Adverbs Are Really Quite Acceptable

Adverbs Are Really Quite Acceptable Adverbs Are Really Quite Acceptable Adverbs Are Really Quite Acceptable By Mark Nichol Adverbs are to verbs as adjectives are to nouns: They modify action words. However, they can also support other parts of speech, such as adjectives and other adverbs, as well as clauses and even entire sentences. When writers want to add to detail in the form of answers to questions such as â€Å"Who?† â€Å"When?† and â€Å"Where?† (as well as â€Å"how much?†), they reach for adverbs. Most adverbs end in ly, but note that some adjectives do, too. You can tell the difference by the root word: Seriously (from serious) is an adverb, but timely (from time) is an adjective. Others end in the related forms ways (such as sideways) and wise (like otherwise) or consist of nouns preceded by a- (akin, for example). Others, known as comparative and superlative adverbs, end respectively in -er or -est (for instance, faster and fastest). But adverbs, unlike other parts of speech, are diverse and flexible in their function, even in the same position: â€Å"He has arrived, obviously,† for example, is subtly distinct in meaning from â€Å"He has arrived obviously.† And they can be found anywhere in a sentence: â€Å"Slowly, he opened the door,† â€Å"He slowly opened the door,† and â€Å"He opened the door slowly† all mean the same thing. (An adverb can, of course, also immediately follow a verb: â€Å"He then walked quickly toward the lamp.†) Adverbs, like adjectives, have gotten a bad rap for their cluttering qualities. They are ever so useful, and so applicable and adaptable that writers often employ them mindlessly and indiscriminately. But which of the three adverbs in the preceding phrase (not only mindlessly and indiscriminately but also often) must I mercilessly vaporize with the Delete key? Don’t hesitate to apply one or more adverbs within a sentence if they serve a purpose, but do hesitate before you cast them among your prose with Brysonian abandon. Bill Bryson, the exhaustively (and exhaustingly) amusing author of The Mother Tongue: English How It Got That Way and other books on language, as well as volumes on history, science, and more, never met an adverb he didn’t like, but he’s earned the right to break the rules. Consider this sentence from his latest work, At Home: A Short History of Private Life: â€Å"Eventually even he admitted that mostly he wished to build it simply for the slightly strange pleasure of making something really quite enormous.† Out of context, it may seem quite indulgent, but this is Bryson’s voice, a voice that would be fatally muted by this Hemingwayesque excision of the sentence’s adverbs: â€Å"Even he admitted that he wished to build it for the pleasure of making something enormous.† Admonishments to avoid adverbs (and adjectives) are often misconstrued: They are not to be avoided, but they are best not employed merely to prop up weak nouns and listless sentences. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:15 Terms for Those Who Tell the FutureTen Yiddish Expressions You Should KnowNominalized Verbs

An Introduction To Knowledge Workers Management Essay

An Introduction To Knowledge Workers Management Essay For the main part of the 20th century, the industry was depended on the performance of manual workers in manufacturing. During this time the most important contribution of management was to increase the productivity of these workers to make the organization profitable and to sustain their continuity. (Drucker, 1999) But a shift has taken place. Nowadays, in the 21st century, the economy starts increasingly to depend on the performance and productivity of knowledge workers. Most businesspeople believed in the importance of knowledge workers and saw that knowledge workers are vital to organizational success which includes organizational sustainability and growth. For this reason â€Å"knowledge workers† become essential in nowadays economy (Helton, R 1988, Drucker, 1999). But what does this relatively new term ‘knowledge workers’ means? In the literature there is no common or specific definition found. (Ramirez Frey, 1997). According to their need of autonomy it i s the role of the knowledge worker to learn, constantly updating – and developing new skills, and transfer this knowledge to others in the organization. By doing this, they will make them valuable to the organization ( James, 2002). At last a knowledge worker can be defined from the perspective of an individual activity. In reference to this perspective, the balance between ‘thinking’ and ‘doing’ activities regarding their job is examined (Kelloway & Barling, 2003). However the work of knowledge workers is defined as work with high levels of cognitive activities (Helton, 1988) and where they will work with information to make decisions and create idea’s (Fox, 1990). For this reason knowledge workers tend more to the side where activities are related to ‘thinking’

