Adjectives

“Honda has the highest … of any other car company.”

Adjectives

I heard this in a TV commercial ten days ago.

Problem:
The word “other” does not belong in the statement.

Explanation:
The complete statement in the television commercial was, “Honda has the highest residual value of any other car company.”

The commercial was produced by Honda to promote Honda automobiles.

But the statement talks about Honda as if it were one of the “other” car companies.

In other words, the statement implies that there is a car company that could have higher residual value than Honda and all the “other” car companies and that Honda has the highest residual value among those “other” car companies.

If Honda’s desire was to say that its automobiles have the highest residual value among all car companies, then the solution comes from removing the adjective “other” from the statement.

Solution:
“Honda has the highest … of any car company.”

“She was found safely.”

Adjectives, Adverbs, Hypercorrection, Verbs

I heard this four days ago on a CNN evening-news broadcast.

Problem:
There is no problem with this statement in and of itself. But the reporter was referring to the state of the person found, so there is a problem.

Explanation:
The CNN reporter said “She was found safely.” as part of a longer report about a robber and father who took his daughter to his robbery of a convenience store.

Security-camera videos implied that the daughter apparently was unaware that her father was robbing the store, but police were very concerned for her safety, the reporter said.

So the police searched for the girl and eventually found her in a safe condition.

But the reporter said “She was found safely.”, even though the search for the girl had no hint of danger.

This is an example of hypercorrection.

To say “She was found safely.” is to say that the finding of the girl was done in a safe manner — because “safely” is an adverb that modifies the verb “found”.

The solution comes from understanding the role of a predicate adjective.

Solution:
“She was found safe.”

“You have done great.”

Adjectives, Adverbs

I read this in a company’s employee-education course about a week ago.

Problem:
The word “great” is not an adverb.

Explanation:
The word “great” in “You have done great.” acts as an adverb because it modifies the verb “done”.

Writing “You have done great.” is just as wrong as writing “You have done good.” because neither the adjective “good” nor the adjective “great” should be used to modify a verb.

The solution comes from replacing the adjective “great” with an adverb that carries a similar sentiment.

Solution:
“You have done well.”