1. Know your message before you speak
   Take a moment to organise your main idea. When you’re clear about what you want to say, you sound more confident and focused.

2. Speak at a calm, steady pace
   Rushing makes you sound nervous. Slow down slightly, pause when needed, and give your words time to land.

3. Use simple, direct language
   Confidence isn’t about using complex words. Clear, straightforward language helps others understand you easily—and makes you sound more self-assured.

4. Maintain open body language
   Stand or sit upright, keep your shoulders relaxed, and avoid crossing your arms. Your body often communicates confidence before you speak.

5. Make comfortable eye contact
   Looking at people while you talk builds trust and connection. You don’t need to stare—just natural, friendly eye contact.

6. Accept small mistakes without panic
   Everyone misspeaks sometimes. If it happens, correct yourself calmly or keep going—most people won’t even notice.

7. Listen as much as you speak
   Confident communicators listen actively. Showing genuine interest makes conversations feel easier and more balanced.

8. Practice in low-pressure situations
   Build confidence gradually by speaking up in everyday conversations. The more you practice, the more natural it becomes.

1️⃣ Use adjectives after linking verbs

Linking verbs describe a state or impression, not an action.
They link the subject to a quality.

Common linking verbs:
be, seem, appear, look, sound, feel, smell, taste

• She looks confident.
• He sounds nervous.
• The soup tastes awful.

The adjective describes the subject, not the verb.

2️⃣ Use adverbs with action verbs

Action verbs show what someone does.
Adverbs describe how, when, where, or to what degree the action happens.

• She spoke confidently.
• He answered nervously.
• They worked efficiently.

The adverb modifies the action.

3️⃣ Test yourself
If you describe a person, thing – use an adjective

If you describe an action – use an adverb

4️⃣ Meaning can change

• He looks angry. (His appearance gives this impression.)
• He looks angrily at me. (How he looks at me.)
• The food tastes good. (Quality.)
• She tasted the food carefully. (Action.)

1. Open the brackets (adjective / adverb)

1. She looks (confident / confidently) during the presentation.

2. He answered the question (calm / calmly), despite the pressure.

3. The plan sounds (reasonable / reasonably) to everyone involved.

4. She spoke (clear / clearly) so that everyone could understand.

5. He seems (uncomfortable / uncomfortably) with the new role.

6. The children behaved (bad / badly) at the event.

7. This fabric feels (soft / softly) to the touch.

8. She looked (angry / angrily) at him after hearing the news.

9. The manager appeared (confident / confidently) about the decision.

10. He listened (attentive / attentively) throughout the meeting.

Translation practice

1. Вона звучить упевнено під час переговорів.

2. Він відповів різко, коли почув критику.

3. Ця пропозиція виглядає цілком реалістичною.

4. Менеджер говорив переконливо, пояснюючи нову стратегію.

5. Ти виглядаєш втомленим сьогодні — усе гаразд?

6. Вона уважно слухала клієнта протягом усієї зустрічі.

7. План здається ризикованим, але перспективним.

8. Він подивився сердито на колегу під час наради.

9. Їжа смакує чудово, навіть без соусу.

10. Вона поводилася професійно, незважаючи на напружену ситуацію.

Correct or Incorrect?

1. She sounds confident during negotiations.

2. He answered the question calm and professionally.

3. The proposal looks realistic to the board.

4. The manager spoke confidently about the new strategy.

5. You look tired today — maybe you should take a break.

6. He feels badly about missing the deadline.

7. The client listened attentive throughout the meeting.

8. This plan seems risky but achievable.

9. She looked angrily at her colleague during the call.

10. The food tastes well even without any seasoning.

11. He appeared confident when presenting the figures.

12. She spoke very clear when explaining the contract terms.

13. The decision sounds reasonable under the circumstances.

14. He behaved professionally despite the criticism.

15. You seem nervously before the interview.

16. The team worked efficiently under pressure.

17. She looked angry when she heard the news.

18. The manager answered politely to the complaint.

19. The soup smells delicious.

20. He listened carefully to every detail.

1. Open the brackets (adjective / adverb)

1. confident → looks = linking verb

2. calmly → answered = action verb

3. reasonable → sounds = linking verb

4. clearly → spoke = action verb

5. uncomfortable → seems = linking verb

6. badly → behaved = action verb

7. soft → feels = linking verb

8. angrily → looked at = action (how she looked at him)

9. confident → appeared = linking verb

10. attentively → listened = action verb

Translation

1. She sounds confident during the negotiations.

2. He answered sharply when he heard the criticism.

3. This proposal looks quite realistic.

4. The manager spoke persuasively while explaining the new strategy.

5. You look tired today — is everything okay?

6. She listened attentively to the client throughout the meeting.

7. The plan seems risky, but promising.

8. He looked angrily at his colleague during the meeting.

9. The food tastes great, even without the sauce.

10. She behaved professionally despite the tense situation.

Answers: Correct (✓) / Incorrect (✗)

1. ✓ She sounds confident during negotiations.

