Using Adjectives & Adverbs to Add Clarity Adding adjectives and adverbs to your writing and speaking will give what you want to say more clarity, color and specificity. Example: o This is a segment of our business. o This is a profitable segment of our business. o This is an extremely profitable segment of our business. Adjectives = what kind of + noun Adverb = how + verb / adjective Take 5 minutes to write a list of adverbs and positive & negative adjectives. Use only business vocabulary (i.e., “large,” not “fat” / “disappointing,” not “sad”): Positive Adjectives Negative Adjectives Adverbs English training on the job – for the job 1 The most common adverbs are words that many people don’t recognize as adverbs, because they don’t have the –ly ending. Here are a few: also most so even only still just pretty very more really well Other very common adverbs are adverbs of frequency: words like never, sometimes, often, usually, normally, always, etc. Review your sentences on the previous page. Would any of them be better with the adverbs discussed on this page? B. Intensifiers An adjective or adverb that makes a word/phrase bigger or stronger or otherwise more intense is called an “intensifier.” Some of the words on your list and in the table above are intensifiers. See if you can make the sentences below more intense, and then even more intense. Example: More intense — This is an extremely profitable segment of our business. Intense — This is a quite profitable segment of our business. Basic — This is a segment of our business. More intense — ---------------------------------------------------------------------------Intense — -------------------------------------------------------------------Basic — Our losses last year were unacceptable. English training on the job – for the job 2 More intense — ---------------------------------------------------------------------------Intense — --------------------------------------------------------------------Basic — We make parts for the auto industry. More intense — ---------------------------------------------------------------------------Intense — -------------------------------------------------------------------- Basic — Our technology sets us apart. C. Free Speaking Look at one item in the room and describe it using both an adverb and an adjective: ___________________________________________________________________ Look at one person in the room and describe him/her using both an adverb and an adjective: ___________________________________________________________________ Think about your last holiday and describe something you did using both an adverb and an adjective: ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ English training on the job – for the job 3 — Key — Adjectives & Adverbs in Speaking & Writing Here is a corpus list of the most common adjectives used in Business English: Positive Negative Neutral Work / Business Money Technology New defective senior corporate financial digital mobile aggressive further strategic monetary technical Best critical personal internal fiscal automotive successful disappointing applicable competitive electronic available environmental regulatory profitable economic independent specific organizational pretax cellular relevant unidentified promotional payable graphical appropriate mutual statutory leveraged mechanical responsible ordinary industrial outstanding previous operational systematic additional managerial effective complimentary antitrust exclusive interpersonal confidential flexible analytical organic important tough liable sustainable functional entrepreneurial strong replaceable genetic Here is a corpus list of the most common adverbs used in English: also actually again ahead almost already altogether always anyway automatically basically below briefly carefully certainly clearly closely completely constantly currently daily deeply definitely deliberately directly early easily effectively else elsewhere equally especially essentially eventually ever everywhere exactly extremely fairly finally forth frequently fully generally gently greatly hardly highly honestly hopefully however immediately initially instead likely literally mainly merely moreover mostly naturally nearly necessarily never normally obviously occasionally often originally perfectly personally physically possibly previously primarily probably properly quickly rarely rather readily really recently regularly relatively roughly seriously significantly similarly simply slightly slowly sometimes somewhat soon specifically strongly successfully suddenly terribly therefore thus together too totally truly twice ultimately unfortunately usually very virtually widely English training on the job – for the job 4 Trainer’s Notes: Linguist Paul Nation defines a fluency activity as something that “is time out from learning new items and is a time for getting good at using what is already known.”1 One area of vocabulary that even A2-level language learners know well is adjectives: most of them can describe a car, picture, etc., using a wide range of common adjectives. They also know the most common adverbs, but they don’t realize that they are adverbs. This exercise allows PPTs to use what they already know to improve their spoken and written fluency, with the goal of creating a language habit that will be manifested in spontaneous speaking. The trainer should distribute pages 1-2 and have the PPTs do the activities. Once they are completed, the trainer should distribute pages 3-4. This will reveal the list of the most common adverbs after they have already searched their memories for adverbs (presumably, anything they can add –ly to). At this point, they can continue with the sentence building activities using these adverbs. If you feel they’re struggling too much, you can distribute page 5 and let them use this list as prompts for their sentences; otherwise, save it until the end of the activity. You should also explain what a “corpus” is. Throughout, take opportunities to demonstrate why liberal use of adjectives and adverbs make speech more compelling, and discuss degrees of intensifiers to check their impulse to add “extremely” or “very” to every sentence. This would also be a good place to introduce common British adverbs such as “rather” and “quite,” and contrast them with more American ones like “really” and “pretty.” At the conclusion, if the PPTs do well with Free Speaking, give them more items, people, topics, work-related problems, etc., to describe. Notes: 1. Nation, P. (2007). The four strands: Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching, 1-12, page 7. Retrieved from: http://www.victoria.ac.nz/lals/about/staff/publications/paul-nation/2007-Fourstrands.pdf English training on the job – for the job 5
