In English grammar, there are some words that can be used as more than one part of speech. In this article, we will explore how the word “nice’’ confirms this statement.
The term “nice’’ is obviously termed as an adjective as it can be a descriptive word. It is also an interjecting for its function to express sudden exclamation and surprise. It can act as an adverb because it can do the modification of other parts of speech.
Let us explore some interesting facts related to “nice” as an adjective, interjection, or adverb along with when and examples for our better realization of the topic.
When is “nice” an adjective?
We recognize these words as adjectives that do the function of modification of the naming words. Let us examine if the term “nice’’ belongs to the category of an adjective or not.
The term “nice’’ is definitely regarded as an adjective because it can perform as a modifier giving us supplementary details about naming words’ characteristic features, nature, attitude, behavior, and state of mind.
The word “nice’’ can be used as a describing word in some specific aspects or situations that are given in the tabular column below.
Examples | Aspects of “nice’’ as an adjective | Explanation |
1. The newly built city is a very nice place to live in. | To show attractive, enjoyable, and pleasant | The caption “nice’’ is used as a describing part of speech. It qualifies the naming word “place’’ and shows it as an attractive, enjoyable, and pleasant spot for living. |
2. My grandmother has always been nice to me. | To present friendly and kind | In the present context the term “nice’’ works as a describing word that qualifies the noun “grandmother’’ who is referred to as a friendly and kind person. |
3. Suman has not invited you which is not very nice. | To indicate someone or something is not friendly, kind, or pleasant | The term “nice’’ is used as an adjective here. It presents the person “Suman’’ who is not a friendly, kind, or pleasant person. |
4. I like my coffee nice and warm. | To emphasize with another adjective that we like a particular quality that someone or something possesses | Here in this context, the term “nice’’ is used as an adjective to express with another adjective “hot’’ the quality of the naming word “coffee’’. |
5. My brother has achieved nice distinctions that are extremely technical. | To show a very small difference in detail | Here the term “nice’’ acts as a describing word that shows the small difference in detail between the distinctions and technique. |
6. The striker took a nice little turn in the match. | To show an action done with a lot of skill | In the mentioned sentence, the term “nice’’ being an adjective describes the naming word “turn’’ and shows the striker’s very good little turn in the match against the opponent team. |
Is “nice” a descriptive adjective?
There are different types of adjectives such as qualitative, numeral, quantitative, and so on. Now we will see if “nice’’ belongs to the type of descriptive adjective.
The word “nice’’ is definitely a descriptive adjective because it can present us the meanings of pleasing, agreeable, kind, enjoyable, delightful, and so on. Through this term, we can provide extra details on the naming word i. e. noun.
The following examples and explanations will help us to learn the correct usage of the adjective “nice’’ as a descriptive adjective well.
Example | Explanation |
1. It is very nice to meet you in this park. | Here the adjective “nice’’ is qualifying the naming word that is not mentioned in the present context. But it expresses the happiness of the speaker for meeting someone in the park. |
2. I along with my friends had a very nice dinner last night. | In the present sentence, the adjective “nice’’ attributes the qualification of the noun “dinner’’. It tells us the good quality of the dinner served us last night. |
3. It will be nice to try something different from your side. | The adjective “nice’’ is used to describe the unmentioned naming word. It shows the narrator’s pleasure to find your effort to do something different in the given context. |
4. Dhiren appears to be a very nice person. | In the quoted example, the adjective “nice’’ is presenting the description of the naming word “person’’. We get the extra description of the quality of the person through the use of the descriptive adjective. |
5. Do you know the nice girl who has won the hearts of many young men? | The adjective “nice’’ in the present sentence describes the quality of the common noun “girl’’. We come to know the nature of the girl through this adjective. |
6. I thanked Sima for presenting me with a nice pen on my birthday. | The adjective “nice’’ does the action of a descriptive adjective by which we get to know about the quality of the noun “pen’’ presented to me by Sima. |
7. My mother is going to cook a very nice lunch today. | Here the adjective “nice’’ is used to describe or qualify the naming word “lunch’’. It gives a clue about what quality of lunch my mother will cook for us. |
Is “nice” an interjection?
The words that express sudden feelings such as exclamation, wonder, or surprise are interjections. Now we will see if the word “nice’’ is an interjection or not.
We can certainly consider the term “nice’’ as an interjection as it can be used in a sentence to exhibit astonishment, surprise, wonderment, and happiness.
The tabular column below shows the usage of the term “nice’’ as an interjection to make us understand better.
Example | Explanation |
1. Nice! Sangeeta won the trophy in the race. | The term “nice’’ is an interjection here. It has shown the sudden surprise and happiness of the speaker. |
2. What a nice shirt my father bought for me! | Here the term “nice’’ is applied as an interjection that shows sudden surprise and happiness for the shirt which my father has bought for me. |
3. Nice! He could have done it better. | The caption “nice’’ presents the sudden amazement of the speaker. It shows the wonder for his doing better in a certain field. |
4. What a nice flower it is! | In the cited example, the term “nice’’ has been applied as an interjection that shows the astonishment of the narrator at the beauty of the flower. |
5. Nice! Our team has done very well. | In this context, the caption “nice’’ does express our astonishment because our team has performed very well. |
Is “nice” an adverb?
In a certain situation, a word can act as more than one part of speech. In the same manner, let us examine if the term “nice’’ acts as an adverb.
The term “nice’’ is not an adverb because it does not modify an adjective, an action word, or another adverb rather it modifies the naming words. When the form “nicely’’ is made by adding the suffix “ly’’, it can function as a modifier of the adjective, verb, or adverb.
When is “nice” an adverb?
The term “nicely” functions as an adverb when it is used with the purpose of modifying another adverb, describing word, or action word.
The word “nicely” can act as an adverb in the following situations.
- The term “nicely” is an adverb when we mention an action in a satisfactory way.
- The word “nicely” can act as an adverb when something is done in an attractive way.
- The word “nicely” is an adverb when we mention something in a polite or friendly way.
- The word “nicely” is an adverb when something is performed in a suitable or accurate manner.
The examples in the tabular format below present how the adverb “nicely’’ acts in the reference of the sentence.
Example | Explanation |
1. The manager accepted my challenge nicely. | The adverbial form (nicely) of the adjective “nice’’ is used to modify the action word “accepted’’ here. |
2. The house was nicely decorated during the festivals in Bengal. | Here the adverb “nicely’’ has shown that it has modified the describing word “decorated’’. We also get to know that The houses of Bengal glow very beautifully for the excellent decoration. |
3. My sister has furnished her room very nicely. | The adverb “nicely’’ is used here to describe another adverb “very” that shows the decoration of the room done by my sister. |
4. My hope is that I have written the letter very nicely on this paper. | The adverb “nicely’’ is used here to tone down another adverb “very’’ and sows the manner of writing on the paper. |
5. This is the gold ring that fits nicely on your finger. | In this cited example, the adverb “nicely’’ is used to modify the action word “fits’’ and presents to us the genre of fitting the gold ring on your finger. |
Conclusion
The article clearly gives us a description of the right usage of the word “nice’’ as an adjective, interjection, and adverb. We can frame the phrases with this word such as “have a nice day’’, “nice a pie’’, “make nice’’, “nice to meet you’’, etc. We must use the term in the exact places and context for its better expression of meaning.
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Hi…. I am Goutam Datta. I have completed a double M. A. in English and B. Ed. I am a creative writer. Currently, I am a part of the LambdaGeeks.