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fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M14.234 10.162L22.977 0h-2.072l-7.591 8.824L7.251 0H.258l9.168 13.343L.258 24H2.33l8.016-9.318L16.749 24h6.993zm-2.837 3.299l-.929-1.329L3.076 1.56h3.182l5.965 8.532l.929 1.329l7.754 11.09h-3.182z\"\u002F>",{"id":47,"title":48,"author":49,"body":50,"cefrLevel":882,"date":49,"description":883,"exercises":884,"extension":942,"faqs":943,"gcseTier":49,"intro":49,"language":956,"lastUpdated":49,"meta":957,"navigation":958,"path":959,"seo":960,"stem":961,"verbSlugs":49,"__hash__":962},"pages\u002Fenglish\u002Fgrammar\u002Fgradable-and-ungradable-adjectives.md","Gradable and ungradable adjectives: why very furious sounds wrong, and which intensifier goes where",null,{"type":51,"value":52,"toc":870},"minimark",[53,66,69,74,82,116,127,162,189,193,196,378,389,393,399,405,437,443,474,490,519,523,526,540,557,567,571,603,633,640,644,681,685,688,786,790,793,810,840],[54,55,56,57,61,62,65],"p",{},"Say ",[58,59,60],"em",{},"I am very tired"," and nobody looks up. Say ",[58,63,64],{},"I am very exhausted"," and\nevery native speaker in the room quietly notices, even if none of them could\ntell you the rule you have broken. The rule is real, it is simple, and course\nbooks leave it far too late: English adjectives come in two kinds, and each\nkind accepts a different set of intensifiers.",[54,67,68],{},"Get the pairing wrong and nothing collapses; you are understood. But it is one\nof those small errors, like a wrong preposition, that marks speech as learned\nrather than lived. The fix costs an afternoon.",[70,71,73],"h2",{"id":72},"a-scale-or-a-switch","A scale or a switch",[54,75,76,77,81],{},"A ",[78,79,80],"strong",{},"gradable"," adjective sits on a scale. You can have more of it or less of\nit, so it accepts words that turn the volume up and down:",[83,84,85,92],"ul",{},[86,87,88,91],"li",{},[58,89,90],{},"cold"," - a little cold, quite cold, very cold, extremely cold",[86,93,94,97,98,97,101,97,104,97,107,97,110,97,113],{},[58,95,96],{},"angry",", ",[58,99,100],{},"tired",[58,102,103],{},"big",[58,105,106],{},"hungry",[58,108,109],{},"good",[58,111,112],{},"dirty",[58,114,115],{},"frightened",[54,117,118,119,122,123,126],{},"An ",[78,120,121],{},"ungradable"," adjective is not on the scale. It IS the end of the scale.\n",[58,124,125],{},"Freezing"," does not mean cold; it means as cold as the scale goes. There is no\nsuch thing as slightly freezing:",[83,128,129],{},[86,130,131,97,134,97,137,97,140,97,143,97,146,149,150,97,153,97,156,97,159],{},[58,132,133],{},"freezing",[58,135,136],{},"boiling",[58,138,139],{},"furious",[58,141,142],{},"exhausted",[58,144,145],{},"enormous",[58,147,148],{},"tiny",",\n",[58,151,152],{},"starving",[58,154,155],{},"terrified",[58,157,158],{},"brilliant",[58,160,161],{},"awful",[54,163,164,165,168,169,172,173,176,177,180,181,184,185,188],{},"These are often called ",[78,166,167],{},"extreme adjectives",", and each one quietly contains\nthe word ",[58,170,171],{},"very",". ",[58,174,175],{},"Furious"," = very angry. ",[58,178,179],{},"Exhausted"," = very tired. That is\nexactly why ",[58,182,183],{},"very furious"," sounds wrong: you are saying ",[58,186,187],{},"very very angry",",\nand English does not stack its volume controls.",[70,190,192],{"id":191},"the-pairs-learners-mix-up","The pairs learners mix up",[54,194,195],{},"Learn these as pairs, not as separate words. Every extreme adjective is the\nloaded version of an ordinary