It is shown that the modified pseudo-first-order (MPFO) kinetic equation proposed recently by Yang and Al-Duri simulates well the behavior of the kinetics governed by the rate of surface reaction and described by our general kinetic equation, based on the statistical rate theory. The linear representation with respect to time, offered by the MPFO equation seems to be a convenient tool for distinguishing between the surface reaction and the diffusional kinetics. Also, a method of distinguishing between the surface reaction and the intraparticle diffusion model based on analyzing the initial kinetic isotherms of sorption is proposed. The applicability of these procedures is demonstrated by the analysis of adsorption kinetics of the reactive yellow dye onto an activated carbon.