Plain English

by Marian Wharton

Exercise 1

Change the adjectives which are printed in italics in the following sentences into phrases:

1. Strong men know no fear.
2. She bought a Turkish rug.
3. He followed the river bed.
4. Fashionable women are parasites.
5. He left on his homeward journey.
6. Sensible men readily understand their economic slavery.
7. Intelligent people will not always submit to robbery.
8. Senseless arguments cannot convince us of the truth.

USED AS ADVERBS

301. These phrases may be used in the place of single adverbs also. You remember an adverb is a word that modifies a verb or an adjective or another adverb. Let us see if we can not use a phrase or a group of words in the place of a single adverb. For example:

• The man works rapidly, or, The man works with rapidity.
• The man works now, or, The man works at this time.
• The man works here, or, The man works at this place.

In these sentences rapidly, now and here are single adverbs modifying the verb work. The phrases, with rapidity, at this time, and at this place, express practically the same ideas, conveyed by the single adverbs, rapidly, now and here. These phrases modify the verb in exactly the same manner as the single adverbs. Therefore we call these groups of words used as single adverbs, adverb phrases.

We also use adverbs to modify adjectives. Let us see if we can use adverb phrases in the same way:

• Rockefeller is excessively rich; or, Rockefeller is rich to excess.
• He is bodily perfect, but mentally weak; or, He is perfect in body but weak in mind.