✏️ TOEIC Grammar Focus: Modifiers (Adjectives and Adverbs)

In TOEIC Part 5, modifiers are tested not because they’re hard — but because they look easy.

You’ll see a sentence with a blank and four answer choices that look almost identical:
quick / quickly / quicker / quickest

Which one’s right?
That depends on what it's modifying — and if you don’t read carefully, you’ll walk straight into a trap.

🔹 Modifier Basics (but with teeth)

  • Adjectives modify nouns.
    "She gave a clear explanation."

  • Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs.
    "She explained the situation clearly."

🧠 TOEIC trick: The test knows you're rushing. It wants you to choose the wrong form.

🔸 TRAP 1: Adjective vs Adverb Form

Most TOEIC modifier errors come down to this:

“Is the word describing a thing, or an action?”

Examples:

  • “The product was easy to use.” ✅ Adjective modifying “product”

  • “They handled the situation easily.” ✅ Adverb modifying “handled”

🔻 Common TOEIC TRICK:

Wrong: “Customers reacted positive to the change.”
Right: “Customers reacted positively to the change.”

Wrong: “He spoke fluent English.”
Right: “He spoke fluently.”

🔸 TRAP 2: Fake Friends — Words that Trick You

Some words look like adverbs but aren’t.

  • Friendly is an adjective, not an adverb.
    ❌ “He spoke friendly.”
    ✅ “He spoke in a friendly manner.”

  • Hardly doesn’t mean “working hard.”
    ✅ “He works hard every day.”
    ❌ “He works hardly every day.” ← Means “He barely works”

  • Late vs Lately
    “He arrived late.” (adverb of time)
    “We’ve had problems lately.” (adverb meaning “recently”)

These show up again and again in TOEIC exams.

🔸 TRAP 3: Linking Verb → You Need an Adjective

If the blank comes after a linking verb (be, seem, appear, feel, become), never use an adverb.

  • ✅ “The report seems accurate.”

  • ❌ “The report seems accurately.”

  • ✅ “The strategy was effective.”

  • ❌ “The strategy was effectively.”

🔸 TRAP 4: Modifier Chains — Double Adverbs or Adjectives

TOEIC sometimes stacks modifiers. You must know which one to use in each position.

  • “It was a very successful campaign.” ✅

    • “successful” = adjective modifying “campaign”

    • “very” = adverb modifying “successful”

  • “The team responded extremely quickly.” ✅

    • “quickly” = adverb modifying “responded”

    • “extremely” = adverb modifying “quickly”

🧠 TOEIC will give you “extreme quick” or “extreme quickly” as traps.

🔸 TRAP 5: Comparatives and Superlatives

Another favourite trick is giving you answer choices like:

A. effective
B. effectively
C. more effective
D. most effectively

You need to slow down and ask:

  • Are we comparing two things? → “more effective”

  • Are we describing the highest degree? → “most effective”

  • Are we modifying a verb or a noun?

Examples:

  • “The new policy is more effective than the old one.” ✅

  • “She responded most effectively to the issue.” ✅

🧠 Trap: Don’t pick “more efficiently” when the sentence actually needs an adjective like “efficient.”

🎯 TOEIC Strategy: HOW TO BEAT THESE QUESTIONS

Step 1: What does the blank modify?

  • Noun → adjective

  • Verb/adjective/adverb → adverb

Step 2: Check for linking verbs.

  • If yes → Use an adjective

Step 3: Look for comparison words (than, most, least).

  • That often signals comparative/superlative traps

Step 4: Watch for time-pressure traps like:

  • quick / quickly / quicker / quickest

  • high / highly / height

  • full / fully / fulfilled / fulfillment

These are not just vocabulary — they’re designed to fool you fast.

What’s the difference between an adjective and an adverb? An adjective describes a noun (e.g., a fast car), while an adverb describes a verb, adjective, or other adverb (e.g., He drives fast). How do I know when to use “quick” or “quickly”? Use “quick” to describe a noun (a quick meeting) and “quickly” to describe an action (She left quickly). Is “fast” an adjective or an adverb? It’s both. “Fast” can describe a noun (a fast runner) or how someone does something (He runs fast). Why is “friendly” wrong in ‘She spoke friendly’? “Friendly” is an adjective, not an adverb. Say: She spoke in a friendly way or She was friendly. Can you use adverbs after linking verbs? No. Linking verbs (like be, seem, look) are followed by adjectives, not adverbs. Say: She seems tired, not seems tiredly. When should I use “hard” vs. “hardly”? “Hard” means with effort (She works hard). “Hardly” means almost not (She hardly works). They are not interchangeable. What’s the difference between “late” and “lately”? “Late” refers to time (He arrived late). “Lately” means recently (I haven’t seen him lately). Is it correct to say ‘She speaks fluent English’? No. It should be: She speaks English fluently or She is fluent in English. Why is ‘He works efficient’ wrong? “Efficient” is an adjective. You need an adverb: He works efficiently. What are the most common TOEIC traps with modifiers? The test often swaps adjectives and adverbs (e.g., quick vs quickly), misuses -ly words (e.g., friendly), or hides the linking verb rule. Is ‘very’ an adjective or adverb? “Very” is an adverb. It modifies adjectives (very good) or other adverbs (very quickly). What’s wrong with ‘more faster’? It’s redundant. Use one comparative form: faster or more fast (in rare edge cases), but never both. Is ‘highly’ the same as ‘very’? Not always. “Highly” is used with specific adjectives (highly effective, highly skilled), not all adjectives. Can I say ‘more efficienter’? No. Use only one comparative: more efficient — never add “-er” to it. Is ‘costly’ an adverb or adjective? It’s an adjective. Say: a costly mistake. You cannot say He acted costly. When should I use ‘most effectively’ vs. ‘most effective’? “Most effective” is an adjective for a noun (the most effective solution). “Most effectively” is an adverb for a verb (She responded most effectively). Is it correct to say ‘She responded extreme quick’? No. You need adverbs: She responded extremely quickly. Why is ‘extremely success’ wrong? “Success” is a noun. You need an adjective: extremely successful. What’s the rule for ‘good’ vs. ‘well’? “Good” is an adjective (a good job). “Well” is usually an adverb (He performed well), except when describing health (I feel well). How can I avoid modifier mistakes on the TOEIC test? Check what the word modifies. If it’s a noun, use an adjective. If it’s a verb/adjective/adverb, use an adverb. Watch for traps like linking verbs and -ly confusion.