JumpyTheFrog Posted September 27, 2015 Share Posted September 27, 2015 I can't tell you how often I am watching something on Netflix and the characters seem unware of adverbs. "He drove slow" or "think different" (yes, I know that used to be an Apple motto). It happens so frequently (or "frequent" if I were one of these characters) that I am starting to wonder if adverbs are slowly being phased out of the language. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted September 27, 2015 Share Posted September 27, 2015 "Drive safe" is one that gives me pause. Appreciating the good intention though, I do not pull out my red pen for editing. I suspect that there has always been a difference between the written and spoken forms of English. So while the "ly" disappears from verbal exchanges, we will continue to see adverbs used correctly (or over used as is often the case) in written English. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Violet Crown Posted September 27, 2015 Share Posted September 27, 2015 "Slow" and many similar words have been used as adverbs in standard English for centuries. Shakespeare and Milton use "slow" as an adverb; Thackeray even uses "drove slow." It's not so much an alteration in adverbial usage as a gradual reassignment of certain non-"-ly" adverbial forms to a category of informal usage only. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BooksandBoys Posted September 27, 2015 Share Posted September 27, 2015 I borrowed a cute little clock that helps kids play with abs learn about telling time. When one powers it off, it says, "Let's play again real soon." My ears were bleeding so badly that I gave it back to my friend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpyTheFrog Posted September 27, 2015 Author Share Posted September 27, 2015 Yes, I don't know what the rule is for "real" vs. "really", but I'm fairly sure I hear people use the wrong one all the time. Maybe if my school had taught grammar I would know for certain. Oh well, I'll get there someday, when my kids are older and have harder grammar for school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted September 27, 2015 Share Posted September 27, 2015 I was thinking about that this afternoon as I was planting up a new flowerbed in front of the house. The little voice in my head was saying, 'I mustn't plant the lavender too deep', then wondering about 'deep' vs. 'deeply'. Often when an adjective is used in lieu of an adverb, there is an understood missing section to the sentence. Just as when an American says, 'I'm going to hear the Symphony' s/he means 'the Symphony Orchestra', not a piece of music in the form of a symphony, so I was probably thinking 'I mustn't plant the lavender (such that it ends up) too deep.' 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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