Level: Intermediate-Advanced
Intensifiers
Intensifiers are used to make adjectives stronger. Some examples are very, really, extremely, amazingly, exceptionally, incredibly, particularly, remarkably, and unusually.
very She was studying very hard but still failed the exam.
really That was a really delicious meal.
extremely She is extremely smart.
amazingly They are amazingly creative.
exceptionally Her children are exceptionally talented.
incredibly It was incredibly rude of him to say that.
particularly I am not particularly fond of romance films.
remarkably She lives in a remarkably crowded city.
unusually You are unusually quiet this morning.
Enough
When using enough as an intensifier, it is placed after the adjective. It is used to talk more about the adjective.
If you are eighteen, you are old enough to vote.
He was not allowed to ride the rollercoaster. He is not tall enough.
Intensifiers with strong adjectives
Very is not used with strong adjectives such as:
very small tiny
very big huge, enormous
very clever brilliant
very bad awful, dreadful, disgusting, terrible
very good excellent, ideal, perfect, splendid, wonderful
very tasty delicious
very sure certain
Instead, intensifiers such as absolutely, completely, exceptionally, particularly, really, quite, totally,and utterly are used.
Their proposal was absolutely terrible.
Anne is an exceptionally brilliant employee.
After her cosmetic surgery went wrong, she looked really dreadful.