Questions tagged [intensifying-adverbs]
The intensifying-adverbs tag has no usage guidance.
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Words that you cannot use intensifiers with
My question is what is the name for words that intensifiers cannot be used with. Words like unique or impossible. Something cannot be more unique or more impossible than another thing. I forgot the ...
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History of "dummy" as adverb?
The meme-y term "dummy thicc" uses "dummy" as an intensifier modifying "thicc" (meaning curvy). How common is this usage of "dummy"? How long has it been around?...
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When is the "all" in "all right" an intensifier?
I'm currently analysing intensifiers/amplifiers, and I have some trouble with the word "all". If used as in "I'm all fine, thanks", it's an intensifier, indicating the extent in ...
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Looking for sources and references for the adjective "just" (apart from meanings related to "justice" or comparison)
I'm interested in the implied meaning of the word "just" apart from things related to "justice" or comparison/near-comparison ("just in time", "just missed it"),...
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Is the origin of the use of the word "how" as an intensifier the bible?
Taken literally, the phrase "how lovely!" is sort of odd, as "how" is just serving as a substitute for "so" or "very".
Wondering if this came about from a ...
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How vs. how much as an intensifier
Here's an exclamation:
How you've grown!
And here's what how means according to the Oxford dictionary:
used to express a strong feeling such as surprise about the extent of something
Can we come ...
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Did "A F" exist as an intensifier prior to social media?
"A F" is short for "as fuck". It popped into my lexicon a few years ago, when I started hearing it in Youtube videos. (See this video as an example, although this wasn't where I ...
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Are adverbial modifiers in decline?
Words such as rather and quite are characteristically used in English to modify meaning,
According to Paul Baker in Lancaster University:
complex and understated forms of speech are in decline.
...
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Two adverbs in a row: "I counted my classmates one by one out loud." [closed]
Separation, if any, between two adverbs:
(1) I counted my classmates one by one out loud.
(2) I counted my classmates one by one, out loud. [comma]
(3) I counted my classmates one by one and out loud. ...
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Why is 'very + ungradable adjective' used more often lately?
Excellent, wonderful, terrible, superior --- these normally do not come with the intensifier 'very' before them. But the results of the Google Ngram show recent acute pick-ups, such as below:
What do ...
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How does suffixing adjectives with "ass" work out grammatically?
Why is it grammatically correct apparently to say, for example "My annoying-ass art teacher"? Or is it? If ass is a noun normally, then what part of speech is it when used to suffix an adjective? Can ...
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Comparative form of adjective "starving"
There is a way to say hungrier, but my question is whether there is any way to use the same form with starve. I searched and found nothing.
I would like to know the comparative adjective of starving.
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Adverb of place vs prepositions
Keep the book right on the table.
Keep the food down on the floor.
Are the words right and down working as adverbs or prepositions here?
If they're adverbs, what do they modify?
If they're ...
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Is "mad" used as an intensifier in the UK?
I mean mad as in 'mad good' 'mad props' etc which mean ''very good'' or ''much propers to you'' or intensifies the ''good'' part. I hope its more clear now?
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Is the "too" in the idiom "too clever by half" redundant?
I read a sentence in "The Hindu" which was:
Instead, the attempt to be clever by half in his affidavit by having the word "regret" in brackets has only landed him in a soup.
Acoording to ...
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How recent is the use of "so" as in "I'm so full", and did it originate in US or UK English?
On another site somebody has claimed that "so" in constructions like "I'm so full" is "modern California-style young people's colloquial English".
But is it? I'm over 50, I'm a native English speaker,...
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Is using the word "very" always allowed or is it better to limit the usage?
I noticed that I'm using the word very quite often. I'd say: I use it very often.
For example:
I find search engines very helpful.
I'm very happy for you.
Your are very good at that.
He's very sad ...
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Can an increase be negative? [duplicate]
I'm working on an email to my supervisor with feedback about department meetings. I want to say:
Our meetings have been increasingly less productive recently.
I could probably re-word it to say "...
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"Typical liberal bulls-t" or "typically liberal bulls-t"?
