I'm too cowardly to tell her anything. Both 'coward' and 'cowardly' are adjectives. But what's the difference between them? Are they used interchangeably? I read a text in which the speaker says: I'm

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Diamond

I'm too cowardly to tell her anything. Both 'coward' and 'cowardly' are adjectives. But what's the difference between them? Are they used interchangeably? I read a text in which the speaker says: I'm too cowardly to tell her anything'. Is it correct to use 'coward' here? Thank you!

2012年2月17日 07:26

回答 · 10

While the dictionary says that "coward" can be used as an adjective, it's very unusual to use it that way. Most of us will use "coward" as a noun. A passage from Edmund Spenser's epic poem THE FAERIE QUEENE reads thus: "And evermore that craven coward Knight,..." But that poem was published in the 1590s!

2012年2月17日

Cowardly is the adjective, so it is correct in this sentence. Coward is a noun, so to use it in this sentence you would have to change it to: I am too much of a coward to tell her anything.

2012年2月17日

hi Diamond, just to let you know that the word "coward" is a noun and "cowardly" is an adjective, and to answer your question if you can use them interchangeably, the answer is no. In this sentence " I'm too cowardly to tell her anything." the person is trying to describe himself/herself here as "cowardly" so it is only proper to use this word as an adjective. I hope i have helped you in some way.

2012年2月17日