Correct Use of Adverbs With Examples

Dear Readers,
Today we are going to discuss Adverb and its Rules which will be helpful for
strengthening your English Grammar and Spotting error quiz.
An adverb is a word which modifies a verb, an adjective or another adverb in
a given sentence.
Example:
She is reading very fast.
Verb
adv.
She is a very intelligent girl.
Adv.
Adj.
The horse runs very quickly
adv. adv.
(Note : usually the adverbs end with -ly.)
Rules pertaining to use of adverbs:
Rule 1 :
In order to make our meaning clear, an adverb must be placed as near as
possible to the word it modifies.
Examples:
She has only three dollars with her.
adv. adj.
He says he often visits my place.
He often says he visits my place.
Note: Other adverbs like only are: just, nearly, hardly, almost and scarcely.
Read the following examples:
Wrong:We only have four hours to finish this paper.
Right: We have only four hours to finish this paper.
Wrong: She just wants to take one class. [not anything else]
Right: She wants to take just one class. [not even second]
Wrong: That building nearly costs sixty thousand rupees.
Right: That building costs nearly sixty thousand rupees.
Rule 2 :
When an adverb modifies an intransitive verb, it usually follows it.
Examples:
She sang melodiously.
She writes nearly.
Rule 3:
When a verb consists of an auxiliary and a main verb, the adverb which
qualifies is placed between the auxiliary and the main verb.
Wrong:I have told him often not to come late.
Right:I have often told him not to come late.

Rule 4 :
When adverb modifies an adjective or another adverb, the adverb usually
comes before it.
Examples:
The Cuckoo sings quite sweetly,
Adv.
Do not speak so fast.
Adv.
Note: The adverb enough is always placed after the word it modifies.
Why dont you speak loud enough to be heard.
Rule 5 :
The word only should be placed before the word it is intended to modify.
Examples:
Only she gave me this book. (i.e., she and nobody else)
She only told me the truth. (and nothing else)
I solved only two problems. (correct)
I only solved two problems. (incorrect)
Correct Use of Adverbs Part - II

Dear Readers,
Since we have already provided you Rules of Adverb Part- I , This post is in
continuous to same post. This post also consist of the adverb in Rule Part
II .These rules will be helpful for your upcoming exams like SSC CGL , FCI
etc.

Rule

POSITION OF ADVERBS
The position of adverbs is often determined by shades of meaning. For which
rules cannot be given, but some generations can be made.
Adverbs of frequency:
Always, often, rarely, never, ever, generally, usually, sometimes,
occasionally, etc.
If the verb is in the simple tense form, the adverb is usually placed
between the subject and the verb, preferably before the verb it
modifies.
He always goes to college on foot.
He often visits the U.S.
His brother never takes alcohol.
When the verb is some form of to be (is, am, was, are) the adverb
follows the verb:
They are always late.
He is never punctual.
If you are ever in trouble, please meet me.
If the verb is a compound one, the adverb is usually placed after the
auxiliary.

I shall never forget his help.

He will always behave properly.
In negative sentences the adverb of frequency follows not.
They are not often late.
In interrogative sentences the adverb of frequency follows the
subject immediately:
Does he often go fishing?
Has he ever travelled by air?
At times often may be placed at the end to emphasise it.
This us mainly confined to negative statements and questions.
He does not see his friend often, as he lives in a remote village,
Never is sometimes placed at the beginning to emphasise it, Then
the verb and subject are inverted as in a question.
I never saw such an accident.
Never did I see such an accident.
(S V becomes V S here)

Rule

USE OF HARD, HARDLY, SCARE, SCARCELY

(a)Hard as an adverb means diligently. It usually follows the verb.
He works hard to make both ends meet.
(b)Hardly when used as an adverb means scarcely, barely
It conveys a negative meaning.
Hardly (scarcely) had he reached the station, when the train left.
Note: Hardly and scarcely are followed by when not than.
No sooner is followed by than not when or then. (This is very important)
(c)Scarce as an adjective means not plentiful, hard to find, not often
found.
Coal has become scarce in England.
Scarcely as an adverb is almost synonymous with hardly
I can scarcely hear you.
They have scarcely enough money to look after their children.

