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Adjective or adverb after a verb

fra Alkanadi,2015 8 20

Meldinger: 11

Språk: English

Alkanadi (Å vise profilen) 2015 8 20 07:10:19

As a general rule, do you put an adverb or an adjective after a verb?

Mi aspektas bone
Mi aspektas bona

This question was in the Esperanto forums and both are supposed to be correct. However, I would like to know what the most accepted method is. What is the most popular usage? Does it depend on the verb?

Miland (Å vise profilen) 2015 8 20 07:42:35

Would you say to anyone mi aspektas bone or mi aspektas bona, unless perhaps both of you were in front of a mirror?

Anyway, I would say that bone here would be used for health, looking "fine", while bona really would be about appearances, about looking good.

Tempodivalse (Å vise profilen) 2015 8 20 14:33:01

As a general rule, do you put an adverb or an adjective after a verb?
It depends on the verb, and on what you're trying to say.

The general rule is that adverbs modify verbs, or explain the manner in which something happens, whereas adjectives (often used as predicatives with verbs like igxi, sxajni, aspekti) relate to the noun.

For those who speak, or have studied, a Slavic language (Russian, Polish etc.), just use an adjective or adverb in Esperanto as you would in the Slavic tongue. You will normally be correct.

Let's use Russian as our model.

Vi aspektas bone. - Ты выглядишь хорошо. - You look good (the goodness is a property of the way you are appearing, hence adverb).

But:

Vi aspektas laca. Ты выглядишь усталым. - You look tired (the tiredness is a property of "you", hence adjective).

But! You would normally not say: Ты выглядишь хорошим (adjective), unless you want to say "you look like a good person" - i.e., the goodness is a property of yourself, not of the way you're appearing.

So, likewise, Vi aspektas bona would not mean "You look good/well", at least on my intuition. Anyone have a better way of explaining this?

jagr2808 (Å vise profilen) 2015 8 20 17:16:04

Tempodivalse:
Vi aspektas bone. - Ты выглядишь хорошо. - You look good (the goodness is a property of the way you are appearing, hence adverb).

But:

Vi aspektas laca. Ты выглядишь усталым. - You look tired (the tiredness is a property of "you", hence adjective).

But! You would normally not say: Ты выглядишь хорошим (adjective), unless you want to say "you look like a good person" - i.e., the goodness is a property of yourself, not of the way you're appearing.

So, likewise, Vi aspektas bona would not mean "You look good/well", at least on my intuition. Anyone have a better way of explaining this?
+1

Vi aspektas bona = Ŝajnas laux mi ke vi estas bona = It looks like youre good
Vi aspektas bone = La maniero kiel vi aspektas estas bone = The way you look is good

Tempodivalse (Å vise profilen) 2015 8 20 18:14:58

Part of the problem is that colloqiual English appropriates the adjective "good" as an adverb in sentences like I'm doing good, rather than the more normative I'm doing well. Many English speakers aren't aware that "good" functions as an adverb in these kinds of sentences, hence resulting in erroneous phrases like *Mi fartas bona*.

(I am convinced that Slavic speakers have a tremendous advantage when learning Esperanto. Zamenhof might have taken the lexicon out of Western European languages, but his syntactical bias towards his native Russian is quite evident. And it is syntax which, long-term, causes more difficulty for learners, rather than lexicon.)

Miland (Å vise profilen) 2015 8 21 07:34:29

I think there's a difference between the verbs farti and aspekti in their capability to be followed by an adjective. In the tekstaro aspektas can be found followed by bela, trankvila, enua, stranga, malalta, kulturita, laŭmoda, sana, juna and inda - and this is not an exhaustive list. That does not happen with fartas.

johmue (Å vise profilen) 2015 8 21 10:52:36

Miland:I think there's a difference between the verbs farti and aspekti in their capability to be followed by an adjective. In the tekstaro aspektas can be found followed by bela, trankvila, enua, stranga, malalta, kulturita, laŭmoda, sana, juna and inda - and this is not an exhaustive list. That does not happen with fartas.
"aspekti" and also verbs like "soni" can be followed by either a verb or an adjective depending on the meaning.

"La mangĝaĵo aspektas bona." "The food is looking good in the sense that it seems to be of good quality and good taste"

"La mangĝaĵo aspektas bone." "The food is looking visually good, but we don't say anything about its quality or taste."

"Sonas interesa." "Sounds like something interesting."

"Sonas interese." "It has an interesting sound."

sudanglo (Å vise profilen) 2015 8 21 11:10:08

Part of the problem is that colloquial English appropriates the adjective "good" as an adverb in sentences like I'm doing good, rather than the more normative I'm doing well.
I can't pass judgement on what happens in the colonies, but in British English to do good means to act in a way that brings about a good result (also to act charitably).

I have asked Americans to speak English but it doesn't seem to do any good.

Miland (Å vise profilen) 2015 8 21 11:35:58

* Please omit *

Tempodivalse (Å vise profilen) 2015 8 21 14:19:22

sudanglo:I can't pass judgement on what happens in the colonies, but in British English to do good means to act in a way that brings about a good result (also to act charitably).
That's also my first reaction - though "I'm doing well" is increasingly viewed as too formal for casual chatter.
I have asked Americans to speak English but it doesn't seem to do any good.
There is a trend to simplify various aspects of American English, partially aided by advertising, whose contributions to the language are quite radical (a popular fast food chain in the 2000s had a slogan - "Eat Rite at Nite - Open Late" ). The UK doesn't seem to have been subjected to this trend as much.

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