Adverbs

[Tdol]

Which is correct?

[RonBee]

I vote for none of the above. I would say either he did the job well or he did a good job.

:)

[Tdol]

In BE, many would use the first option. I heard it today.

[RonBee]

He did a fine job is AE, but I wouldn't expect to hear He did the job fine.

• "We and the Americans have much in common, but there is always the language barrier."
  --Oscar Wilde
  
  :wink:

[dduck]

Originally Posted by tdol

In BE, many would use the first option. I heard it today.

I would say "He did the job well", - I try to avoid the americanism "GOOD JOB", unless I'm trying to be witty - or perhaps "He did a fine job", but not "He did the job fine". Sounds wrong to me, but people do say that sort of thing in the UK.

Iain

[Tdol]

I wouldn't go for it myself, but I heard it and it stuck in my mind.

[whl626]

Based on English grammar, it is supposed to be ' He did the job well ' :). But it seems that ' He did the job fine ' sounds smoother in speech.

Sometimes I wonder if following grammar or following the trend is the priority for non-English speakers ?

Any comments ?

[dduck]

Originally Posted by whl626

Sometimes I wonder if following grammar or following the trend is the priority for non-English speakers ?

I think grammar is important when learning a new language, but native speakers (of any language) don't always follow the rules - or even know the rules. If you want to fit in, you'll need to follow what others do. But there's a big difference in language depending on whether you're talking to people on the street or workers in offices.

Iain

[Tdol]

There is also a grey area where adjectives and adverbs merge- the distinction is not always 100% clear.

[whl626]

That's my point about English since language is a tool for communication and rules are set according to their application in day to day human interaction.

But to my surprise, a native speaker from Canada doesn't see eye to eye with me on this point. She said this thinking is stupid and hates to see participant of such mentality in their room. In fact, I still think it is an irrational thinking of a non-English speaker