one.",[197,198,199,212],"table",{},[200,201,202],"thead",{},[203,204,205,209],"tr",{},[206,207,208],"th",{},"Gradable",[206,210,211],{},"Extreme",[213,214,215,226,236,246,257,270,281,294,308,318,328,343,355,366],"tbody",{},[203,216,217,222],{},[218,219,220],"td",{},[58,221,96],{},[218,223,224],{},[58,225,139],{},[203,227,228,232],{},[218,229,230],{},[58,231,100],{},[218,233,234],{},[58,235,142],{},[203,237,238,242],{},[218,239,240],{},[58,241,90],{},[218,243,244],{},[58,245,133],{},[203,247,248,253],{},[218,249,250],{},[58,251,252],{},"hot",[218,254,255],{},[58,256,136],{},[203,258,259,263],{},[218,260,261],{},[58,262,103],{},[218,264,265,97,267],{},[58,266,145],{},[58,268,269],{},"huge",[203,271,272,277],{},[218,273,274],{},[58,275,276],{},"small",[218,278,279],{},[58,280,148],{},[203,282,283,287],{},[218,284,285],{},[58,286,109],{},[218,288,289,97,291],{},[58,290,158],{},[58,292,293],{},"wonderful",[203,295,296,301],{},[218,297,298],{},[58,299,300],{},"bad",[218,302,303,97,305],{},[58,304,161],{},[58,306,307],{},"terrible",[203,309,310,314],{},[218,311,312],{},[58,313,106],{},[218,315,316],{},[58,317,152],{},[203,319,320,324],{},[218,321,322],{},[58,323,115],{},[218,325,326],{},[58,327,155],{},[203,329,330,335],{},[218,331,332],{},[58,333,334],{},"surprised",[218,336,337,97,340],{},[58,338,339],{},"astonished",[58,341,342],{},"amazed",[203,344,345,350],{},[218,346,347],{},[58,348,349],{},"funny",[218,351,352],{},[58,353,354],{},"hilarious",[203,356,357,361],{},[218,358,359],{},[58,360,112],{},[218,362,363],{},[58,364,365],{},"filthy",[203,367,368,373],{},[218,369,370],{},[58,371,372],{},"interesting",[218,374,375],{},[58,376,377],{},"fascinating",[54,379,380,381,384,385,388],{},"The pay-off is bigger than grammar. A learner who says ",[58,382,383],{},"very very tired"," is\nunderstood; a learner who says ",[58,386,387],{},"absolutely exhausted"," sounds like someone who\nhas read a book that was not a course book.",[70,390,392],{"id":391},"which-intensifier-goes-where","Which intensifier goes where",[54,394,395,396],{},"This is the whole system on one line: ",[78,397,398],{},"gradable adjectives take volume\ncontrols, ungradable adjectives take confirmation.",[54,400,401,404],{},[78,402,403],{},"With gradable adjectives"," - words that adjust the amount:",[83,406,407,418,429],{},[86,408,409,97,412,97,415],{},[58,410,411],{},"very cold",[58,413,414],{},"extremely cold",[58,416,417],{},"really cold",[86,419,420,97,423,97,426],{},[58,421,422],{},"quite cold",[58,424,425],{},"fairly cold",[58,427,428],{},"rather cold",[86,430,431,97,434],{},[58,432,433],{},"a bit cold",[58,435,436],{},"slightly cold",[54,438,439,442],{},[78,440,441],{},"With ungradable adjectives"," - words that confirm the extreme is meant\nfully and literally:",[83,444,445,453,461,469],{},[86,446,447,97,450],{},[58,448,449],{},"absolutely freezing",[58,451,452],{},"absolutely furious",[86,454,455,97,458],{},[58,456,457],{},"completely impossible",[58,459,460],{},"completely empty",[86,462,463,97,466],{},[58,464,465],{},"utterly exhausted",[58,467,468],{},"utterly ridiculous",[86,470,471],{},[58,472,473],{},"totally wrong",[54,475,476,477,149,480,97,483,97,486,489],{},"Cross the streams and you get the classic errors: ",[58,478,479],{},"very freezing",[58,481,482],{},"absolutely tired",[58,484,485],{},"extremely furious",[58,487,488],{},"a bit brilliant",". Each one pairs a\nvolume control with an adjective that has no volume to control, or asks a\nmild word to confirm an extreme that is not there.",[54,491,492,493,496,497,500,501,504,505,508,509,511,512,515,516,518],{},"Two notes on individual words. ",[78,494,495],{},"Really"," is the free pass: it works with\nboth types, ",[58,498,499],{},"really tired"," and ",[58,502,503],{},"really exhausted"," alike, which makes it the\nsafest intensifier in English and the reason speech leans on it so hard.