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English Talk

'Take it serious' or 'Take it seriously'

Midfall

China

Please tell me which is more idiomatic?

11:59 PM Dec 30 2008 |

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holly&honey

China

i prefer "take it seriously",but i don't know if i am right.

 

08:38 AM Dec 31 2008 |

Lollirot

Lollirot

Venezuela

 "take it seriously" is used to talk about a situation and "take it serious" is to talk about a person.

for example:

 Take your work seriously if you want your paychecks

I wish that my sister would take me serious

02:30 AM Jan 08 2009 |

andilee

andilee

United Kingdom

Actually, the correct adverb here is always 'seriously' as you are using it to qualify the verb 'take', so if I was talking about my job, I would say "I take my job seriously". If I am talking about my sister, I would say "I wish my sister would take me seriously". The only time to use the adverb 'serious' is when talking about something you wish to describe as having the atribute of seriousness – for instance, this is a serious post.

Remember, when you are qualifying a verb, you need to use an adverb, when you are describing an attribute, you need to use the adjective. However, in some slang speech, particularly in North America, you will often hear the incorrect use such as 'I wish you would take me serious'. There is also a form which is a little slangy, but is correct – you can say "Are you serious?" Which is a slangy form of "Do you mean what you are saying".

hope that helps

regards

Andi

06:17 AM Jan 08 2009 |

andilee

andilee

United Kingdom

Hi! I spotted a mistake, I said "The only time to use the adverb 'serious' is when talking…" – of course I meant to say 'adjective' in place of adverb!

Andi

06:18 AM Jan 08 2009 |

Huyen

Huyen

Viet Nam

Thanks, Andi. It's very helpful.

03:24 AM Jan 09 2009 |