Writing for Business - A Whatis.com Blog » adverbs

Faster or fastest?

Ivy Wigmore — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 15:11:27 +0000

Which is correct?
The _______ of the two drives was causing shoe-shining.
a. faster
b. fastest

Answer: a

Explanation:
We need the comparative form here, faster, because we’re comparing two things. If we were talking about more than two drives, we’d use the superlative form, fastest.

Those are the rules for positive (fast), comparative (faster) and superlative (fastest) adverbs and adjectives.

Englishwizo has a handy table with more examples.

Easier vs. more easily

Ivy Wigmore — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 20:50:43 +0000

Which is correct?
When a firewall uses static packet inspection, an attacker can get through the filter _______.
a. easier
b. more easily

Answer: b

Explanation:
Easier is an adjective. You could say, for example, that static packet inspection makes the intruder’s task easier, because easier modifies the noun task. The adverb form is more easily. Here, it modifies get through.

Michael Kwan’s Grammar 101 covers easier vs. more easily.

Writing for Business – slow / slowly

Margaret Rouse — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 12:58:59 +0000

Is your computer running _________? Disable start-up programs that you don’t use and run your anti-virus application.
a. slow
b. slowly

Answer: b

Explanation:

In spoken English, you may complain that your computer is running slow — but to be grammatically correct, you should use an adverb to describe how your computer is running.