0
DeRn Posted 18 years ago
Grammar

Adj / Adverbial

Look at this sentence:

"John is acting more stupid than any real person could possible be".

I understand that "possible" should be "possibly" here, but I have a problem explaining exactly why.
  

Top answer

Hi, 'Possible' is an adjective, and 'possibly' is an adverb. In this case you need the adverb 'possibly' because you need it to modify the 'could be' part and not the 'person' part. The adverb describes the verb, and the adjective describes the noun, basically.

— Sausages

  • Hi, 'Possible' is an adjective, and 'possibly' is an adverb.
  • In this case you need the adverb 'possibly' because you need it to modify the 'could be' part and not the 'person' part.
  • The adverb describes the verb, and the adjective describes the noun, basically.
Free · every Monday

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.

4 Answers
0
Hi,

'Possible' is an adjective, and 'possibly' is an adverb. In this case you need the adverb 'possibly' because you need it to modify the 'could be' part and not the 'person' part.

The adverb describes the verb, and the adjective describes the noun, basically.
0
0
Hi DeRn

The word "possibly" does not refer back to "person".
The word "possibly" is frequently used with "can" or "could" for emphasis. "Possibly" modifies and emphasizes the idea of "could" in your sentence, so in essence "could possibly" means "any possible degree of could".
.
0
0
Thank you both for your answers, they really helped.
0
0
"It makes frequently usage dangerous."

Why should frequently -> frequent in this sentence?

Err, something screwed up this sentence.
0

Related Questions