Adjectives And Adverbs
English Grammar Lower Intermediate (A2) · 23 lessons
Which is the correct adverb of 'quick'?
A. Quickly is correct because adverbs are typically formed by adding -ly to an adjective. "Quick" (adjective) + "-ly" = "quickly" (adverb), which describes *how* something is done.
B. Quicklier is wrong—this isn't a real word. You don't add "-er" to an adverb to make a comparative form.
C. Quickestness is wrong—this is neither an adverb nor a real word. The "-ness" suffix creates nouns, not adverbs.
D. Quickness is wrong—while it's a real word, it's a *noun* (the quality of being quick), not an adverb.
Which is the correct adverb of 'sudden'?
A. Suddenly ✓
Most adverbs are formed by adding -ly to an adjective—"sudden" becomes "suddenly." This follows the standard English rule for turning descriptive words into words that describe *how* something happens.
Why the others are wrong:
- B. Suddenness - This adds -ness, which creates a noun (the quality of being sudden), not an adverb
- C. Suddenest - This adds -est, which creates a superlative adjective (most sudden), not an adverb
- D. Suddenity - This isn't a real English word; -ity doesn't apply here
Which is the correct adverb of 'bad'?
A. Badly ✓
An adverb describes *how* an action is done. "Badly" is the adverb form of "bad" — it tells us someone did something in a bad way (e.g., "She played badly").
Why the others are wrong:
- B. Worse — This is a comparative adjective (comparing two things), not an adverb
- C. Worst — This is a superlative adjective (comparing three or more things), not an adverb
- D. Badness — This is a noun, not an adverb
Which word is the comparative form of 'old'?
A. Older ✓
This is the standard comparative form for the adjective "old." With one-syllable adjectives, you add "-er" to compare two things (old → older).
B. More old ✗
While grammatically possible, this is not standard English. We don't say "more old"; we use the "-er" ending instead.
C. Olden ✗
This is an archaic (old-fashioned) adjective meaning "of long ago" (like "olden days"), but it's not a comparative form used for comparison.
D. Elder ✗
This is a different word altogether, used mainly as a noun (a church elder) or in fixed phrases like "elder statesman." It's not the comparative of "old."
Which word is the superlative form of 'big'?
Correct Answer: A. The biggest
- "Biggest" is the superlative form, which compares something to all others in a group (the one that is most big). For one-syllable adjectives like "big," we add "-est" to make the superlative.
Why the others are wrong:
- B. More big — This is incorrect grammar; we don't use "more" with one-syllable adjectives.
- C. The big — This is just the base form, not a comparison at all.
- D. The most big — We don't use "most" with one-syllable adjectives; "most" is for longer words (like "most beautiful").
Which word is the superlative form of 'interesting'?
Correct answer: The most interesting
- For longer adjectives (3+ syllables), we form the superlative by adding "most" before the word, not by adding "-est" to the end.
- This is the proper superlative form, used when comparing three or more things (e.g., "That's the most interesting movie I've ever seen").
Why the others are wrong:
- B (More interesting) — This is the *comparative* form (comparing two things), not the superlative.
- C (Interestingest) — Adding "-est" directly doesn't work for long adjectives; it sounds awkward and isn't standard English.
- D (Most interest) — "Interest" is a noun here, not an adjective, so this changes the meaning entirely.
Which word is the irregular comparative form of 'less'?
Lesser is correct because it's the actual irregular comparative form used in English. We don't add "-er" to "less" in the standard way; instead, we use "lesser" (e.g., "a lesser problem").
More is wrong—it's the comparative for "much/many," not "less."
Leaster is wrong—this isn't a real English word; it's not how we form comparatives from "less."
Lessen is wrong—this is a verb meaning "to reduce," not a comparative adjective form.
Which word is the irregular superlative form of 'good'?
Why "The best" is correct:
"Good" is an irregular adjective, so it doesn't follow the normal superlative rules. Instead of adding "-est" or "more," it changes to "best" (the superlative form).
