Unit 09: Modification and Word Order – Chapter 1: Grammar Practice – Starter TOEIC – Third Edition – Building TOEIC Test-taking Skills – Anne Taylor – Casey Malarcher

🎯Target:

✔ Correct form of modifiers
✔ Word order between ENOUGH and ADJECTIVES / ADVERBS
✔ Word order between words ending in -THING and adjectives
✔ Word order in indirect questions

🔍 Summary:

➡️ “Enough”: After adjectives/adverbs, before nouns.
➡️ Words ending in -thing, -body, -one, -where: Before their adjectives.
➡️ Inversion:
*️⃣ Direct questions: Subject-verb inversion.
*️⃣ Indirect questions: No inversion.
*️⃣ Negative words: Subject comes after the auxiliary verb.

1. Modification

Modification helps clarify or add information to nouns, verbs, adjectives, or adverbs by using adjectives or adverbs.

A. Adverbs Modify Adjectives, Adverbs, and Verbs
Adverbs are used to modify:
▶️ Adjective(s): Adverbs often appear before adjectives to indicate the degree.
Example: He is an extremely rapid thinker. (Here, “extremely” modifies the adjective “rapid.”)
🔃 Incorrect: He is an extreme rapid thinker. → Do not use the adjective “extreme” to modify another adjective.
▶️ Other Adverb(s): Adverbs can modify another adverb to indicate how or to what extent.
Example: It grows extremely slowly. (Here, “extremely” modifies the adverb “slowly.”)
🔃 Incorrect: It grows extreme slowly. → Do not use the adjective “extreme” to modify an adverb.
▶️ Verb(s): Adverbs describe how an action is performed and usually follow the verb.
Example: She walks elegantly. (Here, “elegantly” modifies the verb “walks.”)
🔃 Incorrect: She walks elegant. → Do not use the adjective “elegant” to modify a verb.
⏺️ Note: For verbs describing feelings or states (seem, sound, feel, look, etc.), an adjective is used instead of an adverb.
Example: That sounds interesting.
🔃 Incorrect: That sounds interestingly.

B. Adjectives Modify Nouns
Adjectives are used to modify nouns and usually appear before the noun.
Example: No more Canadian products are available here. (Here, “Canadian” modifies the noun “products.”)
🔃 Incorrect: No more Canada products are available here.
“Canada” is a noun and cannot directly modify “products.” Instead, the adjective “Canadian” is required.

2. Word Order

Word order is essential to ensure sentences are clear and natural.

A. “Enough” and its position
▶️ Enough is placed after adjectives or adverbs to modify them.
Example: He is old enough to see that movie.
🔃 Incorrect: He is enough old.
▶️ Enough is placed before nouns to indicate sufficient quantity.
Example: We have enough books on this topic.
🔃 Incorrect: We have books enough.

B. Words ending in -thing, -body, -one, -where and their adjectives
Words ending in -thing, -body, -one, -where always come before their adjectival modifiers.
Examples:
📍I have something nice.
🔃 Incorrect: I have nice something.
📍I need something useful for the trip.
🔃 Incorrect: Useful something for the trip.
📍He found nothing interesting in the book.
🔃 Incorrect: Interesting nothing in the book.
📍Everybody happy cheered loudly.
→ Incorrect: Happy everybody cheered loudly.
📍There is someone special in her life.
→ Incorrect: Special someone in her life.
📍I have gone somewhere new.
🔃 Incorrect: I have gone new somewhere.
📍Let’s go somewhere quiet to talk.
🔃 Incorrect: Quiet somewhere to talk.
📍They went nowhere exciting during their vacation.
🔃 Incorrect: Exciting nowhere during their vacation.

C. Subject-Verb Inversion
➡️ In questions:
▶️ In direct questions, inversion occurs between the subject and verb:
Example: How long has he been in America?
▶️ In indirect questions, no inversion occurs:
Example: I asked him how long he had been in America.Incorrect: I asked him how long had he been.
➡️ When a sentence begins with a negative word:
When a sentence begins with a negative word (rarely, not until, never, hardly, etc.), the subject must come after the auxiliary verb:
Example:
📍Rarely does he work at night.
🔃 Incorrect: Rarely he works at night.
📍Rarely do we find such a talented artist.
🔃 Incorrect: Rarely we do find such a talented artist.
(Meaning: It is rare to find such a talented artist.)
📍Not until yesterday did he change his mind.
🔃 Incorrect: Not until yesterday he changed his mind.
📍Not until the storm stopped did they leave the shelter.
🔃 Incorrect: Not until the storm stopped they did leave the shelter.
(Meaning: They left the shelter only after the storm stopped.)
📍Never have I seen such a beautiful sunset.
🔃 Incorrect: Never I have seen such a beautiful sunset.
(Meaning: I have never seen such a beautiful sunset.)
📍Hardly had she left the room when the phone rang.
🔃 Incorrect: Hardly she had left the room when the phone rang.
(Meaning: She had barely left the room when the phone rang.)
📍Seldom does he visit his hometown these days.
🔃 Incorrect: Seldom he does visit his hometown these days.
(Meaning: He rarely visits his hometown now.)
📍Barely had they finished dinner when the guests arrived.
🔃 Incorrect: Barely they had finished dinner when the guests arrived.
(Meaning: They had just finished dinner when the guests arrived.)
📍Scarcely had she closed the door before the phone rang.