Correct or Wrong? and why?
Kindly tell me if the modifiers in the following sentence are being used correctly or not and why?

"Time passes real slowly during the summer"

I think that slowly should be "slow" which makes "real" an adverb, but this makes me wonder how can the verb "pass" be modified by an "adjective"; "slow" !!?

Thank you and best regards italki teachers :)

Question

Correct or Wrong? and why?
Kindly tell me if the modifiers in the following sentence are being used correctly or not and why?

"Time passes real slowly during the summer"

I think that slowly should be "slow" which makes "real" an adverb, but this makes me wonder how can the verb "pass" be modified by an "adjective"; "slow" !!?

Thank you and best regards italki teachers :)

Answer

Here, "real" is a short, colloquial version of the adverb "really".  Adverbs can modify verbs, adjectives, OR OTHER ADVERBS.  Here, "really" is modifying the adverb "slowly", and "slowly" is modifying "passes".  Here, "passes" means "moves from the past to the future."

A: In the summer, does time seem to move quickly, or does it seem to move slowly?
B: It moves slowly.
A: Very slowly, or just  a little slowly?
B: It moves really slowly.

Answers · 2

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