1. Do not use an adverb of denial with another negative word.

Say She would not do anything, or She would do nothing, instead of She would not do nothing. Two negatives make an affirmative.

2. If the adverb not or a similar negative word is used in making a comparison of degrees, use so . . . as instead of as . . . as.

Say It is not so warm as it was yesterday, instead of It is not as warm as it was yesterday. Say There's nothing so royal as truth, instead of There's nothing as royal as truth.

3. Do not use that as an adverb of degree.

Say I will give you just so much candy, instead of I will give you just that much candy, and She was so angry she could not speak instead of She was that angry.

Exercise 312

Review rules in § 105. Choose between forms in parenthesis.

1. She is ----- than her cousin. (friendlier, more friendly)

2. This book is not ------ recent as that. (so, as)

3. I have read ------ many books on the subject as I could. (so, as)

4. She will not give us ------ help. (no, any)

5. I did not expect ------ much encouragement from her. (that, so)

6. You ought to speak ------. (plainer, more plainly)

7. It is ----- that we have so good a lecture. (rare, rarely)

8. I feel ------ on this subject. (strong, strongly)

9. The child was poorly dressed and looked very ------. (cold, coldly)

10. She looked very ------ upon our plan. (cold, coldly)

11. Do not tell this to ------. (anybody, nobody)

12. He was ------ angry that he behaved ------. (so, that, rude, rudely)

13. It is not ------ easy as you might think to do this perfectly. (so, as)

14. Are you ------ ready? (most, almost)

15. This was ------ a bad mistake. (sure, surely)

16. She ------ forgot the errand. (most, almost)

Exercise 313. Composition

Explain how to do something. Be careful about your use of adverbs. You may choose a topic from this list.

1. How to raise a good crop of potatoes.

2. How to have the best sweet peas (pansies, roses, lettuce) in the neighborhood.

8. How to set up a camp or get a meal over a camp fire.

4. How to play baseball or some other game.

5. How to get rid of quack grass.

6. How to arrange cut flowers.

7. How to make a canoe.

8. How to make some kind of cake.

9. Feeding beef (dairy) cattle.

10. How to get a stand of alfalfa.

11. How to wire a house for electric lights.