Eventually, nearly everyone in the class gets the answer right, and the concepts stick with them because they had to find their own way to the answer.
"gets the answer right" what's the part of speech of 'right' here?
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2 Answers
That is an adjective. It is a complement in the clause, completing the clause headed by "gets" and describing the answers that they get.
It's not an adverb. It doesn't function to modify the verb or the clause.
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Hey @James K, I’m not so sure one couldn’t see it as an adverb. One could read it as parallel to “answers the question correctly.” And to me, the right in OP’s example feels as if it’s performing a different function from the one in “gets the right answer.” Aug 16 at 13:28
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And compare to, “Nearly everyone in the class heard the teacher right.” Aug 16 at 13:29
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@Marios Athanasiou, I’m not saying that James K is flat wrong, I’m saying that his is not the only analysis. Consider that Merriam-Webster lists senses of right which they label as adverbial, that one of those is, “in a suitable, proper, or desired manner,” and that their example for that sense is “knew he wasn't doing it right.” “Do it right” and “get it right” seem completely parallel to me. Aug 17 at 12:17
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At the end of the day, understanding is more important than parsing. Billions of people understand English, without formally parsing anything. Indeed, it is unknown if the brain mechanisms for converting sounds into meanings map in any way onto the grammarians rules.– James KAug 17 at 13:20
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In do it right, right is an adverb; it is like do it correctly. In make it right, make is an adjective; it is like make it correct. We cannot analyse get it right simply by parallel structures. It makes more sense to me for right to be an adjective because it refers to the answer not the process. There are many examples where people obtain the correct answer by an incorrect process, and they are still said to have got the answer right.– PeterAug 17 at 13:32
Eventually, nearly everyone in the class gets the answer right, and the concepts stick with them because they had to find their own way to the answer.
In that sentence the word right is an adjective.
The following example is from Cambridge Dictionary 1:
You got three answers right and two wrong.
In that sentence the word right is an adjective.
