Another Wrong Adverb

Same issue as the previous post. Last word in the caption.

Should be “closely,” but you knew that, right? This error is pretty common, and it might become accepted eventually.

I suspect the cartoonist deliberately named the repeat offender “Pete.”

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Third panel. The adverb usage of “good” happens to be incorrect. We have an averb for that usage! (It’s “well,” but you knew that, right?)

“Skate good” is wrong because in this sentence “to skate” is a verb. “Good skater” is correct because “skater” is a noun.

English is a tricky language because many words can have more than one function, but this isn’t an example of that.

Real and hungry are indeed adjectives, and really is an adverb. And we’re supposed to modify adjectives with adverbs.

Though I gotta admit that “real hungry” sounds okay. Still, you sound classier if you say it correctly.

I’ve mentioned “only” several times in the past (go use the search box to the right). Putting an adverb at the end of a sentence can make the adverb’s antecedent tricky to chose.

“Tired of taking things seriously” does not mean the same thing as “seriously tired of taking things.” I recommend you put your midifiers as close as you can to what they modify.

Here’s a good example of an adjective-adverb combination that people often get wrong:

Our ancestors probably didn’t smell good, but did they smell well? 

https://newatlas.com/biology/neanderthal-denisovan-odor-receptors-smell-sensitivity/

• “Good” is an adjective; it refers to nouns.
• “Well” is an adverb; it refers to verbs.

Do you know the exception? (Well is an adjective referring to illness, as in “I don’t feel well.”)

Here’s the picture that goes with the article: