Writting good or well 1 pptx

39. _____ clerk who sold _____ tie to Uncle Fred secretly inserted _____ microphone and
_____ miniature radio transmitter.
40. Uncle Fred’s snores were broadcast by _____ obscure radio station that specializes in
embarrassing moments.
41. Annie, who didn’t want to invite Uncle Fred but was forced to do so by her mother,
placed _____ buzzer under his seat.
42. Annie’s plan was to zap him whenever he snored too loudly; unfortunately, Fred chose
_____ different seat.
43. Lulu’s sneeze set off the buzzer, whereupon she jumped a foot into _____ air.
44. One of _____ two flower girls, distracted by Lulu’s movement, dropped _____ basket of
roses that she was supposed to scatter in _____ center aisle.
45. Reverend Foster shortened _____ ceremony in _____ effort to avoid even more trouble.
Calling All Overachievers: Extra
Practice with Descriptors
Show off the knowledge you gained from the sections in this chapter by finding the mis-
takes in this excerpt from a dress catalogue (see Figure 14-1). Twenty descriptive words are
underlined, but only some of them are wrong. Look for adjectives trying to do an adverb’s
job (and vice versa) or the wrong sort of articles. When you find an error, correct it. If the
description is okay, leave it alone.
Dollars’ Clothing: Fashions That Work
A–D. Surprising comfortably suits for work and leisure. Easily-to-clean
polyester in real varied colors goes from the office grind to the extreme
bright club scene without a pause!
A. Fast track jacket. Stun your co-workers with a astonishingly elegance of
deeply eggplant. Gently curves follow an real natural outline to accentuate
your figure. The silkily lining, in delightful loud shades of orange, gives a
strong message: I am woman! Hear me roar!
B. Softly, woven pants coordinate with a jacket described above — and with
everything in your wardrobe. In eggplant, orange, or eggplant-orange plaid.
Figure 14-1:
Sample

dress-
catalogue
exercise.
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Answers to Adjective and Adverb Problems
a
loyal, surely. What kind of member is the alligator? A loyal member. Because you’re describing
a noun (member), you need the adjective loyal. In the second part of the sentence, the adverb
surely explains how the duck’s presence was resented. Resented is a verb and must be described
by an adverb.
b
personal, angrily. In the first part of the sentence, personal describes a thing (plumbing). How
did the alligator inquire? Angrily. The adverb tells about the verb, inquire.
c
nasty. The adjective nasty describes you. Of course I don’t mean you-the-reader. You earned my
undying affection by buying this book. I would never call you nasty!
d
swiftly, clear. The adverb swiftly describes the action of circling. The adjective clear explains
what kind of advantage the creatures were seeking.
e
extremely. The adverb extremely clarifies the intensity of the descriptive word territorial.
(If you absolutely have to know, territorial is an adjective describing you.)
f
fearfully, sharply. Both of these adverbs tell how the actions (retreated and quacked) were
performed.
g
poorly. The adverb poorly gives information about the descriptive word dressed.
h

nearly. This was a tough question, and if you got it right, treat yourself to a spa day. The
expression five feet is a description of the sword. The adverb nearly gives additional informa-
tion about the description five feet in length.
i
easily. The adverb easily describes the verb bounced.
j
forcefully. The adverb forcefully tells how he ordered, a verb.
k
Abominable, happy. You can cheat on the first part of this one just by knowing the name of the
possibly imaginary monster that supposedly stalks the Himalayas, but you can also figure it out
with grammar. A snowman is a thing (or a person) and thus a noun. Adjectives describe nouns,
so abominable does the trick. In the second half you need an adjective to describe the snowman,
who was happy. You aren’t describing the action of seeming, so an adverb is inappropriate.
l
really. This sentence presents a common mistake. The word angry is a description; you need
an adverb to indicate its intensity, and really fills the bill.
m
surely. That horse in the fifth race might be a sure thing, because thing is a noun and you need
an adjective to describe it. But the verb deny must be described by an adverb, so surely is the
one you want.
n
accurate. Statement is a noun because it’s a thing. The adjective accurate attaches nicely to
statement.
o
lovely.A lizard is a noun, which may be described by the adjective lovely but not the adverb
lovingly. Incidentally, lovely isn’t an adverb, despite the fact that it ends with -ly.
p
quickly. The adverb quickly describes the verb come.
q
happy. This sentence presents a puzzle. Are you talking about the duck’s mood or the way in

which he left the tub? The two are related, of course, but the mood is the primary meaning, so
the adjective happy is the better choice. Happy, by the way, describes duck.
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r
dumb. The adjective dumb is attached to enemy. Most, but not all, adjectives are in front of the
words they describe, but in this case the adjective follows the noun.
s
first, particularly. The handy, adaptable word first functions as both an adjective (first prize)
and an adverb. In this sentence it’s an adverb telling about the verb go. The second answer is
also an adverb, attached to the descriptive word narrow.
t
warily. To describe the verb waddled, the adverb warily is best.
u
worried. The description isn’t talking about the action of looking but rather describing you.
The pronoun you may be described only by an adjective, so worried wins the prize here.
v
silent. This adjective describes the noun duck. The verb in between is a linking verb, which
may be thought of as a giant equal sign linking (how clever are these grammar terms!) the noun
and its description.
w
winding. As the Beatles once sang, you have to travel “a long and winding road” to this answer.
The adjective winding is attached to the noun tunnel.
x
angry. The adjective angry tells you about the Snowman. You’re not describing the action
(sounded) but instead the person doing the action (the Snowman). In this sentence, the verb
sounded is a stand-in for was, which is a linking verb that connects what precedes and follows it
(Snowman and angry).
y

