Kindly old lady Vs kind old lady

Question

HiI don't get it. To me 2kind old lady" looks correct but not "kindly old lady" but apparently "kindly old lady" is grammatically  correct. why? let me add, the first time, the author mentions this lady he says"kindly looking old lady" which seems right to me but not when he says "kindly old lady" later.Thanks

Avangi · Accepted Answer

Hi, Michael,

I'm quite sure they're both adjectives. Did you check?

As to the time sequence, when you first see her, she may strike you as "looking" kindly.
Perhaps when you get to know her, her evil ways come out.
But in the case of your author, his first impression proved to be correct. She really was a kindly person.

(Looks can be deceiving.)

I suppose "kindly looking" is some kind of compound adjective.
I'm quite sure it's not a case of "kindly looking lady" being adv. - adj. - noun.

In the sentence "She didn't take kindly to my advances" I expect "kindly" is an adverb.

Tanit · Answer

Hi,

According to some dictionaries, the usage of kindly as an adjective is old-fashioned

CAMBRIDGE: http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/kindly_2 adjective /'ka?nd.li/ old-fashioned
A kindly person or action is a kind one
a kindly old lady

OXFORD: kindly [only before noun] (old-fashioned or literary) kind and caring

LONGMAN: kindly old-fashioned
kind and caring for other people:
Mrs Gardiner was a kindly old soul.
! It is more usual to say kind

However, these are British dictionaries. Is kindly (adjective) commonly used in AmE?

Avangi · Answer

Tanitold-fashioned or literary

I'm not sure which is worse.

Sometimes when we reallywant to put a usage down we call it "bookish." I mean,

I'm just kidding, of course. I know we have an obligation to advise learners when something is not suitable for casual conversation.

But these kindly old ladies have no business talking street talk anyway.

Is kindly (adjective) commonly used in AmE?

It's a bit dated here as well. But we use it to convey a dated idea.

Old cowboy song from my youth:
And kindly old Reverend Thomas
Made me a promise
That he'd make the two of us one.

"Kindly" and "old" seem to go hand in hand. We wouldn't say "The kindly boy scout helped the old lady across the street."

Kindly old lady Vs kind old lady

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

Related Questions