Adjectives

“It tastes different.” vs. “It tastes differently.”

Adjectives, Adverbs, Common English Blunders, Verbs, Versus

I frequently see one of these used when the other is required.

Problem:
These two sentences do not mean the same thing.

Explanation:
The sentence “It tastes different.” means that “It” has a different taste than something else.

In other words, “It tastes different.” effectively is an abbreviated sentence for something like “It tastes different than ice cream.”

The sentence “It tastes differently.” means that “It” now tastes things differently than it formerly tasted things.

The source of the confusion between using the adjective “different” and the adverb “differently” is due to the fact that the verb “taste” has definitions when used with an object and other definitions when used without an object.

  • The most common definition of the verb “taste” with an object is to test the flavor of [the object] by putting some in the mouth or on the tongue;
  • The most common definition of the verb “taste” without an object is to have a particular flavor.

Solution:
Use “It tastes different.” when referring to the taste of something. Use “It tastes differently.” when referring to the ability of something to test the flavor of other things.

“Economic” vs. “Economical”

Adjectives, Common English Blunders, Devolution toward Simpler, Versus

I frequently see one of these used when the other is required.

Problem:
The adjectives “economic” and “economical” are best not treated as synonyms.

Explanation:
The most common definitions of the adjective “economic” are:

  • related to the production and use of wealth, commodities, and income;
  • related to the science of economics; and,
  • related to an economy.

An example of the proper use of the adjective “economic” is “The President of the U.S. vetoed the bill for economic reasons.”

The adjective “economical” means thrifty.

An example of the proper use of the adjective “economical” is “You should buy a more economical car.”

I believe that the tendency of some people to use “economic” where “economical” is required is consistent with my “Devolution toward Simpler” linguistic hypothesis.

For example, it is simpler to say “an economic use of gasoline” than it is to say “an economical use of gasoline”, which requires an extra syllable.

Solution:
Use “economic” when referring to income, wealth, commodities, economics, or the economy. Use “economical” when referring to thriftiness.

“Spend 15 minutes everyday with the words.”

Adjectives, Adverbs, Common English Blunders

I saw this in a Web article about English.

Problem:
“Everyday” is an adjective, but an adverb is required here.

Explanation:
I was searching the Web for the negative effect of spelling errors when I found this sentence.

The sentence appeared in an article titled “COMMONLY MISSPELLED WORDS“, which gave parents the recommended frequency and duration of helping their children to learn the correct spellings of words.

Unfortunately, one can spell words correctly but still make mistakes with grammar.

“Everyday” — spelled E-V-E-R-Y-D-A-Y — tells you what. For example, an “everyday event” is something that occurs daily. In other words, “everyday” is an adjective; it modifies a noun (such as “event”).

In contrast, “every day” — spelled E-V-E-R-Y-SPACE-D-A-Y — tells you when. “It happens every day.” is an example of the correct use of “every day” (with the space in the middle).

The goal of the article writer was to tell the reader when to spend fifteen minutes with words.

Solution:
“Spend 15 minutes every day with the words.”