17

Flat Adverbs

Some of the most controversial structures in the language come in forms like the following:

Drive slow.

Act nice.

Talk pretty.

Think quick.

Sticklers say that adverbs, not adjectives, should modify each of those verbs. But as we’ve seen, a word needn’t be an adverb to function as an adverbial. So there’s no rule against using an adjective this way.

When you modify a verb with a word customarily considered an adjective, these words are called flat adverbs. Flat refers to the fact that the -ly tail is chopped off.

Some of these forms are so common that dictionaries consider them full-fledged adverbs. Slow is an example. Merriam-Webster’s and other dictionaries list it as an adverb synonymous with slowly. So Drive slow is correct by any measure. But in light of the fact that adjectives can function adverbially, even Think different, Talk good, and Decide quick are syntactically correct.