\n",[78,506,507],{},"Extremely"," looks like it should go with extremes and does the opposite: it\nis a strong ",[58,510,171],{},", so it takes gradable adjectives only. ",[58,513,514],{},"Extremely angry","\nis correct; ",[58,517,485],{}," is not.",[70,520,522],{"id":521},"quite-the-double-agent","Quite: the double agent",[54,524,525],{},"British English has booby-trapped one of these words, and you should know\nabout it before it costs you a job interview.",[54,527,528,531,532,535,536,539],{},[78,529,530],{},"Quite + gradable adjective weakens it."," ",[58,533,534],{},"Quite good"," does not mean very\ngood. It means fairly good, acceptably good, good enough that I will not\ncomplain. When a British colleague calls your report ",[58,537,538],{},"quite good",", that is\nnot a compliment; it is a shrug in word form.",[54,541,542,531,545,548,549,552,553,556],{},[78,543,544],{},"Quite + ungradable adjective strengthens it to completely.",[58,546,547],{},"Quite\nbrilliant"," is full, unreserved praise. ",[58,550,551],{},"Quite impossible"," means there is no\nhope at all. ",[58,554,555],{},"Quite exhausted"," means fully spent.",[54,558,559,560,563,564,566],{},"Same word, opposite jobs, and only the adjective tells you which one is on\nduty. American English simplifies this by using ",[58,561,562],{},"quite"," to mean ",[58,565,171],{}," across\nthe board, which is why the same sentence can land differently on each side\nof the Atlantic.",[70,568,570],{"id":569},"the-absolutes-no-halfway-point","The absolutes: no halfway point",[54,572,573,574,577,578,581,582,585,586,97,588,97,591,594,595,598,599,602],{},"A second family of ungradable adjectives is extreme not by force but by\nlogic. Some states have no middle ground: a thing is ",[58,575,576],{},"impossible"," or it is\nnot, ",[58,579,580],{},"dead"," or not, ",[58,583,584],{},"unique"," or not. These absolutes behave exactly like the\nextreme adjectives: ",[58,587,457],{},[58,589,590],{},"absolutely perfect",[58,592,593],{},"totally\nempty",", but never ",[58,596,597],{},"very impossible"," or ",[58,600,601],{},"slightly dead",".",[54,604,605,606,97,608,97,611,97,613,97,615,149,618,97,621,97,624,97,627,97,630,602],{},"The usual members: ",[58,607,576],{},[58,609,610],{},"perfect",[58,612,584],{},[58,614,580],{},[58,616,617],{},"empty",[58,619,620],{},"full",[58,622,623],{},"right",[58,625,626],{},"wrong",[58,628,629],{},"free",[58,631,632],{},"finished",[54,634,635,636,639],{},"You will hear native speakers break this rule on purpose. ",[58,637,638],{},"He was a bit dead\nby the end of the meeting"," is a joke, and it is funny precisely because the\ngrammar is wrong: the impossible middle ground is the punchline. Learn the\nrule first; the licence to break it comes with fluency, not before.",[70,641,643],{"id":642},"a-bit-prefers-bad-news","A bit prefers bad news",[54,645,646,647,650,651,654,655,97,658,97,660,97,663,666,667,670,671,674,675,598,677,680],{},"One more pattern worth having. ",[58,648,649],{},"A bit"," (and ",[58,652,653],{},"a little",") attach almost\nexclusively to negative adjectives: ",[58,656,657],{},"a bit tired",[58,659,433],{},[58,661,662],{},"a bit\nexpensive",[58,664,665],{},"a bit late",". Positive adjectives reject it: ",[58,668,669],{},"a bit wonderful","\nand ",[58,672,673],{},"a bit delicious"," do not exist outside irony. If you want to weaken a\npositive adjective, use ",[58,676,562],{},[58,678,679],{},"fairly"," and accept the British shrug that\ncomes with them.",[70,682,684],{"id":683},"common-mistakes","Common mistakes",[54,686,687],{},"Ranked by how often learners actually make them.",[689,690,691,710,731,749,761,773],"ol",{},[86,692,693,531,696,97,699,97,701,704,705,598,708,602],{},[78,694,695],{},"Very + extreme adjective.",[58,697,698],{},"Very exhausted",[58,700,183],{},[58,702,703],{},"very\nfreezing",". Pick a side: ",[58,706,707],{},"very tired",[58,709,387],{},[86,711,712,531,715,500,718,721,722,725,726,728,729,602],{},[78,713,714],{},"Absolutely + gradable adjective.",[58,716,717],{},"Absolutely tired",[58,719,720],{},"absolutely\ncold"," are