Why the others are wrong:
- "Goodest" – This looks regular, but "good" is irregular and never uses "-est"
- "More good" – This would be the comparative form ("more good"), not superlative, and sounds awkward
- "The goodest" – This incorrectly applies the regular "-est" rule to an irregular adjective
Which word is the irregular comparative form of 'bad'?
Worse is correct because it's the actual irregular comparative form of "bad"—English doesn't follow its normal "-er" pattern here, so we use this unique form instead.
• Badder – This follows the regular "-er" rule, but "bad" is irregular and doesn't use this form
• Badest – This looks like a superlative form (the "-est" ending), not a comparative, and it's not the correct irregular superlative anyway (that's "worst")
• More bad – While grammatically possible, this uses the regular "more + adjective" pattern; the irregular form "worse" is the standard, preferred way to say this
Complete the sentence: She is a better driver ____ me.
Why A (than) is correct:
"Than" is the comparison word used when contrasting two things. "Better" is a comparative adjective, and it always pairs with "than" to show a difference between two people or things.
Why the others don't work:
- B (of): "Of" shows possession or relationship, not comparison ("a friend of mine").
- C (with): "With" shows accompaniment or togetherness, not comparison ("I went with her").
- D (for): "For" shows purpose or direction, not comparison ("this is for you").
Which word order is correct for adverbial phrases of time?
A is correct: This is the standard English word order. Time adverbs/phrases typically come at the end of a clause because we establish the action first, then add when it happened. Example: "She went to the store *yesterday*."
B is wrong: Starting with the adverbial phrase is unusual in standard English and sounds unnatural for most sentences.
C is wrong: Placing the phrase between verb and subject breaks basic English grammar rules and creates an awkward, incorrect structure.
D is wrong: Putting the adverbial phrase between subject and verb disrupts the natural flow and creates grammatical errors. ("She *yesterday* went" doesn't work.)
Which word order is correct for adverbial phrases of place?
A is correct: This follows standard English word order (SVO - Subject-Verb-Object). Adverbial phrases of place come at the end of the sentence. Example: "She sat *in the park*."
B is wrong: Starting with the adverbial phrase is unusual and awkward in English (though it can happen for emphasis, it's not the standard/correct pattern).
C is wrong: This breaks the basic rule—the verb comes too early, and the subject placement is incorrect.
D is wrong: Putting the adverbial phrase between the subject and verb interrupts the natural flow and violates standard English syntax.
Which word order is correct for adverbial phrases of frequency?
A is correct: Frequency adverbs/phrases (like "every day," "twice a week," "on Mondays") typically come after the main verb in English. Example: "She goes to the gym every day."
Why others are wrong:
- B: Puts the phrase at the start with inverted word order—not standard for frequency phrases.
- C: Separates the verb from its subject, breaking basic English sentence structure.
- D: Places the phrase between subject and verb, which disrupts the natural flow (though some adverbs *can* go here, it's not the typical position for frequency phrases).
She sings ________ than her sister.
Correct answer: A. better
- When comparing two things, you need the comparative form of an adjective. "Better" is the correct comparative form of "good."
Why the others are wrong:
- B. good – This is the base form, not a comparison. You'd say "She sings good" only in informal speech.
- C. more well – "Well" is an adverb (how you sing), but we don't say "more well." The comparative of "well" is "better."
- D. goodly – This is an archaic/old-fashioned word meaning "large" or "considerable." It's not used in modern English and doesn't work here.
He writes ________.
A. quickly ✓
- "Quickly" is an adverb (describes how he writes), formed by adding "-ly" to the adjective "quick."
- B (quick) is an adjective, not an adverb—it can't describe an action.
- C (quickier) isn't a real word; you don't add "-er" to "quick" to make an adverb.
- D (quickily) is incorrect; the proper adverb form is "quickly," not "quickily."
I have ________ money than you.
A. less ✓
"Less" is correct because money is an uncountable noun (you can't say "one money, two moneys"). Use "less" for uncountable things.
