, frequently, regularly, a lot

They often spent Christmas in Brighton.

Iron and folic acid supplements are frequently given to pregnant women.

He also writes regularly for ‘International Management’ magazine.

▶ usually, generally, normally

They ate in the kitchen, as they usually did.

It is generally true that the darker the fruit the higher its iron content.

Normally, the public transport system in Paris carries 950,000 passengers a day.

▶ nearly always

They nearly always ate outside.

▶ always, all the time, constantly, continually

She’s always late for everything.

He was looking at me all the time.

She cried almost continually.

Note that regularly and periodically show that something happens at fairly regular intervals. Intermittently and sporadically show that something happens at irregular intervals.

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duration

Adverbials of duration are used to say how long something takes or lasts. Here is a list of adverbs used as adverbials of duration, arranged from ‘least long’ to ‘longest’:

▶ briefly

He paused briefly, then continued his speech.

▶ temporarily

The peace agreement has temporarily halted the civil war.

▶ long

Repairs to the cable did not take too long.

▶ indefinitely

I couldn’t stay there indefinitely.

▶ always, permanently, forever

We will always remember his generous hospitality.

The only way to lose weight permanently is to completely change your attitudes toward food.

I think that we will live together forever.

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BE CAREFUL

Long is normally used only in questions and negative sentences.

Have you known her long?

I can’t stay long.

➔ See long

9

degree

Adverbials of degree are used to indicate the degree or intensity of a state or action. The following is a list of adverbs that are used as adverbials of degree and are used with verbs. They are arranged from ‘very low degree’ to ‘very high degree’.

▶ little

On their way back to Marseille, they spoke very little.