wrong; there is no extreme for ",[58,723,724],{},"absolutely"," to confirm. Use\n",[58,727,171],{},", or upgrade the adjective: ",[58,730,387],{},[86,732,733,531,736,738,739,741,742,745,746,748],{},[78,734,735],{},"Extremely treated as absolutely.",[58,737,507],{}," is a strong ",[58,740,171],{}," and\nobeys the same rule: ",[58,743,744],{},"extremely angry"," yes, ",[58,747,485],{}," no.",[86,750,751,754,755,757,758,602],{},[78,752,753],{},"Misreading quite."," Hearing ",[58,756,538],{}," as high praise. From a British\nspeaker it is the opposite; the high praise was ",[58,759,760],{},"quite brilliant",[86,762,763,531,766,97,769,772],{},[78,764,765],{},"Doubling up.",[58,767,768],{},"Very really tired",[58,770,771],{},"absolutely completely impossible",".\nOne intensifier per adjective. English speakers add force with stress, not\nstacking.",[86,774,775,531,778,781,782,785],{},[78,776,777],{},"A bit + positive adjective.",[58,779,780],{},"A bit brilliant"," fails twice: wrong\npolarity for ",[58,783,784],{},"a bit",", wrong type for a volume control.",[70,787,789],{"id":788},"practice","Practice",[54,791,792],{},"Fix each sentence or mark it correct. Answers are below.",[689,794,795,798,801,804,807],{},[86,796,797],{},"The film was very brilliant.",[86,799,800],{},"I am a bit exhausted after the drive.",[86,802,803],{},"Her office is absolutely small.",[86,805,806],{},"It was quite impossible to hear him. (British speaker)",[86,808,809],{},"We were extremely hungry by nine.",[54,811,812,815,816,598,819,822,823,825,826,828,829,598,832,835,836,839],{},[78,813,814],{},"Answers:"," 1. ",[58,817,818],{},"absolutely brilliant",[58,820,821],{},"very good"," 2. ",[58,824,657],{}," or\n",[58,827,387],{}," 3. ",[58,830,831],{},"very small",[58,833,834],{},"absolutely tiny"," 4. Correct, and\nit means completely impossible 5. Correct: ",[58,837,838],{},"extremely"," + gradable is fine.",[54,841,842,843,845,846,851,852,97,855,97,858,500,861,864,865,869],{},"Extreme adjectives also resist comparison for the same reason they resist\n",[58,844,171],{},": see ",[847,848,850],"a",{"href":849},"\u002Fenglish\u002Fgrammar\u002Fcomparatives-and-superlatives","comparatives and superlatives","\nfor what happens at the ends of the scale. And for the other family of\ndegree words, ",[58,853,854],{},"so",[58,856,857],{},"such",[58,859,860],{},"too",[58,862,863],{},"enough",", the page on\n",[847,866,868],{"href":867},"\u002Fenglish\u002Fgrammar\u002Fso-such-too-enough","so, such, too and enough"," picks up\nwhere the intensifiers stop.",{"title":871,"searchDepth":872,"depth":872,"links":873},"",2,[874,875,876,877,878,879,880,881],{"id":72,"depth":872,"text":73},{"id":191,"depth":872,"text":192},{"id":391,"depth":872,"text":392},{"id":521,"depth":872,"text":522},{"id":569,"depth":872,"text":570},{"id":642,"depth":872,"text":643},{"id":683,"depth":872,"text":684},{"id":788,"depth":872,"text":789},"B1-B2","How gradable and ungradable adjectives work in English: which adjectives take very, quite and a bit, which take absolutely, completely and utterly, the extreme pairs learners mix up, and the double life of quite.",[885,910,930],{"type":886,"instructions":887,"options":888,"items":893},"which-one","Choose the intensifier that fits each sentence.",[171,724,784,889,890,838,891,892],"completely","utterly","really","totally",[894,896,898,900,902,904,906,908],{"prompt":895,"answer":171},"I am ___ tired after the journey.",{"prompt":897,"answer":724},"The water was ___ freezing.",{"prompt":899,"answer":784},"The soup is ___ cold. Could you warm it up?",{"prompt":901,"answer":889},"Finishing by Friday is ___ impossible.",{"prompt":903,"answer":890},"By midnight she was ___ exhausted.",{"prompt":905,"answer":838},"The test was ___ difficult, but I passed.",{"prompt":907,"answer":891},"The