“Modifiers” are a neat class of words. They’re the adjectives and adverbs we use to dress up other words with color and dimension and thousands of other descriptions. And for the most part, we do a pretty good job of using them correctly. But there are a few landmines in this happy field of modifiers, and this chapter will teach you to step gracefully around them.

The first place people run into trouble is in distinguishing between the adjective and adverb forms of a given modifier. In these cases, the adjective is typically misapplied as an adverb.

Here’s Why: “Bad” is an adjective in most cases, which means it should be used only to modify nouns and pronouns.

Here’s Why: This error is similar to “bad” and “badly.” “Real” is an adjective meaning genuine or essential. “Really” is an adverb of degree or emphasis, used in informal speech to mean very or truly. Here, where the meaning is that the brother would be very happy about escorting his sister, “really” is the appropriate choice. More examples:

Here’s Why: Again, we’re dealing with adjective vs. adverb forms. “Near” is an adjective meaning “adjacent,” or “close to.” The adverb “nearly” expresses degree; it means “almost.” In this sentence, of course, we mean that the child is almost 6 feet tall, and that makes “nearly” the right choice. Additional correct examples:

Here’s Why: “Good” is generally used as an adjective meaning commendable, worthy, virtuous, pleasing, or valid. “Well” is used as either an adjective describing good health— that is, being well as opposed to sick—or as an adverb meaning to do something in a satisfactory way (he did it well); skillfully (he dances well); in a kind way (he treated her well); or to a considerable extent (he is well on his way). In this sentence (a response to the common question, “How are you doing?”) the meaning is not that the speaker is off doing good deeds, it is that he is doing fine, that he is doing a satisfactory job with his day or his life. So the response, “I’m doing well,” is correct. Here are more correct examples:

One of the key roles that modifiers play is to indicate how one thing compares to another. He is tall tells us only about his height in the absolute. The comparative form, he is taller, tells us that his height is greater than something or someone or a group of somethings or someones. The comparative form is used to compare two things. And the superlative form, he is the tallest, tells us that out of all the persons or things being considered, this guy is the overall winner on height. The trouble comes with certain modifiers for which we confuse the comparative and superlative forms. The following errors are the most common of this type.

Here’s Why: When you’re making a comparison between two things, you need to use the comparative form, and in this case, that’s “bigger.” If there had been more than two guys here, then you would have used the superlative form and said “which of these guys has the biggest feet?” Additional correct examples are:

Here’s Why: “Less” is the comparative form, so you can only use it when you’re comparing two things. In this case, however, we begin by saying “of all the movies”—an indication that we’re talking about more than two. So we need the superlative form, “least.” Here are more correct examples:

Here’s Why: Same principle with “less” and “least.” “Better” is the comparative form, used for comparing two things. “Best” is the superlative, used for more than two. So in this sentence, when we know we’re talking about two golfers, “better” is right. Additional correct examples are:

Here’s Why: Many modifiers can be made comparative or superlative by adding an “-er” or an “-est” ending, as in smart, smarter, smartest. But you can also do the same job by using “more” or “most” in front of the modifier. “More” is the comparative, used when you’re talking about only two things, and “most” is the superlative, used when something is being compared to a group. You must use “more” and “most” with modifiers that don’t have “-er” and “-est” forms: You say more intelligent and most intelligent, not intelligenter or intelligentest. Conservative speakers believe that modifiers such as “smart” that do have “-er” and “-est” endings should never be mixed with “more” and “most”—it’s always “smarter,” and never “more smart.” Some speakers are more relaxed about that rule, and permit “more” with words such as “smart” or “pretty.” But the one thing you should never, ever do is add the “-er” or “-est” endings to a word that you’re also modifying with “more” or “most”: It’s never “more smarter” or “most smartest.” Then you have two words doing the same job. More correct examples are:

Here’s Why: “Between” describes a relationship between two things only. “Among” is used when you’re referring to more than two things, which is the case in this sentence. Additional correct examples are:

Here’s Why: Strictly speaking, “less” refers to a quantity or an amount among things that cannot be counted or measured individually, including abstract ideas; and “fewer” refers to quantity among things that can be counted individually. In this case, where the number of Nancy and Tim’s projects can be counted, “fewer” is the appropriate choice. Additional correct examples are:

Here’s Why: Many speakers use these terms interchangeably, and you probably won’t get into trouble if you do, too. But conservative speakers argue that there’s a meaningful distinction between them. “Farther” refers to measurable distance. “Further” refers to degree, quantity, time, or other qualities that are not being precisely measured. In this instance, we are talking about a measurable distance, how far one person can run compared to another, so “farther” is correct. Additional correct examples are:

Here’s Why: “Amount” refers to the specific mass, weight, size, or total parts of a tangible or intangible thing. It’s not about things you count individually. That’s where “number” comes in. Here, where the question is how many pigs-in-a-blanket will be required to feed the lucky guests, “number” is the word we want. Additional correct examples are:

Here’s Why: “As far as” indicates a distance that could be measured if one were so inclined. “So far as” indicates a physical or conceptual distance that cannot be measured. In this sentence, it’s impossible to measure the amount the speaker knows about how good the woman’s word is. The phrase “so far as” is therefore correct. Other correct examples are:

Another trap to watch out for is in the group of absolute modifiers. These are words that have only one shade of meaning: They’re black and white. So putting another modifier in front of them that suggests degree, comparison, or limitation—such as “very” or “most”—is a no-no. The following sections include the most common errors of this type.

