Our choice of adverb depends on whether the adjective (which the adverb is intensifying) is gradable or ungradable.įor example, ‘hot’ is a gradable adjective, but ‘boiling’ is ungradable. For grammatical reasons, we need to separate these adverbs into two groups. There are many adverbs that intensify, or make the meaning stronger. Intensifying the meaning (gradable adjectives) For example: I’m pretty good at football just means I’m quite good at football…or as a Brit might say: I’m not bad at football (warning: this can sometimes mean ‘very good at’!).
In conversational English, we often use the word ‘ pretty’ as an adverb, which has a similar meaning to ‘ fairly’. The following adverbs all weaken the adjective or adverb and all appear before the adverb or adjective in the sentence: a bit, fairly, pretty, quite, rather, slightly, and somewhat. The position of the adverb is before the adjective or adverb. The adverbs in this category are all used in the same way. This is more exact than just saying I’m nervous or I’m cold. For instance, we may wish to express that we are quite nervous or a bit cold. There are times in English when we want to specifically describe our use of an adjective or adverb. very), and adverbs that weaken the meaning, also called ‘downtoners’, (e.g. I have totally forgotten to bring my phone.Īs we’ve mentioned above, we can separate adverbs of degree into two main types: adverbs that intensify the meaning or make it stronger (e.g. I have really enjoyed studying at this school.Į.g. Subject + auxiliary verb + adverb of degree + past participleĮ.g. have and is/are), the adverb usually goes before the main verb. You should really look at the instructions first.
Subject + modal + adverb of degree + main verbĮ.g.
You really should look where you are going! Subject + adverb of degree + modal + main verbĮ.g. With modal verbs, the adverb of degree can appear before the modal verb or before the main verb, depending on the meaning. The boys thoroughly enjoyed their trip to the theatre. Subject + main verb + adverb of degree + adverbĮ.g. Subject + main verb + adverb of degree + adjective (Modifies the verb)Īdverbs of degree can modify adjectives or adverbs: For example: I’m fairly certain it will rain tomorrow.Īn adverb of degree can modify an adjective, another adverb or a verb. For example: I’m totally convinced Sam will quit his job.Īdverbs that decrease or weaken the degree of meaning include words such as: fairly, quite, slightly, and a bit. adverbs that weaken the degree of something.Īdverbs that increase, or intensify, the meaning include words such as: very, totally, completely, and absolutely. Adverbs of degree can be split into two groups: adverbs that intensify the degree of something vs. We might tell our friend that we are happy, but we may want to explain the degree (or level) of our happiness: I’m really happy, I’m quite happy or I’m not very happy. We use adverbs of degree to qualify what we are talking about. 36 adverbs of degree: A-Z list with examples.
#UNSCRAMBLE UTTERLY PDF#
Don’t forget to check out the exercises at the end to test your understanding! You can also download this guide as a free pdf to use offline.
#UNSCRAMBLE UTTERLY HOW TO#
In this study guide, we will walk you through a range of adverbs of degree with examples of how to use each of them in a sentence.
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