I have a question, if i were frustrated and said:
"I can't say anything correct in English"
"i can't say anything correctly in English"
which is right?
Thanks very much.
I have a question, if i were frustrated and said:
"I can't say anything correct in English"
"i can't say anything correctly in English"
which is right?
Thanks very much.
If you were frustrated because of your difficulty speaking English, then you would want to use the latter "I can't say anything correctly in English.", which could be loosely paraphrased as "When I'm speaking English, I am incapable of communicating things properly." In this case, "correctly" is an adverb which is talking about the manner in which you are saying things in English.
The other case is not grammatically incorrect, but would rarely be appropriate to use. Saying "I can't say anything correct in English" would describe the rather odd case of (maybe) being able to speak some English, but only when making factually inaccurate (i.e. incorrect) statements. In this case, "correct" is an adjective, describing the factual accuracy of the things you are saying in English. If it were actually true that one couldn't "say anything correct in English", then it would imply that anything they said in English must be factually incorrect (probably not what you intend to say, in most cases).
When you ask the question: How am I saying this? The word correct goes with how you are saying it. It goes with the verb. It is an adverb. It adds meaning to the verb.
Just like: He paints very badly. He is a bad painter. She speaks well. She is a good speaker.
Many adverbs in English take ly: hastily, nicely, sweetly. But others are irregular: badly, well, fast.
He speaks fast. She drives badly. They speak English well. He play guitar nicely. [well]
This is a basic idea about adverbs. Not the whole story.
Both are valid. Correctly is an adverb and modifies the verb (say). Correct is a adjective and modifies the object (anything).
I can't [correctly say] anything.
I can't say [anything correct].
You would want to use 'correctly' if you were saying it in frustration because you are emphasizing that you are having trouble "saying it correctly". Rather than what you saying being exactly correct.