"Skilled" is an adjective that describes the musician as having a high level of proficiency. It modifies the noun "musician" and gives more information about the musician's abilities.
"Flawlessly" is an adverb that describes the way the musician played the piece. It modifies the verb "played" and gives more information about how the musician played the piece. It indicates that the musician played the piece without making any mistakes.
Adjectives are words that describe nouns and adverbs are words that describe verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. In this sentence, "skilled" describes the noun "musician" and "flawlessly" describes the verb "played" and gives more information about how the musician played the piece.
Adjective and adverb
- ✅ a quick response — ❌ a quickly response
- ✅ she spoke quietly — ❌ she spoke quiet
- ✅ the food tastes good — ❌ the food tastes well
- ✅ he runs fast — ✅ a fast car (same word, both roles)
Adjectives modify nouns; adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. Most adverbs add -ly to the adjective (slow → slowly), but some words — fast, hard, late — serve as both without changing form.
Rule: if the word describes a noun → adjective. If it describes an action or degree → adverb.
Adverb
- ✅ She sings beautifully — ❌ She sings beautiful
- ✅ He drives carefully — ❌ He drives careful
- ✅ They arrived late — ✅ a late train (same form, both roles)
- ✅ She works hard — ❌ She works hardly (different meaning!)
The -ly words are adverbs — they modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs, telling you how, when, where, or to what degree.
Pattern: most adjectives become adverbs by adding -ly, but watch the exceptions — fast, hard, late, well — that keep the same shape or change meaning entirely.
Adjective
- ✅ a tall building — ❌ a tally building
- ✅ The soup is hot — ❌ The soup is hotly
- ✅ a lovely small old table — ❌ a small lovely old table
- ✅ She seems tired — ❌ She seems tiredly
These bolded words are adjectives — words that describe nouns or pronouns. They sit before a noun (a tall building) or after a linking verb (The soup is hot).
Pattern: if a word can slot between a/the and a noun (a ___ thing) and can take -er/-est, it's almost certainly an adjective.
B2 | Upper Intermediate
- ✅ If I had studied harder, I would have passed. — third conditional
- ✅ The report is being reviewed by the committee. — passive progressive
- ✅ Having finished the exam, she left. — participle clause
- ✅ He denied having taken the money. — complex verb pattern
These are B2 patterns — the CEFR upper-intermediate level. At B2 you handle mixed conditionals, all passive forms, participle clauses, and can argue a point clearly. This is the level most universities and employers require.
Marker: if you can write a structured essay and debate an abstract topic, you're B2.
Medium
- If I were you, I would apologise. — one rule (second conditional), but distractors like was tempt you
- Answers require active thought, not instant pattern recognition
- Vocabulary and context are realistic, not artificially simplified
- Usually tests one rule, but the wrong answers are plausible
Medium marks middle-difficulty challenges: A2–B1, one rule tested, but with realistic distractors that require genuine understanding.
Use "Medium" when Easy feels too obvious but Hard feels overwhelming. This is where most productive learning happens — the sweet spot of difficulty.