EXAMPLES1. «You look marvellous,» said Tallis, «you look like flowers, fields, country things.» 2. She felt vague and gloomy, she did not quite know why. 3. Johnny was in that phase of lotus-eating when all the world tastes bitter in one’s mouth. 4. This would have sounded odd in English some time ago. 5. It was dreadful that she could not control the trembling of her lips. 6. His dusty, shabby suit was threadbare. His dirty shirt was frayed at the cuffs. He felt bad. 7. You mustn’t mind Edmund, James. Remember he isn’t well. 8. She found the woman looking at her sharply. 9. Oh! forgive me, I’ ve said that badly, but you know what I mean. 10. How can you feel so differently about someone who means so much to me.
EXPLANATORY NOTES 1. A frequent mistake made by Russian learners consists in the use of adverbs instead of adjectives in the function of a predicative in a compound nominal predicate. Remember that normally adverbs do not enter a compound nominal predicate apart from a few exceptions, e.g. to be (feel, look, seem) well (быть, чувствовать себя, выглядеть здоровым (хорошо). As a rule, adverbs serve to modify verbs or adjectives. 2. Confusion of adjectives and adverbs is often caused by the interfering influence of the Russian language. Compare: (a) Он выглядит изумительно. Не looks marvellous. (b) Он поет изумительно. Не sings marvellously. 3. It should be borne in mind that some English verbs, e.g. to look, to feel can be used both as simple verbal predicates and as link-verbs. Compare: When she had read it she looked at him happily. I didn’t meet a soul. Everything looked and sounded unreal. 4. Mind the difference between the following: (a) To look good (i.e. better than the rest). He didn’t look good like that, he was packing too much weight. (H. Robbins) (b) To look well (e.g. after illness or some unpleasant occurrence). «I must say, you look very well, Daniel,» his aunt said uncertainly. «Me? I’m fine.» (M. Dickens)
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