Rule

:
SPLIT INFINITIVE
The infinitive is to + the simple form of the verb (v).
Do not put an adverb between to and verb.
(a)He refused to do the work quickly.
to + v
Adv
(b)They have decided to repeat the experiments carefully.
to + v
adv.
Wrong:He wanted to carefully read the directions.
Right: He wanted to read the directions carefully.

Rule

DANGLING MODIFIER
The subject of the main clause must be the same as the understood subject
of the introductory phrase. In other words, the introductory phrase modifies
the subject of the main clause.
Examples:
(a)Looking at his watch, Mr, Vijaykumar got up and left.
Introductory Ph. Subject
Who looked at his watch?
Mr. Vijay kumar
Who got up and left?
Mr. Vijay kumar
(b)Travelling to Bombay, Nalini injured her leg.
Introductory Ph. Subject
Note: Both these sentences are right. In both these sentences, the subject of
the introductory phrase and the subject of the main clause are same.
Wrong: When only a baby, my mother took me to the circus.
Right : When only a child, I was taken to the circus by my mother.
Important Subject/ Verb Agreement Rules

Dear Readers,
Today we are providing the Rules of Subject/ verb agreement which will be
help you to understand common grammar problem in the competition Exams
like SSC, FCI etc.
Rule 1: structure: none + of the + non-count noun + singular
verbExamples:
None of the counterfeit money have been found
None of the counterfeit money has been found
Structure: none + of the + plural count noun + plural verb Examples:
None of the students has finished the exam yet
None of the students have finished the exam yet
No can take either a singular or plural verb depending on the noun
which follows it.
Structure: No + singular noun + singular verb
No example is relevant to this case
Structure: no + plural noun + plural verb
No examples are relevant to this case
Rule 2: Many words indicating a number of people or animals are
singular. The following nouns are usually singular. In some cases
they are plural if the sentence indicates that the individual
members are acting separately.
congress, family, group, committee, class, organisation, team, army, club,
crowd, government, jury, minority, public
Examples of collective nouns:
The committee have met and accepted the proposal
The committee has met and accepted the proposal
The family were happy at the news

The family was happy at the news

The crowd was wild with excitement
Congress has initiated a new plan to combat inflation
Our team is certain to win the match
The family living next door often quarrel among themselves
Rule 3: Majority can be singular or plural. If it is alone it is usually
singular, if it is followed by a plural noun, it is usually plural.
The majority believe that the country can progress
The majority believes that the country can progress
The majority of the lecturers believes that the student has not copied in the
examination
The majority of the lecturers believe that the student has not copied in the
examination
Rule 4: A number of / the number
Observe the two structures:
(i) a number of + plural noun + plural verb.
(ii) the number of + plural noun + singular verb.
Examples:
A number of students is going to the class picnic
A number of students are going to the class picnic
The number of days in a week are seven
The number of days in a week is seven
The number of residents who have been residing in this colony is quite small

A number of the applicants have already been interviewed

Rule 5: Collective nouns indicating time, money, and measurements
used as a whole are singular and take a singular verb.
Examples:
Twenty-five rupees are not such big amount for him
Twenty-five rupees is not such big amount for him
Two miles are too much for this man to run
Two miles is too much for this man to run
Rule 6: When a lot of, a great deal of, plenty of, most of, and some
of refer to number, a plural verb is used.
Examples:
A lot of people was present in the gallery some of the students were absent

A lot of people were present in the gallery some of the students were absent

Note : If these expressions refer to an amount, the verb is in the singular

number.
A lot of work has to be completed before we go
A great deal of work has been finished

Rule 7: When the percentage or a part of something is mentioned

with plural meaning the plural verb is used. Examples:
30% of Indian women is literate
30% of Indian women are literate
Rule 8: Barracks, headquarters, whereabouts alms etc. take a singular
verb, as well as the plural verb. Examples:
The headquarters of the UNO is / are New York
Rule 9:In sports, while referring to the players, the name of the country is
followed by plural verb. Examples:
England has won the World Cup
England have won the World Cup.
Rule 10: When the enemy is used in the sense armed forces of a nation
with which ones country is at war, we have to use the plural verb.
Examples:
The enemy were forced to retreat.

