(no subject)

[feotakahari]

Inspired by a Kotaku article: "alleged racist comments" means "alleged" modifies "comments." The comments are alleged to have been made. "Allegedly racist comments" means "allegedly" modifies "racist." The comments were definitely made, but may or may not be racist. But would most people be able to explain how that rule works? And if not, how do they so consistently follow rules like that? I've never seen someone use "alleged" when they mean "allegedly," or vice versa.

Comments

[wingedcatgirl]

More easily than you think: "alleged" is an adjective, which modifies nouns like "comments", and "allegedly" is an adverb, which modifies adjectives like "racist".