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Dear teacher,

"It's awfully important to know the category before you lay your money down," he said. Discovering a child's real talents would be even better, he added. "Your mission as a parent is to say not 'How smart is my kid?' but 'How is my kid smart?' " he said. "You focus in on that and then, wherever the kid goes to college, he'll know, 'This is what I'm good at.' "

Q : The function of "smart" in "How smart is my kid?" is an adjective and "smart" in "How is my kid smart" is a noun , isn't it?


All the best, :)

No, in both it is an adjective.

So what is the difference between these two sentences? When add adjective after 'How' and when at the end of sentence?

I think

'How smart is my kid?'

=> "How" modifies "smart" as an adverb.

It is about a degree of one's intelligence.

'How is my kid smart?'

=> "How" modifies "is" as an adverb.

It means the way in which one thing is different from or similar

to another. That is, It shows us what he is good at.



All the best, :)

Correct!

Incidentally, 'How is my kid smart?' is a slightly unusual construction, for more standard 'IN WHAT WAY(S) is my kid smart?'. It is deliberately expressed using 'how' in order to effect a connection with the previous question.