Laura is a bit tired. She's been Mark is quite tired. He's been Sarah is very tired. She's had to working all morning. working all day. work late at the office. An adverb of degree makes the meaning weaker or stronger. Here are some more examples. SMALL DECREE (weaker) MEDIUM DEGREE LARGE DEGREE (stronger) a little late fairly unusual absolutely sure really ill slightly complicated pretty good completely mad rather nice extremely cold B Very cold, quite quickly, etc An adverb of degree (e.g. very) goes before an adjective (e.g. cold) or an adverb (e.g. quickly). ADVERB + ADJECTIVE ADVERB + ADVERB It's very cold today. The time passed quite quickly. Rita looked rather upset. We go on holiday fairly soon. This dress is absolutely marvellous. United played extremely well. Before a comparative we can use a bit, a little, a lot, far, much, rather and slightly. See also Unit 112B. I'm feeling a lot better today. These new trains go much faster. C Really hurting, quite enjoys, etc Some adverbs of degree can describe a verb. They usually go in mid position (close to the verb — see Unit 113B). My foot is really hurting. Laura quite enjoys shopping. I rather like this cake. Some adverbs of degree go at the end ol a sentence when they describe a verb. They are a bit, a little, a lot, awfully, much and terribly. Mark travels a lot. I'll open the window a little. The animals suffer terribly. Absolutely, completely and totally can go in mid position or at the end. We completely lost our way/We lost our way completely. I'm afraid I totally disagree./I'm afraid I disagree totally. D Much Now look at these sentences. Positive: I like this town very much, NOT I like this town much Negative: / don't like this town very much, OR I don't like this town much. In a positive statement we use very much. In a negative statement we can use either very much or much. 116 More about quite and rather 117 Too and enough 115 Adverbs of de g ree, e. g . ver y , q uite ► (quite hungry or very hungry?) He's quite hungry. 3 ……………… (quite strong or very strong?) 1 (a bit busy or very busy?) ……………………… 4 ………… (fairly happy or extremely happy?) 2 (a bit thirsty or really thirsty?) 2 Very, quite and a bit (A) Put in very, quite or a bit. ► The bus service is all right. The buses are quite frequent. 1 I couldn't sleep because of the awful noise. The disco was…………. noisy. 2 The weather was OK - at least it didn't rain. It was good. 3 The train was almost on time. It was just………… late. 4 Someone paid a great deal of money for the house. It was………… expensive. 5 There were some very small traces of mud on the boots. They were………… dirty. 6 There was a medium amount of traffic on the road. It was…………….busy. 3 Very cold, really hurting, etc (B-D) Put the adverbs in the right place. Sometimes more than one answer is correct. ? These books are old (very). These books are very old. ? I hate travelling by air (really). I really hate travelling by air. 1 That radio is loud (a bit). 2 1 like my new job (quite). 3 Why don't you slow down (a little)? 4 The rain spoilt our day (completely). 5 We did the job quickly (fairly). 6 I feel better now (a lot). 7 We enjoyed the concert (very much). 8 My arms ached (terribly). 4 Adverbs of degree (A-D) Complete the advertisement for holiday apartments by choosing the correct words. Why not take this opportunity to buy a wonderful Interlux Timeshare apartment in San Manila? These are (►) a bit/rather/really luxurious apartments set in this (1) absolutely/slightly magnificent seaside resort, a (2) fairly/really beautiful and unspoilt place, which you'll like (3) much/very/very much. The apartments are (4) extremely/pretty/quite good value. And we are a company with a (5) fairly/quite/very good reputation. This is a (6) bit/slightly/totally safe way of investing your money. But hurry! People are buying up the apartments (7) a lot/very/very much quickly. 115 Exercises 1 Very, quite, a bit, etc (A) Write sentences using one of the phrases in brackets. 116 Quite and rather A Quite meaning 'fairly' Quite usually means 'fairly' or 'a medium amount' (see Unit 115A). I jeel quite hungry now. Repairing the machine is quite difficult. The talk was quite interesting. We were quite surprised at the result. (But see D for another meaning of quite.) B Stress with quite In speech, whether we stress quite or the adjective makes a difference to the meaning. If we stress quite, it means 'fairly but not very'. If we stress the adjective, the meaning is positive The meaning is negative. (but not as positive as very). The exhibition was quite good, but I've seen The exhibition was quite good. I enjoyed looking better ones. round it. I get up quite early, but not as early as you do. I got up quite early. I had a lot of jobs to do. C Quite or rather? When we make a favourable comment, we usually say quite, not rather. The book was quite interesting. It's quite warm now. It was quite nice walking through the park. In unfavourable comments, we usually say rather, but quite is possible. The book was rather boring/quite boring. It was rather awkward/quite awkward taking my suitcase on the underground. Rather in a favourable comment means 'to a surprising or unusual degree'. It's rather warm for October. (It isn't usually so warm.) / didn't know David can cook. He's rather good at it. I expect Tom's jokes were awful. ~ Actually they were rather funny. We can use rather with a comparative but not quite. The meal took rather longer than we expected. For quite and rather with a/an, see Unit 89B. It was quite an interesting book. D Quite meaning 'completely' With some adjectives, quite means 'completely' or 'totally'. What you said is quite wrong. {= completely wrong) The idea is quite absurd. (= totally absurd) The situation is quite hopeless. Quite means 'completely' with these adjectives: absurd, alone, amazing, awful, brilliant, certain, dead, different, dreadful, extraordinary, false, hopeless, horrible, impossible, perfect, ridiculous, right, sure, true, useless, wrong Compare the uses of quite. I'm quite tired. (= fairly) I'm quite exhausted. (= completely) The advice was quite useful. I got one or two The advice was quite useless. It was absolutely tips. no good at all. 116 Exercises 1 Stress with quite (B) Which word do we stress, quite or the adjective? Underline the stressed word. ? These pens are quite good but not as good as the ones I usually buy. ? This book is quite exciting. I can't put it down. 1 These fashions are quite new but not the very latest thing. 