Do you know how to use adjectives in phrases like a little tired, very tired, and completely exhausted? Enhance your knowledge with a lesson given below and the grammar explanation to guide you better.
Look at these examples to see how gradable and non-gradable adjectives are used:
I'm very tired.
I'm completely exhausted.
This problem is quite hard.
This problem is absolutely unsolvable.
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Grammar explanation - Adjectives: gradable & non-gradable
Here are the grammar explanations:
1. Gradable adjectives
Most adjectives are gradable, meaning they can show different degrees of a quality. For instance, you can feel a bit tired, very tired, or extremely tired. We use modifiers to make adjectives stronger or weaker:
She was pretty upset when she heard the news.
The book we read was really interesting!
Summers can be extremely hot in the desert.
Here’s a list of common gradable adjectives and some modifiers that work with them:
Modifiers: a little/a bit → pretty/quite → really/very → extremely
Adjectives: happy, big, boring, cheap, cold, expensive, frightening, fun, hot, interesting, loud, pretty, small, tasty, tired, etc.
2. Non-gradable: absolute adjectives
Some adjectives are non-gradable. For example, something can't be a bit married or very married. You can’t be a bit perfect or very perfect. These adjectives describe all-or-nothing qualities. To make them stronger, we use modifiers like absolutely, totally, or completely:
The cake you made is absolutely perfect!
Their house was completely destroyed in the flood.
My homework is totally finished. Now I can relax.
Here’s a list of common absolute adjectives and modifiers:
Modifiers: absolutely/totally/completely
Adjectives: finished, destroyed, dead, free, perfect, impossible, ruined, unacceptable, etc.
3. Non-gradable: extreme adjectives
Adjectives like fantastic, terrible, and boiling are non-gradable because they already imply an extreme level of something. To make extreme adjectives stronger, we use absolutely or really:
Did you watch the concert? It was absolutely fantastic!
After hiking all day, we were absolutely exhausted.
My flight was really terrible. First, it was delayed, then we had turbulence the entire way.
Here’s a list of common extreme adjectives and modifiers:
Modifiers: absolutely/really
Adjectives: amazing, awful, boiling, delicious, enormous, excellent, exhausted, fascinating, freezing, gorgeous, terrible, terrifying, tiny, etc.