41 Commonly Confused Words (Part J)
Our last set of commonly confused words involves usage more than spelling. You will analyze a sentence structure to determine the correct usage of an adjective or adverb. As a result, this lesson comes with several explanations, so bring your attention span.
Before you begin here, be sure you are familiar with the lesson on adjectives and adverbs. Specifically, remember that adjectives describe nouns or pronouns, and adverbs modify verbs, adjectives or other adverbs.
GOOD | BETTER | BEST | WELL
These four words require you to analyze the context of a sentence. If you are describing quality, use the adjective good.
She gave a good speech.
If you are comparing two things or people, use better.
She gave a better speech than her opponent.
If you are comparing more than two things or people, use best.
Among the five candidates, she gave the best speech.
Good is usually an adjective, and well is a related adverb.
She gave a good speech.
(The adjective good describes the noun speech.)
She spoke well and engaged the audience.
(The adverb well modifies the verb spoke.)
Note that better and best can be adjectives or adverbs.
He had a better photo.
(The adjective better describes the noun photo.)
After yesterday’s disappointment, he played better today.
(The adverb better modifies the verb played.)
The Razorbacks had the best record in the conference.
(The adjective best describes the noun record.)
The Razorbacks play best when they pass the basketball quickly.
(The adverb best modifies the verb play.)
BAD | WORSE | WORST | BADLY
Usage for these four words echoes the section above. If you are describing poor quality, use the adjective bad.
He gave a bad performance.
If you are comparing two things or people, use worse.
His performance was worse today than yesterday.
If you are comparing more than two things or people, use worst.
This was the worst performance of his lengthy career.
Bad is usually an adjective, and badly is an adverb
He received a bad review.
(The adjective bad describes the noun review.)
The car ran badly in cold weather.
(The adverb badly modifies the verb ran.)
Note that worse and worst can be adjectives or adverbs.
He had a worse score than his brother.
(The adjective worse describes the noun score.)
He drives worse than his brother.
(The adverb worse modifies the verb drives.)
The Missouri Tigers had the worst offense in the conference.
(The adjective worst describes the noun offense.)
Among Texas cities, Dallas was the worst damaged by today’s storms.
(The adverb worst modifies the verb damaged.)
FYI – If you enjoy learning grammar terminology, better and worse are often called comparatives, while best and worst are called superlatives. This is also true for other modifiers. For example, long is a standard adjective form, longer is the comparative form, and longest is the superlative form.
You should consult a dictionary for spellings and usage guidelines with -er and -est. As a notable example, the comparative of the adjective fun should be more fun instead of funner. Also, for many adjectives, especially those with three or more syllables, you should use more (as in more courageous) instead of merely adding -er or -est (as in the incorrect courageouser or courageousest).
For adverbs, you will typically use more and most to form the comparative and superlative. Here are examples with the adjective quick.
- quicker (adjective – comparative)
- quickest (adjective – superlative)
- more quickly (adverb – comparative)
- most quickly (adverb – superlative)
NOTES ABOUT WORDS ENDING IN -LY
Adverbs often end in -ly, but keep in mind that some adjectives end in -ly as well. Here are a few examples with the adjective in bold and the affected noun or pronoun underlined:
An elderly man met his friendly hosts on a chilly day.
A lonely man with curly hair visited a holy shrine.
The storm was deadly.
Also, as we saw with the word early in the previous chapter on adjectives and adverbs, some -ly words can be an adjective or an adverb, depending on how they are used in a sentence. Here are a few examples.
She received a daily reminder about her duties.
(The adjective daily describes the noun reminder.)
She exercised daily to maintain her health.
(The adverb daily modifies the verb exercised.)
He is a likely candidate for governor.
(The adjective likely describes the noun governor.)
He likely will declare his candidacy for governor soon.
(The adverb likely modifies the verb declare.)
Similarly, some words that don’t end in –ly can act as either an adjective or an adverb. Here are examples:
The Razorbacks won the game thanks to a late comeback.
(The adjective late describes the noun comeback.)
She arrived late to the party.
(The adverb late modifies the verb arrived.)
The line was too long for most customers to stay.
(The adjective long describes the noun long.)
The visitors didn’t stay long.
(The adverb long modifies the verb stay.)
CLOSING NOTE
The concepts in this chapter extend beyond -ly words. Much like you saw with good, better and best, other words with -er and -est endings can be used as an adjective or an adverb. Here is an example with longer.
It was a longer movie than the one we watched last week.
(The adjective longer describes the noun movie.)
The movie lasted longer than we expected.
(The adverb longer modifies the verb lasted.)
