Adjectives: Intensifiers with Strong Adjectives

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.

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