Here’s Why: “Unique” means one of a kind. A thing cannot be more or less unique. And although something that is unique is unusual by definition, “unique” should not be used as a synonym for unusual. If what you mean is that there is no other piece like this one in the world, then “unique” is correct.

Here’s Why: Something that is truly perfect allows no comparison because perfection is an absolute. A thing has either achieved perfection or it hasn’t, so it’s impossible for one thing to be more perfect than another. In this case, if you mean the evening was truly perfect, then just say it was perfect. If, however, the important idea is that the date compares favorably to others, then say that it was better, or more exciting, or more romantic than most. And go out with that person again.

Here’s Why: You’re probably way ahead of us here. “Infinite” means that something is endless, without limits. It’s impossible for one thing to be less endless than another, because a thing either has this quality or it does not. In this sentence, the idea is that her patience is infinite, and his patience is limited. The way we chose to correct the example sentence, His patience is not Infinite, is only one option. We also could have said, He lacks her infinite patience, or, Unlike her, he doesn’t have infinite patience, and so on.

Here’s Why: The word “penultimate” doesn’t mean “something beyond the ultimate,” instead, it means “next to the last in a series” or “the one before or lesser than the ultimate.” If ultimate is first prize, then penultimate is second prize: just the opposite of what many people take it to mean. For the curious, there’s an even fancier word, “antepenultimate,” that means “the one before the one before the ultimate”: third prize, if you want to stick to the previous metaphor. Neither “antepenultimate” nor “penultimate” are words you need all that often, and they certainly don’t refer to state of perfection surpassing the ultimate. So in this sentence, unless you mean to say that the compliment of the raise was secondary to some other, ultimate, compliment (chocolate, perhaps? a weekend in the Bahamas?) just say “ultimate.”

Here’s Why: Speakers differ on this one. Conservative speakers argue that a woman is either pregnant or not pregnant, so it doesn’t make sense to modify “pregnant” with modifiers such as “less,” “more,” or “very.” But less conservative speakers argue that being pregnant, unlike being perfect or being unique, is a process with a beginning, middle, and end, and that modifiers of degree can help indicate where a woman is in this process. We might not condemn passengers on a crowded bus who didn’t offer a seat to a pregnant woman (after all, at some points in a pregnancy, some women can comfortably run a marathon), but we might get a bit peeved at passengers who didn’t offer a seat to an extremely pregnant woman. Unlike the case of “most unique” or “more perfect,” then, the modifier here is not illogical and conveys useful information.

It’s your call on this one: “very pregnant” is one of those expressions (like “hopefully,” which we’ll tell you about shortly) that self-appointed members of the Language Police love to correct in others. So to be on the safe side, you should use modifiers with “pregnant” only when the meaning of the sentence absolutely requires you to mark off parts of the process. And avoid modifiers with “pregnant” altogether in very formal speech or writing.

Here’s Why: Remember the Language Police from the section on “pregnant”? Well, they really get worked up about “hopefully,” too. The intent in our error sentence is to use “hopefully” to convey the speaker’s feelings about the whole sentence: I hope that such-and-such will happen. The Language Police argue that we can’t use an adverb to modify a whole sentence in this way: An adverb can only modify a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. A correct use of “hopefully” restricted to normal adverbial duty would be Jim waited hopefully by the phone, meaning that Jim is sitting by the phone full of hope. If that’s what “hopefully” is doing here, then the sentence would mean that Leslie’s action of remembering to pick up the pig will be carried out by her in a hopeful manner-and, of course, that’s not what we really want to say here.

On the other hand, not only is the broader use of “hopefully” common—so common that no one will have difficulty understanding you—but it’s grammatically identical to other adverbs that don’t raise such a ruckus. “Frankly,” for example, is often used to convey the speaker’s feelings about a sentence: Frankly, that pig eats so much that there’s not enough food left for the children. No one would dream that you meant to say that the pig was eating in a frank manner; the adverb quite clearly relates to the speaker’s feelings, just like “hopefully” often does in casual usage. But because many people still interpret the “incorrect” use of “hopefully” as an error, you may want to play it safe on this one, and substitute “I hope that” or “If things work out” or “If the gods smile on us, Leslie will remember that pig.”

Here’s Why: Here’s another favorite of the Language Police. Like “hopefully,” “regretfully” (they argue) is an adverb meaning “in a regretful manner.” It shouldn’t be used as a substitute for “I regret that” or “I’m sorry that” or “unfortunately.” It’s all right to say I must regretfully decline your invitation, because declining is something that can be done in a regretful manner. But to say regretfully, we can’t be in town is technically to say that these people cannot be in town in a state of regret.

Here’s Why: No one’s going to throw you in jail for this one, but it’s good to know when you want to be extra-impressive: “Awful” is an adjective meaning, in its truest sense, “awe-inspiring.” There are still some around who would argue that it is incorrect to use “awful” when you mean “bad.” Unfortunately, it’s hard to know just who these people are—you’ll have to decide if you want to live dangerously on this one.

Here’s Why: “Plenty” may be used only as a noun or an adjective in standard English, as in plenty of money and they had plenty. Using it as an adverb—as a substitute for “very”—is out of bounds, unless maybe you’re a novelist whose characters don’t know any better.