film was ___ brilliant. See it twice.",{"prompt":909,"answer":892},"You are ___ right. I should have listened.",{"type":911,"instructions":912,"items":913},"fill-blank","Write the extreme adjective that matches the gradable one in brackets.",[914,916,918,920,922,924,926,928],{"prompt":915,"answer":139},"I am not just angry, I am ___. (angry)",{"prompt":917,"answer":145},"The house is not just big, it is ___. (big)",{"prompt":919,"answer":133},"It is not just cold outside, it is ___. (cold)",{"prompt":921,"answer":152},"We were not just hungry, we were ___. (hungry)",{"prompt":923,"answer":142},"She was not just tired, she was ___. (tired)",{"prompt":925,"answer":365},"The kitchen was not just dirty, it was ___. (dirty)",{"prompt":927,"answer":155},"He was not just frightened, he was ___. (frightened)",{"prompt":929,"answer":354},"The joke was not just funny, it was ___. (funny)",{"type":931,"instructions":932,"pairs":933},"match","Match each gradable adjective to its extreme partner.",[934,935,936,937,938,939,940,941],{"left":96,"right":139},{"left":100,"right":142},{"left":90,"right":133},{"left":252,"right":136},{"left":276,"right":148},{"left":109,"right":158},{"left":300,"right":161},{"left":334,"right":339},"md",[944,947,950,953],{"q":945,"a":946},"What is the difference between a gradable and an ungradable adjective?","A gradable adjective sits on a scale and can be more or less: cold, tired, angry, big. An ungradable adjective is already the end of the scale (freezing, exhausted, furious, enormous) or an absolute with no halfway point (impossible, dead, unique). Gradable adjectives take very, quite and a bit; ungradable ones take absolutely, completely, totally and utterly.",{"q":948,"a":949},"Why is very furious wrong?","Because furious already means extremely angry. The word very is a volume control, and furious is already at maximum volume, so very has nothing left to do. Say very angry or absolutely furious, never very furious. The same logic rules out very exhausted, very freezing and very impossible.",{"q":951,"a":952},"Which intensifiers go with ungradable adjectives?","Absolutely, completely, totally and utterly: absolutely freezing, completely impossible, utterly exhausted. Really is the safe all-rounder, because it works with both types: really tired and really exhausted are both correct. Very, extremely, fairly, slightly and a bit belong to gradable adjectives only.",{"q":954,"a":955},"What does quite mean with each type of adjective?","In British English quite changes meaning depending on the adjective. With a gradable adjective it weakens: quite good means fairly good, no more. With an ungradable adjective it strengthens to completely: quite brilliant is full praise and quite impossible means there is no hope at all. Learners who miss this hear a compliment where a British speaker offered faint praise.","english",{},true,"\u002Fenglish\u002Fgrammar\u002Fgradable-and-ungradable-adjectives",{"title":48,"description":883},"english\u002Fgrammar\u002Fgradable-and-ungradable-adjectives","OjYD8tDYeCeppVezUzNi65BBlMP3tOpT89mA8ar4O-w",{"left":4,"top":4,"width":5,"height":5,"rotate":4,"vFlip":6,"hFlip":6,"body":964},"\u003Cpath fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" stroke-width=\"2\" d=\"M13 21h8M15 5l4 4m2.174-2.188a1 1 0 0 0-3.986-3.987L3.842 16.174a2 2 0 0 0-.5.83l-1.321 4.352a.5.5 0 0 0 .623.622l4.353-1.32a2 2 0 0 0 .83-.497z\"\u002F>",{"left":4,"top":4,"width":5,"height":5,"rotate":4,"vFlip":6,"hFlip":6,"body":966},"\u003Cpath fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" stroke-width=\"2\" d=\"M11 4.702a.705.705 0 0 0-1.203-.498L6.413 7.587A1.4 1.4 0 0 1 5.416 8H3a1 1 0 0 0-1 1v6a1 1 0 0 0 1 1h2.416a1.4 1.4 0 0 1 .997.413l3.383 3.384A.705.705 0 0 0 11 19.298zM16 9a5 5 0 0 1 0 6m3.364 3.364a9 9 0 0 0 0-12.728\"\u002F>"]