Cats and Dogs Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Cats and Dogs - Assignment Example Actually, dogs are considered to be the descendents from wolves. It is widely held that dogs have evolved from the wolves which had made their entry to the northern hemisphere in search for foods. Cats, on the other hand, find its origin in the Felidae family. It is believed that cats have been evolved around 12 millions years ago. (Carney, 2011) A major physiological difference between cats and dogs is that the sense of hearing is better among cats compared to dogs. The hearing part of their body has been created in such a way that they can hear the kittens as well as the rodents’ ultrasonic sounds. (Carney, 2011) The sense of smell is much better among dogs than cats. Dogs generally have wet noses which help in dissolving the scent molecules and thus help them in detecting those smells that can not be perceived by any human being. Hence, dogs are used to catch criminals by the police forces across the countries. Cats do not possess such characteristics. (Carney, 2011) Dogs are considered to be the most loyal creature. Dogs are very faithful to their masters. Dogs obey their master’s orders instantly. Dogs are also very protective about their masters. Cats, on the other hand, are regarded as one of the most independent and distrustful creatures. Although, cats are quite responsive to their owners than the strangers, but they are not as loyal as dogs to their masters. (Carney, 2011) The cat lovers very often argue that dogs are more expensive to maintain than cats. Dogs need substantial grooming and special types of foods to make them healthy and look good. Cats, on the other hand, do not need such maintenance costs. One needs only a little box, some toys and a food bowl for a cat. While dogs need regular bath, it is not quite necessary for cats to be bathed frequently as cats are quite efficient in taking care of their personal hygiene. (Carney, 2011) Dogs are considered to wonderful companion for human being as they form a habit of adjusting

Research methodology used to collect data and converting the data into Essay

Research methodology used to collect data and converting the data into meaningful information - Essay Example The author has selected the issue for discussion after reading the article in newspaper about the sporting habit of person in London. The researcher will use qualitative research methodology in order to gather personal insights of respondents regarding the research problem. Using qualitative methodology will help the researcher to get personal viewpoints of respondents which will help the researcher to address the research problem without using any categorical boundaries or subjective assumptions. Fife and Saunders et al have argued that, using secondary data sources such as books, printed peer reviewed journals; government data etc to collect data can also be classified as good way to conduct qualitative research. Following the argument of research scholars, the researcher will use secondary data sources as a neutral medium to construct the theoretical argument in the literature review and later on test the validity of the response of respondents. The researcher will use convenience sampling as part of non-probabilistic sampling method for selecting respondents for the interview. Using convenience sampling method will help the researcher to conduct the interview in timely and cost efficient manner. After observing the behaviour of players in sports centre the researcher will select one respondent who is ready to give interview for more than 1hour. Research scholars Punch and Patton have stated that using unstructured interview can is helpful in cases where researcher is planning to gather information from respondents without imposing any priori categorization. In this paper, the researcher will use unstructured interview to give chances to respondents to express their viewpoint on the research topic in unhindered manner. The researcher will use a casual approach to slowly drag the interviewee to the core research objectives and allow the interviewees to direct the further flow of interview. There might be cases, where the researcher will ask some contextual qu estions to interviewee in order to engage him/her with the interview process. Entire unstructured interview process will be tape recorded and later on these interview transcripts will be produced in the data analysis sections. The researcher will fix appointment with the interviewee prior to the unstructured interview and also take his/her permission before asking any sensitive questions. The researcher will examine preconceptions by checking the validity of responses by consulting books and academic journals written on the topic. As the research questions will be open ended hence no coding technique will be used to quantify the responses. The researcher will ensure the respondent that their responses will only be used for academic purposes and their identity will not be revealed for any commercial purposes. The researcher will also ensure that respondent is aware about the ethical norms prior conducting unstructured interview. Transcription The respondent is almost 39 years of age and he is not a sports person by profession. However, the person visits the sports centre thrice/week in order to play his favourite game lawn tennis. The respondent loves lawn tennis for the

