[Grammar] An adverb in conjunction with a noun.

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Denisius

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Hello all! Could you tell me please why the adverb "precisely" is used for describing the noun phrase "the inverse of the NAND gate" in this sentence "If the output signal of Fig. 3-1(b) is fed into an inverter circuit, we get another
circuit with precisely the inverse of the NAND gate"?
I'm a bit confused because as far as I know the English grammar doesn't let us use adverbs for defining nouns.
 

Raymott

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Since your question is unanswered so far, I'll make some speculations. I agree that English doesn't allow adverbs to modify nouns.
If you changed "with" to "which has", it would be grammatical. The adverb is modifying the verb. That's possibly how these usages start. Equally likely, it's a variant of "with the precise inverse ..."
Either way the construct is not uncommon:
"One day you'll meet a girl with exactly the qualities you're looking for." 'with' = "who has". Or "with the exact qualities ..."

This is not the answer you want, but it might nudge your question up, and spark some more enlightening thoughts.
 

Denisius

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Raymott, I've appreciated your efforts of sparking the flames of thoughts in my mind. Standing with burning head I'm still dreaming about some definite rule for the case we've been talking about.
 
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