Adverb She knows all about bees.
Noun He gave it his all.
Adverb She left bang on time for the airport.
Noun We heard a loud bang.
Adverb We flew due south.
Noun We paid our dues.
Adverb The wind stood fair for
Noun We had fun at the fair.
Adverb
Noun They’ll be at school by now.
Adverb We came to
Noun Once is enough.
Preposition She sings like a lark.
Noun We’ll not see Mandela’s like again.
Preposition We drove past the scene of the
accident.
Noun We’ll do well to learn from the past.
Preposition We drove down the bumpy road.
Noun He looked down and out.
Preposition She was grieving over the loss of
her son.
Noun I did my exercises over and over.
Preposition Grandma watches over me from the
beyond.
Noun The yard extends beyond that tree.
Preposition There was nothing but bread to
eat.
Adverb This is but one idea.
Preposition We
came by car.
Adverb Put some money by for a rainy day.
Preposition She is in the choir.
Adverb The rain came in.
Preposition We camped near the river.
Adverb I knew that help was near.
Preposition I jumped off the platform.
Adverb The deal fell off.
Preposition We went over the details.
Adverb The game is over.
Adverb Can you see any better?
Adjective Do it any way you please.
Adverb The light faded away.
Adjective We played an away match.
Adverb We played both early and late.
Adjective We bought both the house and
the car.
Adverb Make it easy
for yourself and others.
Adjective It was an easy test.
Adverb Of all the girls, she swims the best.
Adjective That was the best party I ever
attended.
Adjectives, which qualify nouns; and adverbs, which limit verbs, are the main modifiers. Adjectives, in most instances, precede the words they qualify. Adverbs, on the other hand, are mostly placed in the middle of a sentence or at the end. On occasions an adverb can appear at the beginning of a sentence. There is no hard and fast rule as to where the adverb ought to be placed and one has to be guided by experience. Many adverbs will appear between the subject and the verb or immediately after an auxiliary verb such as have, has or had.
Use each word in the list below as an adverb and an adjective.
|
away |
back |
best |
daily |
|
early |
easy |
far |
fast |
|
first |
hard |
high |
late |
|
little |
long |
loud |
low |
|
monthly |
much |
near |
straight |
|
weekly |
wide |
yearly |
|
Examples:
As I
drew near the bird flew away.
The next match will be an away
match.
The
referee wanted us to stand back.
Mum asked us to use the back
room for the project.
3. She dresses best of all the
girls.
School days were the best
days of my life.
Merchant
of
Running in the mornings was a daily
habit for him.
We
had the best seats as we arrived early at the hall.
It’s true that the early
bird catches the worm.
Rest
easy, the pilot will land the plane safely.
I always do the easy questions first.
base buff busy calm
dry idle keen last
lean like live mean
mock moot numb open
own peak rank rear
shy skew slim slow
sour tame thin tidy
trim warm
blue cold dark due
east evil fair home
kind last left less
like main male many
more most mum one
over pale pink rank
rash rear red safe
sage side slow sole
sore stem tart top
toy void west wise
An English word can in many instances be
either a noun or an adjective without any alteration in form. It would
therefore be useful to look for sentences in literature where such words are
used as adjectives, not as nouns. This is because half of all the words
in English are nouns anyway and their use is more obvious and therefore easier
to recognize.
It is also fairly common to see nouns being used as adjectives in writing as in: -; biology tutorials, garden pests, home comforts, hospital beds, library books, problem children, shop attendant, sports administrator. This is acceptable as long as there is no ambiguity. Is a child trainer, for example, a child who is a trainer or one who trains a child? Use nouns as adjectives with care.