Wind Power:The Viable Fossil Fuel Alternative Essay -- Alternative Ene

As the harmful side effects of fossil fuel burning become evermore recognized, the use of clean, renewable technology becomes essential to our health, economy and environment. Petroleum and coal emit harmful pollutants into the atmosphere, contributing to global warming, acid rain and a host of other aliments. Equally concerning is the dependence of the economy on a finite resource such as oil. With world energy consumption rapidly rising, demand is increasing for renewable energy sources that have no significant health impact or environmental degradation. Of all these so called â€Å"green† energy sources, wind power has been the most widely used. Wind power is based on the same principals as windmills used for centuries; wind turbines harness air currents to perform work. With modern advances, wind can now be used to power cities, industries and homes. While only currently supplying a minor amount of all US electricity, wind power has the potential to supply a significant am ount of energy that will, unlike fossil fuels, never will be depleted or harm the environment. Wind Power Technology Wind as Energy Wind power is actually a secondary form of solar power. The Earth receives about 1.74 x1017 kW/hour from the sun in the form of solar radiation. About 1-2% of that energy is absorbed by the air in the form of heat. Areas of the Earth closer to the sun, like the equator, receive far more sunlight than northern and southern regions, which corresponds to hotter air. The hot air then rises and drifts high into the atmosphere then natural drifts to the poles. As the Earth spins on its axis, the drifting air remains unaffected by the Earth’s movements. This difference in movement pattern is what causes wind; air is actually staying... .../wind%20issue%20brief_FINAL.pdf [13] Energy From: Wind. 2012. Power Scorecard. 25 April 2014. http://www.powerscorecard.org/tech_detail.cfm?resource_id=11 [14] American Wind Energy Association. 2014. American Wind Energy Association. 25 April 2014, http://www.awea.org [15] Drew Robb. â€Å"Offshore Wind Struggles to Gain Foothold in North America.† Power Engineering. 8 (2002.) 11 May 2014. http://web2.infotrac-custom.com/pdfserve/get_item/1/S8726f7w3_1/SB335_01.pdf [16] Lester R. Brown. Wind Power Set to Become World’s Leading Energy Source. 2003. Earth Policy Institute. 1 May 2014, http://www.earth-policy.org/Updates/Update24.htm [17] Windpower.org. 2004. Danish Wind Industry Association. 25 April 2014, http://www.windpower.org/en/core.htm [18] Windpower.org. 2004. Danish Wind Industry Association. 25 April 2014, http://www.windpower.org/en/core.htm

