"Drink this quick !" Is "quick" here an adverb ? Does it mean "quickly" ?
When can you use "quick" as adjective and an adverb ?
"I bought this car cheap" VS "I bought this car cheaply".
***** NOT A TEACHER *****
Hello,
I am delighted to share some thoughts with you.
1. I believe that learners should definitely say "Drink this quick
ly."
a. "Quickly" is definitely an adverb. It tells us
how to drink .
b. But "quick" is also an adverb sometimes. Reportedly, even the great Shakespeare used it as an adverb.
i. In 2012, however, most teachers seem to recommend that the adverb "quick" be limited to speech or
informal writing.
(a) If there's an accident, I think that most Americans would yell, "Call an ambulance quick!" (Of course,
"quickly" would also be correct.)
c. Also, please remember this: sometimes "quick" can
not be used:
i. Every day, Tom quick
ly eats dinner and then rushes to the computer to click on
usingenglish.com.
(a) Native speakers will
not accept: Tom quick eats dinner and ....
*****
2. I really liked your second question, for I was not sure myself. I checked my books and the Web. I think
that the following is accurate.
a. "I bought a car
cheap" and "I bought a car cheap
ly" are both "correct."
b. Again, we are told that "cheap" is sometimes an adverb, too.
c. But my books assure me that when we are talking about buying and selling, it is more idiomatic to
use "cheap." ( Idiomatic = the way in which most native speakers use their language.) I think that most
Americans would say," I got this car cheap," instead of "cheaply."
*****
In summary:
1. Please remember that an adverb usually modifies a verb ("ad
verb"): Come quickly.
2. An adjective usually modifies a noun: a cheap suit/ a quick lunch.
3. Sometimes, however, a word that looks like an adjective (quick, cheap, slow, etc.) can be used as an
adverb in
informal English but
not used in front of a verb (Please see c. i. (a) above.)
James
My chief reference:
Webster's Dictionary of English Usage (1989).