How to use "Too and Enough with Noun, Adjectives, Adverbs

and infinitives".

Hello Readers,
We're going to look at a common grammatical pattern that we can use with
"too" and "enough" and how to follow those with "Noun, adjectives, adverbs
and infinitives". Where do we put them in a sentence? These type of
grammar rules will be so useful for SSC Exams.
Too : The meaning of Too is more than
Enough : The meaning of Enough is sufficient.

what

is

needed.

Have a look at some examples so that you can understand the usage
ofToo and Enough.
Examples:
Enough
He is too old to dance with those students.
She is intelligent enough to get a good score in IBPS.
You're not writing fast enough.
I don't have enough money.
Too
He has too many girl friends.
Uma has got too much patience

Now lets see some important points you should

keep in mind while using Enough.

Rule 1
Enough precedes adjectives and adverbs :
Examples:
He isn't young enough to dance with those students.
We're not walking quickly enough.
Rule 2- Enough + infinitive
When she lost her dog, it was enough to make her cry.
He was sick enough to stay home from work today.
I arrived at the airport early enough to make my flight to New York.

Rule
3 - Enough may
also
precedes nouns :
Examples:
We have enough money .
I have not got enough money to pay the exam fees

Now lets see some important points you should

keep in mind while using Too.

Rule
1.
Too comes
before
Examples:
It's too hot to wear that coat.
I was walking too fast.

adjectives

and

adverbs

Rule 2.Too may also come before nouns when it is used with the
expressions too
much and too many.
Too
much is
used
before uncountable
nouns.
Examples:
There is too much salt in this food.
Too many is used before countable nouns
Examples:
There are too many students in this classroom.

Questions On above rules

1. Is there ............... bones in the fridge to feed two hundred dogs?
(a) too
(b) enough
2. Susan is strong .............. to carry these heavy bags.
(a) too
(b) enough
3. I cant go to the disco because Im ................... busy doing my
new website.

(a)too
(b) enough
4. Philip isnt ................. brave to kill a hen.
(a) too
(b) enough
5. Beata is
everything.
(a) too
(b)enough

....................

absent-minded

to

remember

6. Ive got .................. time to finish this exercise.

(a) too
(b) enough
7. Didnt you prepare .................. many sandwiches?
(a) too
(b) enough
8. This soup is .................. salty.
(a) too
(b) enough
9. Nicole used .................. much pepper.
(a) too
(b) enough
10. My meal is warm .................. .
(a) too
(b) enough
Answers:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

B
b
A
A
A
B
A
A
A
B

Shortcut and Usage of Adjectives in English Grammar

about

Hello Readers,
As You know that English Grammar is an important part of SSC exams thats
why we shall discuss the Rules of Adjectives and its basic usage in
English Grammar which will be helpful for upcoming exam like FCI, SSC and
all other competition exam.
What Is an Adjective?
The simplest definition of an adjective is that it is a word that describes or
clarifies a noun. Adjectives describe nouns by giving some information about
an objects size, shape, age, color, origin or material.
Examples: Black book, Lazy boy
An adjective can be used in two ways:
(1) Attributively : She is good teacher (Adjective is before noun)
(2) Predicatively : Bimala is intelligent. (Adjective is immediately after
verb)
Types of adjectives:
1. Adjectives of Quality ( answer the question : Of what kind?) : Delhi is a
large city, He is an honest man
2. Adjectives of Quantity ( answer the question : how much?) :I ate some
rice, you have no sense
3. Adjectives of Number ( answer the question : how many?) : The hand
has five fingers, All men must die
Adjectives of number are of three kinds:
a. Definite numeral adjectives: One, two , three etc. These are called
cardinals. First, second, third etc these are called ordinals
b. Indefinite numeral adjectives : Which do not denote an exact number.
Eg: all, no, many , few, any, certain, several, sundry
c. Distributive numeral adjectives: Which refer to each one of a number.
Eg: Each, every, Neither, Either.
Examples:
1. Each boy must take his turn
2. India expects every man to do his duty
3. Either pen will do
4. Neither accusation is true
D. Demonstrative Adjective: (answers the questions Which?)
Examples:
1. This boy is stronger than gopal
2. That boy is diligent
3. These mangoes are sour
4. I hate such things
E. Interrogative adjectives : used to ask questions when there are used
with nouns