The Return: Midnight Chapter 19

Bonnie decided, with seconds precious and seeming to stretch for hours, that what was going to happen was going to happen no matter what she did. And there was a matter of pride here. She knew that there were people who would laugh at that, but it was true. Despite Elena's new Powers, Bonnie was the one most used to confronting stark darkness. She was somehow alive after al that. And very soon she would not be. And the way she went was the only thing left up to her. She heard a glissando of screams and then she heard them come to a halt. Well, that was al she could do for the moment. Stop screaming. The choice was made. Bonnie would go out, unbroken, defiant – and silent. The moment she stopped shrieking Shinichi made a gesture and the ogre who had hold of her stopped carrying her to the window. She'd known it. He was a bul y. Bul ies wanted to hear that things hurt or that people were miserable. The ogre lifted her so her face was level with Shinichi's. â€Å"Excited about your one-way trip?† â€Å"Thril ed,†she said expressionlessly. Hey, she thought, I'm not so bad at this brave thing. But everything inside her was shaking at double time in order to make up for her stony face. Shinichi opened the window. â€Å"Stillthril ed?† Now that had done something, opening the window had. She was not going to be smashed against glass until she broke it with her face and went sailing through the jagged bits. There wasn't going to be pain until she hit the ground and nobody would know about that, not even her. Just do it and get it over with, Bonnie thought. The warm breeze from the window told her that this – place – this slave-sel ing place – where customers were al owed to sift through the slaves until they found just the right one – was too highly air-conditioned. I'l be warm, even if it's just for a second or so, she thought. When a door near them banged, Bonnie nearly jumped out of the ogre's arms, and when the door to their own room banged open, she nearly jumped through her own skin. You see? Something surged wildly through her. I'm saved! It only took a little of that brave stuff and now†¦ But it was Shinichi's sister, Misao. Misao, looking gravely il , her skin ashen, holding on to the door to hold herself up. The only thing about her that wasn't grayed-out was her bril iant black hair, tipped with scarlet at the ends, just like Shinichi's. â€Å"Wait!†she said to Shinichi. â€Å"You never even asked about – â€Å" â€Å"You think a little airhead like her would know? But have it your own way.†Shinichi seated Misao on the couch, rubbing her shoulders comfortingly. â€Å"I'l ask.† So she was the one inside the two-way mirror room, Bonnie thought. She looks real y bad. Like dying bad. â€Å"What happened to my sister's star bal ?†Shinichi demanded and then Bonnie saw how this thing formed a circle, with a beginning and an ending, and how, understanding this, she could die with true dignity. â€Å"It was my fault,†she said, with a faint smile as she remembered. â€Å"Or half of it was. Sage opened it up the first time to open the Gate back on Earth. And then†¦Ã¢â‚¬ She told them the story, as if it were one she'd never heard before, putting an emphasis on how it was she who had given Damon the clues to find Misao's star bal , and it was Damon who then had used it to enter the top level of the Dark Dimensions. â€Å"It's al a circle,†she explained. â€Å"What you do comes back to you.†Then despite herself, she started to giggle. In two strides, Shinichi was across the room and slapping her. She didn't know how many times he did it. The first was enough to make her gasp and stop her giggling. Afterward her cheeks felt as swol en as if she had a very painful case of the mumps, and her nose was bleeding. She kept trying to wipe it on her shoulder, but it wouldn't stop. At last Misao said, â€Å"Ugh. Unfasten her hands and give her a towel or something.† The ogres moved just as if Shinichi had given the order. Shinichi himself was now sitting beside Misao, talking to her softly, as if he were speaking to a baby or a beloved pet. But Misao's eyes, with their tiny flicker of fire in them, were clear and adult as she looked at Bonnie. â€Å"Where is my star bal now?†she asked with dreadful gray intensity. Bonnie, who was wiping her nose, feeling the bliss of not being handcuffed behind her back, wondered why she wasn't even trying to think of a lie. Like, let me free and I'l lead you to it. Then she remembered Shinichi and his damn kitsune telepathy. â€Å"How could I know?†she pointed out logical y. â€Å"I was just trying to pul Damon away from the Gate when we both fel in. It didn't come with us. As far as I know, it got kicked in the dust and al the liquid spil ed out.† Shinichi got up to hurt her again, but she was only tel ing the truth. Misao was already speaking. â€Å"We know that didn't happen because I am† – she had to pause to breathe – â€Å"Stillalive.† She turned her ashen, sunken face toward Shinichi and said, â€Å"You're right. She's useless now, and ful of information she shouldn't have. Throw her out.† An ogre picked Bonnie up, towel and al . Shinichi came around the other side. â€Å"Do you see what you've done to my sister? Do you see?† No more time now. Just a second to wonder if she real y was going to be brave or not. But what should she say to show she was brave? She opened her mouth, honestly not sure whether what was coming out was a scream or words. â€Å"She's going to look even worse when my friends are done with her,†she said, and saw in Misao's eyes that she'd hit her target. â€Å"Throw her out,†Shinichi shouted, livid with fury. And the ogre threw her out the window. Meredith was sitting with her parents, trying to figure out what was wrong. She had finished her errands in record time: getting enlarged versions of the writing on the front of the jars made; cal ing the Saitou family to find that they would al be home at noon. Then she had examined and numbered the individual blow-ups of each character in the pictures that Alaric had sent. The Saitous had been†¦tense. Meredith hadn't been surprised since Isobel had been a prime, if entirely innocent, carrier of the kitsune's deadly possessing malach. One of the worst casualties was Isobel's own steady boyfriend, Jim Bryce, who had gotten the malach from Caroline and spread it to Isobel without knowing what he was doing. He himself had been possessed by Shinichi's malach and had demonstrated al the hideous symptoms of Lesch-Nyhan Syndrome, eating away at his own lips and fingers, while poor Isobel had used dirty needles – sometimes the size of a child's knitting needles – to pierce herself in more than thirty places, besides forking her tongue with scissors. Isobel was out of the hospital and on the mend now. Still, Meredith was bewildered. She had gotten approval of the cards with enlarged, individual characters off the jars from the older Saitous – Obaasan (Isobel's grandmother) and Mrs. Saitou (Isobel's mother) – not without a good deal of argument in Japanese over each character. She was just getting into her car when Isobel had come running out of the house with a bag of Post-it Notes in her hand. â€Å"Mother did them – in case you needed,†she gasped in her new, soft, slurring voice. And Meredith had taken the notes from her grateful y, murmuring something awkward about repayment. â€Å"No, but – but may I have a look at the blow-ups?†Isobel had panted. Why was she panting so hard? Meredith wondered. Even if she'd run from the top floor al the way fol owing Meredith – that wouldn't account for it. Then Meredith remembered: Bonnie had said Isobel had a â€Å"jumpy†heart. â€Å"You see,†Isobel said with what looked like shame and a plea for understanding, â€Å"Obaasan is real y almost blind now – and it's been so long since Mother was in school†¦but I take Japanese classes right now.† Meredith was touched. Obviously, Isobel had felt it bad manners to contradict an adult when they were in earshot. But there, sitting in the car, Isobel had gone through every card with a blown-up character, writing a similar, but definitely different character on the back. It had taken twenty minutes. Meredith had been awed. â€Å"But how do you remember them al ? How do you ever write to each other?†she had blurted, after seeing the complicated symbols that differed only by a few lines. â€Å"With dictionaries,†Isobel had said, and had for the first time given a little laugh. â€Å"No, I'm serious – to write a very proper letter, say, don't you use Thesaurus and Spel Check and – â€Å" â€Å"I need those to write anything!†Meredith had laughed. It had been a nice moment, both of them smiling together, relaxed. No problems. Isobel's heart had seemed just fine. Then Isobel had hurried away and when she was gone Meredith was left staring at a round circle of moisture on the passenger seat. A tear. But why should Isobel be crying? Because it reminded her of the malach, or of Jim? Because it would take several plastic surgeries before her ears would have flesh on them again? No answer that Meredith could think of made sense. And she had to hurry to get to her own home – late. It was only then that Meredith was stricken by a fact. The Saitou family knew that Meredith, Matt, and Bonnie were friends. But none of them had asked about either Bonnie or Matt. Strange. If she had only known how much stranger her visit with her own family would be†¦