B. few ✗
"Few" is for countable items (few people, few coins). It doesn't work with the uncountable noun "money."
C. lesser ✗
"Lesser" is an adjective meaning "of lower importance or rank" (the lesser evil), not for comparing quantities of money.
D. fewer ✗
"Fewer" is for countable nouns (fewer coins, fewer dollars), not the uncountable noun "money."
This is ________ book I have ever read.
Correct answer: A. the most interesting
- This is the proper way to form a superlative (comparing one thing to all others) with longer adjectives like "interesting." You use "the most" + adjective.
Why the others are wrong:
- B (the most interestinger): "Interestinger" isn't a real word—you can't add "-er" when you're already using "most."
- C (most interesting): Missing the "the," which is required before superlatives in English.
- D (the interestingest): You don't add "-est" to words that take "most" (that's for short adjectives like "big" → "biggest").
He arrived ________ than I expected.
A. earlier ✓
When comparing two things, use the comparative form of adjectives. For short adjectives like "early," add "-er" and drop the "y" (early → earlier).
B. early ✗
This is the base form, not a comparison. It doesn't show he arrived before you expected.
C. more early ✗
Don't mix methods—you either say "more early" (wrong) or "earlier" (right). Short adjectives use "-er," not "more."
D. earlyer ✗
This doubles up the "-y" to "-er" change incorrectly. The correct spelling is "earlier."
The concert was ________ than I thought.
Correct answer: more expensive
- Use "more + adjective" for comparisons between two things. Since you're comparing the concert to your expectation, you need the comparative form.
Why the others are wrong:
- B (expensiver) – "Expensive" is a two-syllable adjective, so it uses "more," not the "-er" ending. The "-er" ending only works for one-syllable words like "cheap."
- C (the most expensive) – "The most" is the superlative form, used when comparing three or more things or saying something is #1. You're only comparing two things here.
- D (the expensivest) – This isn't a real English word. Long adjectives don't take "-est" endings.
They live ________ from here.
Correct answer: A. far
"Far" is an adverb describing the distance from here, and it works perfectly in this simple sentence.
Why the others are wrong:
- B. farrer – Not a real word; "far" doesn't follow the regular comparative pattern (-er ending)
- C. more far – Grammatically incorrect; we don't use "more" with "far" to make comparisons
- D. the farthest – This is the superlative form (meaning the greatest distance of all), which doesn't fit here; we're just stating where they live, not comparing to multiple places
We go to the movies ________ .
A. often ✓
Why it's correct:
"Often" is the standard adverb form meaning "frequently." It works perfectly in this simple statement without any comparison needed.
Why the others are wrong:
- B. more often — Used only when comparing two things ("We go more often than you do")
- C. the most often — Used only when comparing three or more things ("We go the most often of all our friends")
- D. oftenly — Not a real word; "often" doesn't take an "-ly" ending (it's already an adverb)
She speaks English ________ .
A. fluently ✓
The verb "speaks" needs an adverb to describe *how* she speaks. Adverbs modify verbs and typically end in "-ly." "Fluently" is the adverb form of "fluent."
Why the others are wrong:
- B. fluent — This is an adjective (describes nouns), not an adverb. You'd use it like "She is fluent in English," but not "She speaks fluent."
- C. more fluent — This is a comparative adjective, but you'd still need an adverb form here. Also, you don't say "more fluently" unless comparing two people.
- D. fluenter — Not a real word. The correct comparative form would be "more fluent" (adjective) or "more fluently" (adverb).
I bought a ________ car.
Correct Answer: A. new
"New" is an adjective that describes the car directly. It answers "what kind of car?" and fits naturally in this position.
Why the others don't work:
- B. newer – This is comparative (comparing two things), but there's nothing to compare the car to in this sentence.
- C. the newest – This is superlative (the most of all), which also needs context we don't have here.
- D. newly – This is an adverb (ending in -ly), which modifies verbs or adjectives, not nouns. You'd say "a newly built car," not "a newly car."
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