Error detection : (1) Principle of Grammar - Adjective versus Adverb , Double Negatives

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III. Adjective versus Adverb

‘ Adjectives ’ are used to modify ‘ nouns ’, ‘ Adverbs ’ are used to modify ‘ verbs ’ or ‘adjectives ’. For example,

( a ) Some psychologists maintain 1)/ that a child who has seen violence 2)/ on television is more likely to react 3)/ violent in situations of stress. 4)/ No error 5)

Explanation :

The answer to the above example is (4). ‘ Violent ’ is intended to modify ‘ to react ’, a verb form. So the adverb ‘ violently ’ is required.

( b ) The recent created commission 1)/ has done nothing to address 2)/ the problem except to approve 3)/ the colour of its stationery. 4)/ No error 5)

Explanation :

The answer to the above example is (1). ‘ Recent ’ is intended to modify ‘ created ’, which is itself an adjective form modifying ‘ commission ’. Therefore ‘ recent’ should be ‘recently ’.

IV. Double Negatives

Double negatives are not acceptable usage in standard written English. For example,

( a ) Not hardly a sound 1)/ could be heard in the auditorium 2)/ when the speaker approached the dais 3)/ to announce the result of the contest. 4)/ No error 5)

Explanation :

The answer to the above question is (1). ‘ Not hardly ’ is a double negative. The sentence must begin ‘ Hardly a sound ’.

( b ) Although she had been hired 1)/ by the magazine to write book reviews, 2)/ she knew scarcely nothing 3)/ about current fiction. 4)/ No error 5)

Explanation :

The answer to the above example is (3). ‘ Scarcely nothing ’ is a double negative. The sentence must read ‘ scarcely anything ’.