Mistress Quickly Character Analysis

Mistress Quickly, like Sir John Falstaff, appears in several of Shakespeare’s plays. She is of Falstaff’s world and provides comic relief in the same way as Falstaff. She appears in both Henry IV plays, Henry V, and The Merry Wives of Windsor. In the Henry plays, she is an innkeeper who runs the Boar’s Tavern frequented by Falstaff and his disreputable friends. Mistress Quickly has links to the criminal underworld but is preoccupied with keeping a respectable reputation. Bawdy Humor Mistress Quickly, whose nickname is Nell, is prone to mishearing conversations and misinterpreting them with innuendo. Her knack for double entendres let her aspirations for respectability down. Her character is most fully rounded in Henry IV Part 2, where her bawdy language lets her down in pursuit of gentility. She is said to be married in Part 1 but by Part 2, she has been widowed. She is friendly with a local prostitute called Doll Tearsheet and defends her against aggressive men. Her name itself has sexual connotations  Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"quick lay† or â€Å"quick† was then associated with being lively, which could also be interpreted sexually. Mistress Quickly in Henry IV In Henry IV Part 1, she takes part in a parody version of a court scene where Falstaff pretends to be King. In Henry IV Part 2, she asks for Falstaff to be arrested for running up debts and for making a proposal to her. At the end of the play, she and prostitute friend Doll Tearsheet are arrested in connection with a man’s death. Mistress Quickly in The Merry Wives of Windsor In The Merry Wives of Windsor, Mistress Quickly works for Doctor Caius. She is a messenger in the play, delivering notes between the characters. In the end, she pretends to be the Queen of the fairies as part of a practical joke on Falstaff. Mistress Quickly in Henry V Described as Nell Quickly in Henry V, she is at Falstaff’s deathbed and delivers the message that he has died to his former friends. She marries Falstaff’s ensign Ancient Pistol, who was believed to be involved in the man’s death she was arrested for in Henry IV Part 2. Apart from the name being the same, there are some discrepancies between the Mistress Quickly of the History plays compared to the Mistress Quickly in The Merry Wives. She is no longer an innkeeper in The Merry Wives and is now serving the Doctor. There is also no evidence that she already knows Falstaff. The only hint that she becomes a widow is that in Henry IV Part 2, Falstaff promises to marry her. But there is evidence that she is past childbearing age in that she is described as â€Å"pistol proof.† She has also known Falstaff for 29 years, so we know she is of ripe age! Comic Relief It is interesting that both Mistress Quickly and Falstaff feature in several plays, suggesting that they were both very popular characters. Both these characters are flawed and have aspirations for greatness  Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã‚  and therefore, understandably appeal to the audience (who would also be aspiring for better things for themselves). Both characters provide comic relief through their dubious reputations. Mistress Quickly is used as a vehicle by Shakespeare for delivering bawdy language and exploring the seedier side of life. For example, this passage from Henry IV Part 2, Act 2, Scene 4: Tilly-fally, Sir John, ne’er tell me. Your ensign-swaggerer comes not in my doors. I was before Master Tisick the deputy the other day, and, as he said to me ‘twas no longer ago than Wedn’sday last, i’ good faith  Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬ËœNeighbour Quickly’ says he, ‘receive those that are civil, for’, said he, ‘you are in an ill name.’ Now a said so, I can tell whereupon. ‘For’, says he, ‘ you are an honest woman, and well thought on; therefore take heed what guests you receive. ‘Receive’ says he, ‘ no swaggering companions.’ There comes none here. You would bless you to hear what he said. No, I’ll no swaggerers. Source Shakespeare, William. Henry IV, Part II. Folger Shakespeare Library, Dr. Barbara A. Mowat (Editor), Paul Werstine Ph.D. (Editor), annotated edition edition, Simon Schuster, January 1, 2006.