62 TOEFL EXAM ESSENTIALS
Practice
Circle the correct pronoun in each sentence. Find the answers on page 82.
8. No one in hertheir right mind would follow your advice. 9. Arnold or Jacques will bring histheir recorder so hethey
can tape the interview.
10. Bring youryou’re fishing pole along if youryou’re
coming.
11. Interstate 235, whowhichthat runs through town, is
being repaired this summer.
12. ItsIt’s youryou’re turn to do the dishes.
ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS
Study careful This is an example of a common mistake: confus- ing an adjective for an adverb. The correct statement is “study
carefully.” Adjectives and adverbs are modifiers, or words that describe other words. However, adjectives and adverbs describe
different parts of speech. In the preceding example, carefully is an adverb describing the verb study.
Adjectives describe nouns or pronouns and answer one of
three questions: which one? what kind? and how many? which one? → that tree, the other shoe, her last time
what kind? → elm tree, suede shoe, exciting time how many? → five trees, many shoes, several times
Adverbs describe verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs and
answer one of these questions about another word in the sentence: where? when? how? and to what extent?
STRUCTURE 63
where? Place your baggage below your seat.
when? Call your mother tomorrow.
how? Kyoko turned suddenly.
to what extent? Ben could hardly wait.
To recognize grammatical mistakes involving adjectives and adverbs, review these common trouble spots:
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Verbs that deal with the senses touch, taste, look, smell, sound—Deciding which modifier to use with
these verbs can be especially tricky. If the modifier is describing a noun or pronoun that comes before the
verb, use an adjective. If the modifier is describing a verb, use an adverb.
The entire group felt sick after lunch. Sick is an adjective describing the noun group.
The trainer felt gently around the player’s ankle. Gently is an adverb describing the verb felt.
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Adjectives that follow the verb—Sometimes an adjective comes after the verb, but it describes a noun or
pronoun that comes before the verb. In this example, the noun is in bold and the adjective is underlined:
These pickles taste salty. salty pickles
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Misplaced modifiers—Modifiers should be placed as closely as possible to the words that describe.
64 TOEFL EXAM ESSENTIALS
Incorrect: My uncle told me about raising cattle in the
kitchen. Why were cattle in the kitchen?
Correct: In the kitchen, my uncle told me about raising
cattle.
Problem Modifiers
FewerLess Fewer describes plural
The school enrolls fewer nouns, or things that can
children than it once did. be counted.
Less describes singular Julian has less time than you
nouns that represent a do.
quantity or degree. GoodWell
Good is an adjective. Caroline felt good about her
test results. Good describes Caroline.
Well is an adverb, used to Sophia performed well on
describe an action. the test. Well describes the
verb performed. BadBadly
Bad is an adjective. Owen felt bad after his
lengthy workout. Bad describes Owen.
Badly is an adverb, used to The band played badly at
describe an action. the concert. Badly describes
the verb played.
STRUCTURE 65
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Dangling modifiers—Words, phrases, or clauses set off by commas at the beginning a sentence sometimes
modify the wrong noun or pronoun.
Incorrect: Broken and beyond repair, Grandma threw
away the serving dish. Why was Grandma broken?
Correct: Grandma threw away the broken serving dish that
was beyond repair.
Practice
Choose the correct word in parentheses in each of the following sentences. Find the answers on pages 82–83.
13. The music sounded strange, strangely. 14. My cowboy boots feel less comfortable, comfortably
than my pumps.
15. Ask polite, politely if you would like a second serving. 16. Phoebe makes fewer, less money than her sister does.
17. He runs so good, well that he often wins local road races.
DON’T BE TOO NEGATIVE
Although in Shakespeare’s time, a double negative—the use of two negatives in the same sentence—could be used to emphasize
a point, today double negatives are considered a grammatical mistake. Be on the lookout for sentences that “double up” on the
following negative words:
no neither
nobody scarcely
not nothing
nowhere barely
neither no one
hardly