2. ✗ He answered the question calm and professionally.
   → He answered the question calmly and professionally.

3. ✓ The proposal looks realistic to the board.

4. ✓ The manager spoke confidently about the new strategy.

5. ✓ You look tired today — maybe you should take a break.

6. ✗ He feels badly about missing the deadline.
   → He feels bad about missing the deadline.

7. ✗ The client listened attentive throughout the meeting.
   → The client listened attentively throughout the meeting.

8. ✓ This plan seems risky but achievable.

9. ✓ She looked angrily at her colleague during the call.
   (action: how she looked)

10. ✗ The food tastes well even without any seasoning.
    → The food tastes good even without any seasoning

11. ✓ He appeared confident when presenting the figures.

12. ✗ She spoke very clear when explaining the contract terms.
    → She spoke very clearly when explaining the contract terms.

13. ✓ The decision sounds reasonable under the circumstances.

14. ✓ He behaved professionally despite the criticism.

15. ✗ You seem nervously before the interview.
    → You seem nervous before the interview.

16. ✓ The team worked efficiently under pressure.

17. ✓ She looked angry when she heard the news.
    (state/appearance)

18. ✓ The manager answered politely to the complaint.

19. ✓ The soup smells delicious.

20. ✓ He listened carefully to every detail.

Fill in the gaps with the correct form of the word in brackets.

1. She spoke very __________ during the presentation. (clear)

2. The results look __________ to me. (good)

3. He handled the complaint __________. (professional)

4. I didn’t sleep __________ last night. (good)

5. The manager seemed __________ about the decision. (confident)

6. She reacted __________ to the unexpected question. (quick)

7. This solution sounds __________. (reasonable)

8. He works very __________, especially before deadlines. (hard)

9. He __________ works these days — I’m worried about him. (hard)

10. The flight arrived __________ because of bad weather. (late)

11. Have you spoken to her __________? (late)

12. The numbers are __________ correct — we just need to check one detail. (near)

13. She lives very __________ the office. (near)

14. The company is __________ respected in the industry. (high)

15. Prices have increased __________ this year. (high)

16. You look __________ today. Is everything okay? (tired)

17. The team responded __________ to the client’s request. (prompt)

18. He explained the task very __________. (careful)

19. The soup tastes __________. (good)

20. She felt __________ after the meeting. (bad)

21. He performed __________ under pressure. (bad)

22. The project was __________ successful. (extreme)

23. She answered the email __________ and politely. (quick)

24. The car was moving too __________ on the highway. (fast)

25. She tried __________ to finish on time. (hard)

26. The CEO appeared __________ during the interview. (calm)

27. The proposal sounds __________ but achievable. (risk)

28. He spoke so __________ that everyone understood. (clear)

29. We are __________ ready to launch the product. (near)

30. She looked __________ at her colleague during the meeting. (angry)

Translate the sentences

1. Презентація звучить переконливо.

2. Вона пояснила процес чітко і детально.

3. Він здається впевненим у новому проєкті.

4. Директор говорив пристрасно про інновації.

5. Ти виглядаєш втомленою сьогодні.

6. Результати виглядають по-іншому, ніж ми очікували.

7. Вона відреагувала дуже швидко на лист клієнта.

8. Це рішення виглядає практичним і економічно вигідним.

9. Він ввічливо посміхнувся під час співбесіди.

10. План звучить реалістично лише в теорії.

11. Вона здавалася нервовою на початку зустрічі.

12. Він погано виступив під тиском.

13. Пояснення здається зрозумілим для всіх.

14. Асистент професійно впорався з ситуацією.

15. Ти виглядаєш щасливо сьогодні.

16. Команда швидко відповіла на скаргу.

17. Вона почувалася впевнено після презентації.

18. Він вільно говорив під час конференції.

19. Кава має міцний смак.

20. Вони працювали спільно над проєктом.

Good vs well

Adverbials of manner British Council

Test English – explanation & practice

Perfect English practice

PDF practice

• AD010 – Adjective or Adverb Intermediate
• Adjective or Adverb – AD 5 Intermediate
• Adjective or Adverb – AD 6 Intermediate
• Adjective or Adverb – AD 7 Intermediate

Speaking practice