2 It's quite late. We'd better be going. 3 The sums are quite easy. I can do them in my head. 4 The music was quite good, but I wasn't really impressed. 5 The sun is quite bright. You'll need your sunglasses. 2 Quite or rather? (C) Put in these adjectives: better, busy, nice, noisy, popular Use quite or rather with each adjective. Sometimes either is possible. Mark: I didn't like that meal very much. Sarah: The soup was (►) quite nice though, wasn't it? Mark: The food was (1) the last time we came. Sarah: It's (2)…………………… in here, isn't it? Everyone seems to be shouting. Mark: I wasn't expecting the place to be so full. It's (3)………………………. for a Monday evening Sarah: This restaurant is (4) , you know. 3 Quite or rather? (C) Add a sentence expressing the idea in brackets. Use quite or rather in your sentence. Sometimes either is possible. ► (It's pleasant by the river.) Let's walk along by the river. It's quite pleasant there. ► (You think Nick is aggressive.) I don't like Nick much. I think he's rather aggressive. 1 (Changing trains twice is complicated.) We have to change trains twice 2 (Your car is big.) I can give you all a lift 3 (The show went on longer than you expected.) It was a good show, but 4 (You made your decision quickly.) It wasn't a difficult decision 4 The meanings of quite (A, D) Does quite mean 'fairly' or 'completely'? ? Try one of these sweets. I think they're quite nice. = fairly nice ? The driver walked away unhurt. It was quite amazing. = completely amazing 1 I couldn't agree to the idea. It was quite ridiculous. = 2 I need some help with this crossword. It's quite difficult. = 3 That isn't the same thing at all. It's quite different. = 4 I wasn't expecting to get a postcard. I was quite surprised. = 5 I bought this guidebook. It looks quite useful. = 6 Are you sure you want the job? ~ Yes, I'm quite certain. = Too short and not long enough both mean the same thing. B Word order with too and enough Too goes before an adjective or adverb. Claire doesn't want to marry Henry. She thinks he's too old. Zedco are in trouble. The company reacted too slowly to the rise in prices. Enough goes after an adjective or adverb. The water isn't hot enough. It needs to be boiling, NOT enough hot You didn't put the screws in tightly enough, NOT enough tightly Too many, too much and enough go before a noun. No wonder you're tired. You've been going to too many parties. Andrew spends too much time working. There'll be fifteen people for coffee. Have we got enough cups? Everything is so expensive. Did you bring enough money? We use many with a plural noun and much with an uncountable noun (see Unit 95A). Compare these examples with enough. After an adjective: The coffee isn't strong enough. Before a noun: You didn't put enough coffee in. We leave out the noun if the meaning is clear without it. Just add a little water. Not too much. We'll need fifteen cups. Have we got enough? C Other structures with too and enough We can use a phrase with for after too or enough. These puzzles are too difficult for children. This coat isn't warm enough for winter. Have we got enough cups for everyone? We can also use a to-infinitive. It's too dangerous to walk home at this time of night. There are too many museums here to visit in a single day. Are you fit enough to run a marathon? I couldn't get close enough to see properly. Vicky didn't bring enough money to buy two CDs. 117 Too and enou gh ? The sweater is too big. 1 ? The ruler isn't long enough. 2 3 …………………. Too and enough (A-B) Look at what people are saying and complete the sentences. Use too, too many, too much or enough with these words: clearly, complicated, difficult, expensive, food, hastily, mistakes, rain, sweet, traffic ? You should have stopped to think first. You acted too hastily. ? This quiz is rather easy. The questions aren't difficult enough. 1 Can I have some more sugar in my coffee, please? It isn't 2 I can't afford a new stereo. It would be . 3 There's a water shortage. There just hasn't been 4 I can't read your writing. You don't write 5 Try to be more careful, please. You're making 6 The roads are very crowded. There's simply 7 I can't understand these instructions. They're 8 Thousands of people are starving because they can't get Other structures with too and enough (C) Comment on the situations. Use too or enough and a phrase with jor or a to-infinitive. ? A taxi would have been best. But you didn't have the money. I didn't have enough money for a taxi. ? Sarah can't take a day off. She's very busy. Sarah is too busy to take a day off. 1 A picnic would be nice. But it's wet. 2 All your guests will need chairs. But you haven't got very many. 3 You couldn't carry the equipment. You had such a lot. 4 Natasha wants to be a professional musician. You think she's very good. 117 Exercises 1 Too and enough (A-B) Look at the pictures and write sentences with too and enough. Use these nouns and adjectives: big, gate, long, low, plane, sweater, ruler, warm, water, wide . very, quite or a bit. ► The bus service is all right. The buses are quite frequent. 1 I couldn't sleep because of the awful noise. The disco was…………. noisy. 2 The weather was OK - at least. can't understand these instructions. They're 8 Thousands of people are starving because they can't get Other structures with too and enough (C) Comment on the situations. Use too or enough. true, useless, wrong Compare the uses of quite. I'm quite tired. (= fairly) I'm quite exhausted. (= completely) The advice was quite useful. I got one or two The advice was quite useless.