Adverbs of Intensity: Make Descriptions More Precise
Was the mountain cold, very cold or absolutely freezing? Adverbs of intensity show how strong a quality or feeling is. Use them to make descriptions clearer and more expressive.
About 20 minutes · Guided practice · 10-question mastery test
Try the activities, then check your answers.
Try the activities, then check your answers.
Separate degree from word partnership. Choose an adverb that fits the adjective and your intended meaning; some combinations are less usual rather than ungrammatical.
By the end of this lesson, you can…
The essential rules
Low intensity
Use a bit, a little and informal kind of when a quality is present but not strong.
a bit cold · a little tired · kind of expensiveModerate degree and context
Use fairly and quite for a noticeable but controlled degree. The strength of quite can vary with the adjective and context.
fairly easy · quite busy · quite interestingHigh intensity
Use very, really, so and informal super with gradable adjectives. Use absolutely naturally with strong adjectives.
very beautiful · really excited · so cool · super crowded · absolutely amazingPut really just before the adjective here
Really intensifies excited. Keep the subject and were before the adjective phrase.
How strong is the message?
“The room is fairly cold” is milder than “The room is extremely cold”. With an extreme adjective, absolutely freezing is a common combination.
Quite depends on context, adjective and intonation. Quite good can be a reserved compliment; quite impossible means completely impossible. Do not treat quite as one fixed point on every scale.
Listen, then say it
Listen to the change in strength. Repeat a mild phrase and a strong phrase about the same situation.
Read the audio transcript
The room is fairly cold. The room is absolutely freezing. The walk was a little tiring. By the end, I was absolutely exhausted. Fairly cold. Absolutely freezing. A little tiring. Absolutely exhausted.
See the pattern
| Intensity | Useful adverbs | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Low | a bit, a little, kind of | a bit foggy · a little stressful |
| Moderate, depending on context | fairly, quite | fairly easy · quite expensive |
| High | very, really, so, super, absolutely | really excited · absolutely amazing |
The walk and the person are different subjects
A little gives tiring a low degree.
Absolutely naturally intensifies the strong adjective exhausted.
A little is one degree phrase
A little comes before the adjective foggy.
The words indicate the degree; the illustration represents fog.
Three mistakes to avoid
Common pairing: absolutely amazing.
Very amazing is less usual as a neutral teaching model, but it is not a universal grammar error. Choose the phrase for its context and intended emphasis.
Guided practice
Try each item before opening the answer.
1. The view was ___ amazing. Choose: a bit / absolutely.
Absolutely is the natural high-intensity choice with amazing.
2. The hike was not difficult, but it was ___ tiring. Choose a low-intensity phrase.
A bit tiring or a little tiring shows low intensity.
3. Put the words in order: excited / really / the dogs / were.
The dogs were really excited.
4. Choose a medium-intensity adverb: The resort was ___ expensive.
Quite expensive or fairly expensive is natural.
Final check
Check your understanding
Choose one answer for each question. Read the context carefully: a question may ask for a particular form, meaning or register. The explanations show why that answer fits.
0 of 10 questions answered