Examples:
1. what manner of man is he?
2. which way shall we go?
3. whose book is this?
F. Emphasizing adjectives: the words own and very act as emphasizing
adjectives
Examples:
1. I saw it with my own eyes
2. I met him in this very room
G. Exclamatory adjectives: What is sometimes used as an exclamatory
adjectives
Examples:
1. what an Idea!
2. What a blessing!
What Do Adjectives Look Like?
English can be very tricky, so you have to be careful, but a lot of English
adjectives end with these suffixes:

-able/-ible adorable, invisible, responsible, uncomfortable

-al educational, gradual, illegal, nocturnal, viral
-an American, Mexican, urban
-ar cellular, popular, spectacular, vulgar
-ent intelligent, potent, silent, violent
-ful harmful, powerful, tasteful, thoughtful
-ic/-ical athletic, energetic, magical, scientific
-ine bovine, canine, equine, feminine, masculine
-ile agile, docile, fertile, virile
-ive informative, native, talkative
-less careless, endless, homeless, timeless
-ous cautious, dangerous, enormous, malodorous

-some awesome, handsome, lonesome, wholesome

How to Use All, Every, Everyone/ Everybody, Everything, Both,

Each
(I) MEANINGS

i) ALL = a number of people or things considered as a group

ii) EVERY = a number of people or things considered individually
iii) EVERYONE AND EVERYBODY are the same thing and therefore exactly
similar to each other in use. EVERYONE/EVERYBODY can replace ALL
PEOPLE/ALL THE PEOPLE, but EVERYONE/EVERYBODY takes singular verb,
whereas ALL PEOPLE/ALL THE PEOPLE takes a plural verb.
iv) EVERYTHING = ALL THINGS/ALL THE THINGS
v) BOTH = one and the other. It takes a plural verb.
(II) USES
1. EVERY is used with singular nouns, whereas to give the same meaning we
use ALL with plural nouns;
e.g.
Every child needs love = All children need love.
2. Before a noun with a determiner [articles, possessives (my, our,
your, etc) or demonstratives (this, these, that, those) all and all of,
both and both of are possible;
e.g.
i) I have invited ALL MY FRIENDS. = I have invited ALL OF MY FRIENDS.
ii) ALL MY FRIENDS have been invited. = ALL MY FRIENDS have been invited.
iii) ALL THE LIGHTS were out. = ALL OF THE LIGHTS were out.
iv) BOTH THE BOYS are learning well. = BOTH OF THE BOYS are learning well.
[But EACH like ALL and BOTH can be followed by OF + THESE/THOSE, etc
(plural forums only). The word OF cannot be omitted here. So you cannot say
EACH THE BOYS IS LEARNING WELL.]
NOTE-I: But you cant use EVERY in such a case; e.g. you cannot say
EVERY OF MY FRIEND BROUGHT ME A PRESENT or EVERY THE PLATE WAS
BROKEN.
NOTE-II: Before a noun without a determiner, we use ALL/BOTH/EACH; not
ALL OF/BOTH OF/EACH OF; e.g.
i) All children need love. (not ALL OF CHILDREN LOVE)
ii) Both doors are open. (not BOTH OF DOORS)
iii) Each pen is good. (not EACH OF PEN IS GOOD)