ache ally arch bail
bait bale band bang
bank bark base bash
bathe beam bear beat
belt bend bind bite
bath beam bear beat
blot blow blur boil
blot bomb bond bone
book boom bore boss
bowl brew brim buck
bulk bump bung bunk
buoy burn bust butt
buzz call cane cant
card care cart cast
cave char chat chip
chum clap claw clip
clot club coat cock
code coil coin comb
cook cool cope copy
cork cost crib crop
crow cube cuff curb
cure curl damp dare
darn dart dash date
diet dish dock dose
down doze drag draw
deal deck dial dice
drip drop drug drum
duck dump dust case
echo eddy edge envy
equal even face fake
fall farm fawn fear
feed feel fete file
fill film find fine
fire firm fish flag
flap flax flop foal
foam foil fold fool
ford fork form foul
fray fret fuel fuse
fuss gall gang gaol
grip grit grub gulp
gust hack hail halt
hand hand harm harp
hate haul hawk head
heap heat heed heel
help herd hide hint
hire hold hole home
hook hope hose howl
huff hump hunt hurt
hush iron itch jack
jump keel keep kick
kiss knot lace lack
land lark lash last
lead leak lick limp
line link list load
loaf loan lock look
loop loot lord love
lull lump mail make
mark mash mask mass
mate meet mend mesh
mess milk mill mind
mine miss mole moon
moor move muck mull
nail name need nest
nick nose note ooze
pace pack page pain
pair pall palm part
pass pawn peak peal
peck peel peer pelt
pipe pity plan play
plot plug poke poll
pool pore pose post
prey prop puff pump
punt purl push quiz
prey prop puff pump
race rack rage raid
rail rain rake rank
rape rasp rate rear
reef reel rent rest
rick ride ring riot
rise roar rock roll
rook root rope ruin
rule rush rust sack
sail salt scar seal
seat seed sell send
sham shed shin ship
shoe shop show sigh
sign sink size skid
sink skip slip slit
slur snap snow soap
sock soil sole sort
span spar spin spit
spot spur stab star
stay stem step stew
stir stop stub stud
suit swab swim tack
tail talk tape taxi
team tear term test
thaw tick tide till
time tint toil toll
tone tour tout trap
trek trip trot twig
tune turf turn twig
twin twit type urge
vamp veil vent vest
wait wake walk wall
want ward warp wash
wave weed well whip
will wind wing wink
wire wish wolf word
word worm wrap yoke
.
NOTE ON NOUNS USED AS VERBS
The truth about language is that it
evolves and renews itself. Thus words that were previously used only as nouns
are now also used as verbs. For this reason there can never be a one-to-one
relation between words and their classes. The word contact can
be a verb or a noun, depending on how the word is used. In the times in which
we live, the impact of technology on vocabulary has been immense. Words like bookmark
and network which were unmistakably nouns, are now widely used as verbs.
So too are the words action, author, cement, dust, parent.
The advertising industry has also
continued to popularize the turning of nouns into verbs by the use of the suffix
–ize. The word moisten has given way to moisturize, and the word dollar
which has always been a noun is now appearing as the verb dollarize.
Words that are newly coined for a single
special occasion are called nonce words. Look at Lewis Carroll’s Jabberwocky
or A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess for numerous examples of
such words. Other words answer a genuine need and are quickly taken up in
common usage. Such a word is blog. A blog is an online diary.
As users of a language, we use words both as they are given and as we in turn modify them, relegate them or replace them. On occasions we invent words that are totally new. It should therefore not surprise learners that language changes as quickly as it does. Today’s young speak is hardly intelligible to those who are getting on in years. That is how it will always be. Learners will simply have to keep abreast of developments in vocabulary and grammar
|
WORD |
USED AS A NOUN |
USED AS A VERB |
|
arm |
upper limbs of the body |
to supply with arms—guns etc. |
|
axe |
a tool for chopping woods |
to discharge workers |
|
bag |
a container for carrying things |
to kill or trap in hunting |
|
ban |
an order that prevents something |
to forbid something |
|
bar |
a long piece of soap or wood |
to block or obstruct |
|
bat |
a piece of wood to play cricket with |
to hit a cricket ball |
|
bet |
a wager |
to lay a bet |
|
bow |
a weapon for shooting arrows |
to bend the head |
|
bug |
an insect |
to annoy someone |
|
can |
a metal container |
to preserve food in a can |
|
cap |
soft hat with a peak |
to cover or close something |
|
pair |
two things of the same type |
to put people into groups of two |
|
pass |
a high road that goes between mountains |
to travel along or through a place |
|
peck |
a quick light kiss |
to nibble with a beak |
|
pipe |
a tube through which liquid or gas flows |
to decorate a cake with icing |
|
plot |
a secret plan by a group of people |
to make a secret plan against a leader |