Wild Rose Learning

Here are 3 adjective mistakes that speakers often make.

Adjectives are one of the most confusing parts of speech because many times, incorrect use sounds correct.

For example, I have a nephew who is constantly saying, “He is playing good.”

This sentence sounds right, but actually isn’t because he is breaking a grammar rule (I’ll explain the rule later in the article).

So, to help you avoid making these mistakes, here are the top 3 adjective mistakes speakers make:

Double Comparatives

Have you ever heard anyone say, “more better”?

This is called a double comparative, and it is grammatically incorrect.

It’s a common mistake that I’ve noticed a lot of people make.

To prevent yourself from making this same error, you have to understand how to use comparative adjectives.

So, here’s a quick lesson:

Comparative adjectives are used to compare 2 nouns.

For example, if you want to compare two peoples’ height, you would say:

“He is taller than her,” not “he is more taller than her.”

Another thing to keep in mind is that if the noun has one syllable, you add -er to the adjective. If it has more than one syllable, you use “more” in front of the adjective (most of the time).

For example:

• tall — taller
• brave — braver
• delicious — more delicious
• handsome — more handsome
• pretty — prettier (since this word ended in a -y, you change it to -i, and then add -er.)

Try to correct this sentence:

• My dad is more handsomer than the president.

Much and Many

A lot of people mix up these two words.

“Much” is used with uncountable nouns, and “many” is used with countable nouns.

For example, don’t say, “How much floors are there?

This is wrong because “floors” are countable. Instead, say, “How many floors are there?”

Here are some more examples of how to use “much” and “many” correctly:

• How much water is left?
• You don’t have much money in your wallet.
• How many water bottles are left?
• I only have this many dollars left.

Try to correct this sentence:

• How much pizza slices did you eat?

Good and Well

These two words are also often mixed up, and the most common mistake I’ve noticed is when people say, “I am doing good.”

This is wrong because “good” is used to describe a noun, whereas “well” is used to describe a verb.

For example:

• He is playing well.
• That was a good play.
• There was good chemistry, and that’s why they acted well.

Try to correct this sentence:

• I am doing good today.

Conclusion

Adjectives can be confusing to understand and use, and the rules will frustrate you.

But by practicing with grammar exercises and writing, they can become second nature.

Therefore, you should start practicing the rules with grammar workbooks.

Workbooks are great resources because they not only teach you grammar rules, but they also have exercises for you to work on.

If this sounds like it’ll help you, you can check out my workbooks here.