Q A family member gives me a hard time every time I say “ya’ll come back real soon.” He says “real” shouldn’t be used in phrases like “real soon.” It sounds fine to me. Who’s right? – J.R., Columbia, Ky.

A: The word “real” has been functioning as an adverb since the 18th century. The adverbial use was borne out of the adjectival use, as when “real” is used to modify noun phrases like “good turn.” By the 18th century, “real” was being used to modify “good” alone, and the independent adverbial use grew from then.

The adverbial “real” is most often used the way you report using it: in speech. It’s an informal usage that peppers the language we encounter in casual conversation. It’s avoided in formal writing, though it occasionally crops up in writing that is meant to have a conversational feel.

Some critics insist that “real” is always and only an adjective, and that the adverbial use of “real” is actually a mistaken version of “really.” This is not correct; “real” and “really” are not frequently used in the same way. “Real” is a simple intensifier, more or less equivalent to “very”; it is used only with adjectives and adverbs. “Really” is a full-fledged adverb; it is only sometimes used in an intensive function, and even then is more likely to mean “truly, unquestionably” than simply “very.” In a phrase like “ya’ll come back real soon,” the adverb “real” is doing what it does best.

Q I was born in the Bronx and was wondering why we don’t put “the” in front of any of the other boroughs of New York City. – C.W., Somerset, N.J.

A: Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be a clear-cut answer to your question, but we can explore some possibilities.

The land called “Keskeskeck” by American Indians and now called “the Bronx” was sold in 1639 to the Dutch West India Company. In 1641, Jonas Bronk (also spelled “Bronck” in some sources) became the first white settler in that region when he brought 500 acres between the Harlem River and the Aquahung.

At this point two versions of the story diverge. One version is that the Aquahung lost its original name and became known as the Bronk’s River; then the area was named after the river and the borough kept the definite article before its name. Another version claims the land belonging to Jonas Bronk was simply referred to by visitors as “the Bronks’,” short for “the Bronks’ place” or “house” or “land.” Either way, the name of the borough retained the “the” as it came to acquire its present-day spelling.

Another possible explanation has to do more generally with place-name usage in the United States. If a place-name retains the definite article, that indicates a uniqueness, usually local, associated with the place. Though the Bronx doubtless has several unique qualities, one we are familiar with is that it’s the only borough located on the mainland. Whether this was enough to influence the retention of “the” before the borough name, we cannot judge.

This column was prepared by the editors of Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, Tenth Edition. Readers may send questions to Merriam-Webster’s Wordwatch, P.O. Box 281, 47 Federal St., Springfield, MA 01102.