In my opinion, “Think badly of someone” is right. But when I was watching a Vietnamese film with English subtitles “Think bad of me” was used. Answer Certainly, think badly of is grammatical and idiomatic here. Macmillan has: think badly of someone PHRASE to have a bad opinion of someone or something Nobody will think … Read more
The phrase higher-priced products is very common, but isn’t it grammatically incorrect? The adjective higher is being forced to servce as an adverb here, so the phrase should instead be more highly priced. What’s the verdict? Answer Both are correct with long-established usage. You can say “more highly” if you like, but according to dictionary.com: adverb, … Read more
I’ve heard a line in a song contained “…I slept peaceful on your shoulder…”. Is this correct from a native speaker point of view? Is peaceful here an adverb without a -ly form, or does it relate more to object “I” (like “I was peaceful and I slept…”) My situation is using “loud” as adverb … Read more
The following phrases: Looked at me funny Looking at me funny Don’t sound grammatically correct, but I hear them as turns of phrase relatively frequently. It should be something like: Looked at me funnily Looking at me funnily Right? But then the original sentiment of the phrase seems lost, as it’s so seldom used. Is … Read more
Victoria Tube line part shut hit by wet concrete flood is the headline from a BBC headline @ http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-25862543. Which goes on to say: Part of the Victoria London Underground line has been suspended after wet concrete flooded a control room. Am I correct in thinking that it should be partly shut instead because we … Read more
What is the role of ‘white’ in the following sentence? The lamp on the machine will flash white when you restart it. It seems like it is an adverb here, but is it possible to use colours as adverbs? Answer In a comment, John Lawler wrote: It’s an idiom, one of a number of them … Read more
My question concerns the following Siouxsie and the Banshees lyrics: Come let’s take flight, let’s quit this scene tonight Whilst they sleep on endless, in their wrecked designs Sleep on endless in your wrecked designs Is "endless" an adverb in this case? I suspect that this usage is the same as what’s discussed in this … Read more
I understand the 2 words are very simple words in English until I came across this sentence below: "Please drive slow". I know it should be an adverb here, and I checked it up to find "slow" is not only an adjective, but also an adverb. So my wondering is how to differentiate "slow" from … Read more
I’m trying to settle a debate with my girlfriend. She says “how quicker” is incorrect and you should always use “how much quicker”. Which of these is [more?] correct? See how quicker the cars flow into the city than out of the city. Or See how much quicker the cars flow into the city than … Read more
Let’s say I have this title: How to Install a PHP Extension: Quick and Easy Should I say quick and easy or quickly and easily? Why? Answer The terms Quick and Easy modify Install. Technically, since install is a verb, they should be adverbs – Quickly and Easily. However titles have a life of their … Read more
