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
Understand · You say · Check
A clear route through the lesson
Separate degree from word partnership. Choose an adverb that fits the adjective and your intended meaning; some combinations are less usual rather than ungrammatical.
Read the explanations, answer aloud at each You say pause, then reveal the model and check one point. A model is one possible answer. Finish with the 10-question understanding check.
Keep the learner’s speaking time. At each You say pause, use the suggested follow-up and one correction focus. Finish with the 10-question understanding check.
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 amazingHow 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 |
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