Adverbs

“This is the exact same thing.”

Adjectives, Adverbs, Common English Blunders

I saw this in a PowerPoint slide yesterday.

Problem:
The writer used an adjective where an adverb was required.

Explanation:
An adjective such as “exact” must be converted to an adverb so that it can modify another adjective.

For example, it’s incorrect to say or write “the definite green blouse”; the correct form is “the definitely green blouse”. We must convert the adjective “definite” to the adverb “definitely” to modify correctly the adjective “green” in this example.

Similarly, it’s incorrect to say or write “the exact same thing”. The correct but rarely used form is “the exactly same thing”; the correct and more commonly used form is “exactly the same thing”.

For fun, I searched Google for each of the following phrases (with the quotation marks) and got the indicated numbers of matches:

  • “the exact same thing” — 555,000 matches
  • “the exactly same thing” — 762 matches
  • “exactly the same thing” — 527,000 matches

This tells me that Web authors have written the phrase incorrectly by a ratio of 1.05:1, which is not good!

Solution:
“This is exactly the same thing.”

“Continually” vs. “Continuously”

Adverbs, Versus

I was wondering the other day about the difference between these two words.

Problem:
These two adverbs are not synonyms (except in sloppy speech or writing).

Explanation:
The adverb “continually” means at frequent or regular intervals.

The adverb “continuously” means without cessation, or uninterrupted in time.

In other words, “continually” applies to events, whereas “continuously” applies to processes.

Solution:
Use “continually” when talking about an event that occurs frequently or regularly. Use “continuously” when talking about a process that does not stop.

“All Together” vs. “Altogether”

Adverbs, Common English Blunders, Versus

I often see these used interchangeably.

Problem:
The phrase “all together” and the adverb “altogether” are not synonyms.

Explanation:
“Altogether” is an adverb that means completely, wholly, quite. For example: He’s not altogether certain about his mother’s sanity.

“All together” is a phrase that means in a group. For example: The dogs were all together in the kennel. This can be restated as All of the dogs were together in the kennel. And, without seriously affecting the meaning of the sentence, one can remove the “all”: The dogs were together in the kennel.

I believe that the mistaken use of “altogether” for “all together” — or vice-versa — in writing comes from the fact that “altogether” and “all together” sound alike.

Solution:
Use “all together” in a sentence when one can separate “all” and “together” in the sentence and still get the same meaning or when one can remove “all” without severly affecting the sentence’s meaning. Use “altogether” when one means completely, wholly, quite.