Showing posts with label verbs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label verbs. Show all posts

Saturday, April 26, 2025

Appear

1. Typical mistake: S/he appears very angrily today. 

'Appear' has two meanings, and the grammar is not the same in the two cases. 

a. It can mean 'seem'. In this case, it can be used with adjectives, but not adverbs. 

S/he appears (to be) very angry today. 

S/he appears quite normal. 

'Appear' can be followed by a noun (subject complement), but we very often use 'appear to be' in this case. 

S/he appears (to be) a very religious person. 

b. The other meaning of 'appear' is 'come into sight' or 'arrive'. In this case, adverbs are used, not adjectives. 

S/he suddenly appeared from under the bed. 

S/he often appears unexpectedly and invites himself to lunch. 

2. Note that 'appear' is one of the verbs (like 'be', 'seem') that can have 'there' as an introductory subject. The construction is usually 'There appears to be...' 

There appears to be a misunderstanding. 

There appears to be no point in our continuing. 

'Appear' is not usually used in progressive tenses. 

Tuesday, April 1, 2025

Adjectives with verbs

 


Typical mistake: You look beautifully. 

With verbs, we usually used adverbs, not adjectives. But with certain verbs (e.g. seem, look, taste), adjectives can be used. This happens when we are really describing the subject of the sentence, not the 'action' of the verb. Verbs of this kind are be, seem, appear, look, sound taste, feel and smell. 

Examples: 

S/he is nice. 

S/he seems nice. 

S/he sounds nice. 

S/he smells nice. 

S/he feels nice. 

But be careful. Some of these verbs have two meanings. Compare the following: 

The problem appeared impossible (Not: ...impossibly). 

Linda suddenly appeared in the doorway (Not: ...sudden). 

In the first sentence, appeared means 'seemed', and is used with an adjective; but in the second sentence appeared means 'came into sight' (an action), so it is used with an adverb. 

Look, taste, feel and smell can also be used to refer to actions, and they are then used with adverbs. Compare the following: 

Your father looks angry (= seems angry). 

He's looking at you angrily (looing = 'directing his eyes' - an action). 

The soup tastes wonderful. 

I tasted the soup suspiciously. 

My skin feels rough. 

The doctor felt my arm carefully. 

Sometimes other verbs can also be followed by adjectives, when we are really describing the subject of the sentence, and not the action of the verb. This often happens in descriptions with sit, stand, lie. 

Examples: 

The valley lay quiet and peaceful in the sun. 

She sat motionless, waiting for their decision. 

Some verbs are used to show how the subject of the sentence changes in some way. These verbs are also followed by adjectives. Examples are become, fall, get, go, turn. 

Examples: 

She fell unconscious on the floor (Not: ...unconsciously...). 

It's getting dark (Not: ...darkly). 

Adjectives can also be used to show a change in the object of the sentence. 

Examples: 

The new washing machine was clothes super white (Not: ...whitely). 

He pulled his belt tight and started off (Not: ...tightly...). 



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