Page 229 - English - Teaching Academic Esl Writing

ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS 215
come up with flexible and relatively context-independent substitutions for abstract, angular, civic, concentric, divine, synthetic, or vertical. On the other hand, numerous other highly common adjectives can have a vari- ety of approximate and contextually appropriate descriptors, including words on the list (e.g., amorphous—vague, definite—positive, or radi- cal—drastic).
For most instructors, compiling sets of lexical substitution for frequently used adjectives would not require much special preparation. It is easy to de- rive adverbs from most adjectives on the list as well as their substitutions:
accurate exact, meticulous, precise, thorough
accurately exactly, meticulously, precisely, thoroughly
adequate satisfactory, sufficient, fair, acceptable, passable
adequately satisfactorily, sufficiently, fairly, acceptably, passably
adjacent next, nearby, adjoining, immediate adjacently next, nearby, immediately
amorphous vague, unclear, undefined, unspecified amorphously vaguely, unclearly
annualyearly, per year, per annum
annually yearly, per year, per annum
appropriate applicable, suitable, fitting, relevant appropriately applicably, suitably, fittingly, relevantly
According to Biber et al. (1999), the most common adjectivesused in aca- demic corpora of English number fewer than 25. These can be used both in attributive and predicative functions:
able available better
clear common different
difficult great high
important likely impossible long large low
necessary small new sure possible true
As mentioned, in academic prose adverbs are not nearly as common as adjectives, and even the most common are encountered at a rate of less than 1%(Biber et al., 1999). In academic writing, a handful make up the vast ma- jority of adverbs and have the function of intensifiers, hedges, restrictives,
or additives (Hoye, 1997; see also chap. 12):
Intensifiers:
Hedges:
Restrictives: Additive:
even, very, quite, more, well
sometimes, often, usually, relatively, probably, perhaps, generally only, especially, particularly
also
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