filthy. If you’re describing pipes, a thing and therefore a noun, you need an adjective, which in
this case is filthy.
A
well. The adverb well tells you how Truffle has run.
B
bad. This sentence illustrates a common mistake. The description doesn’t tell you anything about
Truffle’s ability to feel (touching sensation). Instead, it tells you about the letter carrier’s state of
mind. Because the word is a description of a person, not of an action, you need an adjective, bad.
To feel badly implies that you’re wearing mittens and can’t feel anything through the thick cloth.
C
well. The adverb well is attached to the action to turn out (to result).
D
well. How does she like chocolate truffles? Almost as much as I do! Also, she likes them well.
The adverb is needed because you’re describing the verb likes.
E
bad. The description bad applies to the snacks, not to the verb are. Hence, an adjective is what
you want.
F
bad. The description tells you about his meal, a noun (also a truly terrible combination of
foods). You need the adjective bad.
G
good. The adjective (good) is attached to a noun (bit).
H
badly. Now you’re talking about the action (ate), so you need an adverb (badly).
I
well. The best response here is well, an adjective that works for health-status statements. Good
will do in a pinch, but good is better for psychological or mood statements.
J
Bad. The adjective bad applies to the noun dog.
K

the. The sentence implies that one particular picture caught Annie’s fancy, so the works nicely
here. If you chose a, no problem. The sentence would be a bit less specific but still acceptable.
The only true clinker is an, which must precede words beginning with vowels — a group that
doesn’t include picture.
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L
A. Because the sentence tells you that several guests are nearby, the doesn’t fit here. The more
general a is best.
M
an or the, the. In the first blank you may place either an (which must precede a word beginning
with a vowel) or the. In the second blank, the is best because it’s unlikely that Fred is surrounded
by several department stores. The is more definitive, pointing out one particular store.
N
The, the, a, a. Lots of blanks in this one! The first two seem more particular (one clerk, one tie),
so the fits well. The second two blanks imply that the clerk selected one from a group of many,
not a particular microphone or transmitter. The more general article is a, which precedes
words beginning with consonants.
O
an. Because the radio station is described as obscure, a word beginning with a vowel, you need
an, not a. If you inserted the, don’t cry. That article works here also.
P
a. The word buzzer doesn’t begin with a vowel, so you have to go with a, not an. The more defi-
nite the could work, implying that the reader knows that you’re talking about a particular
buzzer, not just any buzzer.
Q
a. He chose any old seat, not a particular one, so a is what you want.
R
the. There’s only one air, so the, which is more specific, is what you need.

S
the, a, the. In the first and third blanks in this sentence, you’re discussing particulars, so the
fills the bill. In the middle blank, the more general article works well.
T
the, an. Because only one wedding ceremony is in question here, the does the job for the first
blank. In the second blank, he’s making an effort. The vowel in effort requires an, not a.
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35
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15

Dollars’ Clothing: Fashions That Work
A–D. Surprising Surprisingly comfortably comfortable suits for work and
leisure. Easily Easy-to-clean polyester in real really varied colors goes from
the office grind to the extreme extremely bright club scene without a
pause!
A. Fast track jacket. Stun your co-workers with a the
astonishingly astonishing elegance of deeply deep eggplant.
Gently Gentle curves follow an a real really natural outline to accentuate
your figure. The silkily silky lining, in delightful delightfully loud shades of
orange, gives a strong message: I am woman! Hear me roar!
B. Softly Soft, woven pants coordinate with a the jacket described above —
and with everything in your wardrobe. In eggplant, orange, or eggplant-
orange plaid.
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U
The description comfortable must be intensified by the adverb surprisingly, not by the adjective
surprising.
V
The adjective comfortable describes the noun suits.
W
Polyester is a noun, so it must be described by an adjective. Easy, which is part of the combo
description easy-to-clean, attaches nicely to the noun.
X
The description varied is intensified by the adverb really.
Y
In this sentence office is an adjective describing grind, a noun here.
z
The adverb extremely intensifies the descriptive word bright.

Z
The adjective bright describes the club scene, a noun.
1
That wonderful word fast may be either an adjective or an adverb. Here it functions as an adjec-
tive describing track.
2
A particular sort of elegance is being discussed, so the definitive the is called for.
3
Elegance is a noun, so the adjective astonishing is the best description.
4
Eggplant is a color, which is a thing and therefore a noun. To describe a noun, the adjective
deep is needed.
5
To describe the noun curves, go for the adjective gentle, not the adverb gently.
6
An can only precede words beginning with vowels, and real begins with a consonant.
7
Natural is a descriptive word, so it must itself be described by an adverb, really.
8
The noun lining is described by the adjective silky.
9
The adverb delightfully attaches to another description, loud. Descriptions are always described
by adverbs, not by adjectives.
0
The article a is the one you need to precede a word beginning with a consonant.
!
The adjective strong describes the noun message.
@
Did I fool you here? True, you may have thought that softly described woven in this sentence,
but the meaning indicates otherwise. You’re not talking about how the cloth was woven.

Instead, you have two separate words (the comma clues you in on this) describing the noun
pants. Soft is an adjective, appropriate for noun descriptions.
#
Clearly you’re talking about one particular item, the extremely ugly jacket described as item A.
Hence the, which goes well with particulars, is better than the more general a.
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