Intensifiers

Intensifiers

Level: intermediate

We use words like very, really and extremely to make adjectives stronger:

• It’s a very interesting story.
• Everyone was very excited.
• It’s a really interesting story.
• Everyone was extremely excited.

We call these words intensifiers. Other intensifiers are:

amazingly, exceptionally, incredibly, particularly, remarkably, unusually

We also use enough to say more about an adjective, but enough comes after its adjective:

• If you are seventeen, you are old enough to drive a car.
• I can’t wear those shoes. They’re not big enough.

Intensifiers with strong adjectives

Strong adjectives are words like:

very big	enormous, huge
very small	tiny, minuscule
very clever	brilliant
very bad	awful, terrible, disgusting, dreadful
very sure	certain
very good	excellent, perfect, ideal, wonderful, splendid
very tasty	delicious

We do not normally use very with these adjectives. We do not say something is very enormous or someone is very brilliant. 

With strong adjectives, we normally use intensifiers like:

absolutely	really
completely	quite
exceptionally	totally
particularly	utterly

• The film was absolutely awful.
• He was an exceptionally brilliant child.
• The food smelled really disgusting.

Be careful!

Level: advanced

Some intensifiers go with particular adjectives depending on the meaning of the adjective:

• I’m afraid your wife is dangerously ill.
• The engine was dangerously hot.
• The car was seriously damaged.
• Fortunately none of the passengers was seriously hurt.

Some intensifiers go with particular adjectives. For example, we use the intensifier highly with the adjectives successful, intelligent, likely and unlikely:

• He was highly intelligent.
• She’s a highly successful businesswoman.

but we do NOT say:

• We had a highly tasty meal. (use very)
• That is a highly good idea. (use very)

We use the intensifier bitterly with the adjectives disappointed, unhappy and cold:

• I was bitterly unhappy at school.
• We were bitterly disappointed to lose the match.
• It can get bitterly cold in winter.

You need to use your dictionary to find which nouns these intensifiers go with.

Level: intermediate

Intensifiers with comparatives and superlatives

We use these words and phrases as intensifiers with comparative adjectives:

much	a great deal
far	a good deal
a lot	a good bit
quite a lot	a fair bit

• He is much older than me.
• New York is a lot bigger than Boston.

We use much and far as intensifiers with comparative adjectives in front of a noun:

• France is a much bigger country than Britain.
• He is a far better player than Ronaldo.

We use these words as intensifiers with superlative adjectives: easily, by far, much:

• The blue whale is easily the biggest animal in the world.
• This car was by far the most expensive.

Level: Advanced

Adjectives as intensifiers

We use some adjectives as intensifiers with nouns:

absolute	perfect
complete	real
total	utter

We say:

• He’s a complete idiot.
• They were talking utter nonsense.

but we do NOT say:

• The idiot was complete.
• The nonsense they were talking was utter.

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AGH / Jan 2020