Why is 大きく違い grammatically correct?


> 日本は南北に長い国なので、南と北では気候が大きく違い、…

(From Tobira Gateway to Advanced Japanese, p.5.)

I thought 大きく is an adverb, so it can only qualify a verb; but 違い is a noun.
What's going on here?




This 違い is not a noun but a verb, and that's why it's modified by an adverb
(大きく). This 違い is the continuative form (連用形) of 違う.

The continuative form of a verb has various usages. You can read a summary
here: <https://japanese.stackexchange.com/a/65953/5010> The second and the
fifth usages in the last list are relevant to you now.




This 違い is not a noun but a verb, and that's why it's modified by an adverb
(大きく). This 違い is the continuative form (連用形) of 違う.

The continuative form of a verb has various usages. You can read a summary
here: <https://japanese.stackexchange.com/a/65953/5010> The second and the
fifth usages in the last list are relevant to you now.

