I learned that adverbs modify verbs, adjectives and other verbs. However, today, while taking an online test I was surprised for a moment because of the following sentence:
"He did it at a leisurely pace." Here, leisurely is an adverb.
USER'S ANSWER: true
CORRECT ANSWER: false
My answer was wrong, so my question is: isn't the word LEISURELY modifying the verb PACE?
Why is my answer incorrect?
Thank you.
Nilton
Hi Nilton,
Leisurely can function as either an adjective or an adverb. However, in the example sentence you give, it functions as a adjective.
"He did it at a leisurely pace."
In this sentence, pace is a NOUN, not a verb. The verb in this sentence is DID. If leisurely were an adverb, the sentence would have to say: "He did it leisurely."
Because pace is a noun in this case, leisurely is an adjective describing the pace at which he did whatever it is he was doing. You could switch out leisurely for other adjectives:
"He did it at a quick pace."
"He did it at a slow pace."
"He did it at a careful pace."
An example of a sentence where pace is a verb is:
"Rather than running as fast as he could, he paced himself so that he would still have energy at the end of the race."
I hope that makes sense, and let me know if you have any questions!
Yes, as other said it can be both.
It is an adjective when it describes a noun (leisurely walk, leisurely brunch, leisurely game etc)
It is an adverb when it describes a verb (We walked leisurely. We played leisurely.)
The position of the words can also be clue: adj+noun or verb+adverb
Hope this helps!