NOTE-III: ALL DAY and EVERY DAY are totally different in meaning.
a) ALL DAY refers to one day (means from beginning to the end; e.g.
I was here ALL DAY. (from morning to night)
b) EVERY DAY refers to SEQUENCE (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, etc); e.g.
I was here every day. (means Monday, Tuesday, etc)
3. With ALL/BOTH/EACH + OF + PERSONAL PRONOUN, the word OF cannot
be omitted and the personal pronoun is in the objective form. The personal
pronoun is always in plural form; e.g.
i) All of us like reading. (not All OF WE LIKE READING.)
ii) I have invited all of them. (not I HAVE INVITED ALL OF THEY)
iii) All of us love music. (not ALL US LOVE MUSIC)
iv) Both of us love songs. (not BOTH US LOVE SONGS)
NOTE-I: But All/BUT can be put after personal pronouns used as subjects as
well as objects; e.g.
i) We all went to play cricket yesterday. (not US ALL as its the subject here)
ii) We both went to play cricket yesterday. (not US BOTH as its the subject
here)
iii) She has sent her love to you all. (= She has sent her love to all of you.) iv)
Mary has invited them all. (= Mary has invited all of them.)
iii) I love you all. (= I love all of you.) v) Give my love to them all. (= Give my
love to all of them.)
vi) I have made you all something to eat. (= I have made all of you
something to eat.) [You cannot use EACH like that.]
NOTE-II: ALL cannot be put after pronouns used as subject compliments;
e.g. Is that all of them? (not IS THAT THEM ALL?)
4. Before uncountable nouns we use ALL, not EVERY; e.g.
I like all music. (not I LIKE EVERY MUSIC.)
5. All can also be used before some singular countable nouns like
week, family and way; e.g.
i) All my family live in different parts of India.
ii) He ran all the way to the railway station.
6. When all is followed by a plural noun, the verb is normally plural.
After an uncountable noun, we use a singular verb.
i) All cheese contains fat.
ii) All the lights were out.
7. All + noun is not normally used as the subject of a negative verb.
We more often use the structure not all + noun + affirmative verb;
e.g.
Not all birds can sing. (not ALL BIRDS CANNOT SING.)

8. The word ALL/BOTH/EACH can be used as pronouns also; e.g.

ALL are absent.
i) Both doors were open. = Both were open
ii) Each man knows what to do. = Each man knows what to do.
NOTE: The word EVERY cannot be used as pronoun; its only an adjective.
(III) Use of All/BOTH/EACH with verbs
1. When the verb consists of just one word, and that word is not a
form of BE (is, am, are, was, were, etc), ALL/BOTH/EACH are placed
before the verb; e.g.
i) They all came.
ii) We all love music.
iii) They all have maps.
iv) We both knew where to go.
2. When the verb is a form of be, all/both/each are placed after it.
i) You are all welcome.
ii) We were all invited.
3. When PRONOUN + ALL/EACH/BOTH is the subject of a compound
tense (helping verb + main verb), ALL/BOTH/EACH come after the
helping verb; e.g.
i) They have all gone home.
ii) They have all been told.
iii) We are all waiting.
iv) You must both help me.
(IV) BOTH
1. BOTH = one and the other. It takes a plural verb.
2. BOTH can be used as an adjective (BOTH + NOUN or as a pronoun
(alone) : e.g.
Both doors were open. = Both were open
3. BOTH can be used with OF or without OF; e.g.
Both of the boys are learning well. = Both of the boys are learning well.
4. PERSONAL PRONOUN + BOTH is also correct; e.g.
WE BOTH knew him.
5. BOTH - AND - can also be used to emphasize a combination
of two adjectives, nouns, verbs, etc; e.g.
i) It was BOTH COLD AND WET.
ii) He is BOTH AN ACTOR AND A DIRECTOR.
iii) He BOTH ACTS AND DIRECTS.

(V) EACH
1. EACH like BOTH can be followed by OF + THESE/THOSE, etc (plural
forums only). The word OF cannot be omitted here; e.g.
Each of the students has to attend the health check-up programme. (not
EACH THE STUDENTS HAS TO ATTEND THE HEALTH CHECK-UP PROGRAMME)
2. EACH OF US/YOU/THEM can, however, be replaced by PRONOUN +
EACH; e.g.
i) WE EACH sent in a report.
ii) They gave US EACH a form to fill in.
3. Note that EACH OF US/YOU/THEM is singular; e.g.
EACH OF US HAS a map.
4. But WE/YOU/THEY EACH is plural; e.g.
WE EACH HAVE a map.