My liberal friend wrote that he's gonna do some research soon.
I asked, "Into what?"
"[Redacted.] Typically liberal bullshit," he replied self-depricatingly.
Then he corrects himself: "*typical"
But ...
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Doesn't "I may/might possibly do something," sound pleonastic?
The question is to do with the expression of degrees of certainty:
modal auxiliary will expresses certainty, whereas modal auxiliary may/might expresses uncertainty, doubt;
"Someone may/might do ...
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Well as an adverb modifying an adjective
I notice that there has been a change in the word well. Examples are:
She's well nice.
It's well good.
Is this a West of England term (I lived there for a while), or has it just entered the ...
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difference between "remains only" and "only remains"
I wrote the following in an article.
It remains only to eliminate the intersections which can be proven to
be empty.
My proofreader corrected to the following by changing the word order.
It ...
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Can intensifiers intensify nouns?
So from what I've gathered intensifiers intensify either adjectives (modifiers) or adverbs (or adverbial phrases) but can they intensify nouns? eg.
"A long time ago your heroic grandfathers helped ...
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what word class do the words 'so' and 'really' belong to? (intensifiers or adverbs)
Some sources say that 'so' and 'really' are intensifiers and the dictionary says 'so' and 'really' are adverbs, which leaves me confused. Are they intensifiers, adverbs or both? Are intensifiers a ...
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What do you call when you offer someone to help but they don't know that your intention for helping is for your own motive [closed]
Suppose i tell you i will help you in something. Or i offer you something as a gift. You are delighted. But you don't have any idea that i am not ingenuously helping you. I have some sole-purpose ...
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Why is "extremely longer" not correct (according to the ACT)?
The sentence that included the question was:
In addition, LEDs last far longer than standard bulbs.
Question: Which of the following alternatives to the bolded portion would NOT be acceptable?
...
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What's the dinstinction between these intensifiers, such as very, quite, rather, pretty, extremely, etc.? [closed]
Word choice and usage:
I'm always curious about the the usage of intensifiers, such as very, quite, rather, pretty, extremely, etc.. I also remember my teacher told there was a turn of tone when using ...
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'Just' as adverb and…?
"If you would just listen for a moment…"
"If you would listen just for a moment…"
Subtly different meanings, but in both cases 'just' is adverbial. In the first sentence, 'just' modifies listen. In ...
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Contradiction of "only so much"
I was taught that so means very.
"You are so busted," means, "You are very busted".
Now because of people saying things like, "I can only do so much," I thought they were saying, "I can only do ...
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Can medium intensifiers be ranked by the strength of intensification? [duplicate]
Here are the examples of adjectival intensification:
It's quite cold here in March.
It's pretty cold here in March.
It's fairly cold here in March.
It's rather cold here in March.
To ...
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"Stories are so much a part of our lives that many people seldom think about them." : The use of 'so' and 'so much' as intensifiers
There are 176 hits in COCA for [be] so much a part of, including the title and:
1- It actually is so much a part of life.
2- Law is so much a part of me, I don't think I'll ever be able to let loose ...
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Why are things often "very tasty", but rarely "very delicious"
When I saw this ELL question it struck me that very delicious didn't sound vary "natural" to me.
Checking Google NGrams, I find that relatively speaking, toothsome food is five times more likely to ...
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Past progressive with "always"
I am a student learning English. I learned in a class that either present or past progressive can be used to express a negative reaction to a situation.
The explanations on the lecture note the ...
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Legality of sentence involving the word "real" [duplicate]
Is the following sentence grammatically correct?
I bought a real heavy book.
I feel it should have been a really heavy, but I heard people use a real heavy all the time.
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Near-universally vs nearly universally
Concerning style, usage, and correctness: what is the difference in meaning (and therefore usage & correctness) between these two phrases?
A quick search reveals both are in use.
Also, what ...
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Use of "If you really want to"
If somebody says, "If you really want to leave me, then let me know," which reply would be correct in the English language—"Yes I do" or "Yes I really do"?
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A question on 'full' Vs 'fully', both as 'adverbs'
In order to modify an adjective or adverb, we use an adverb in English, as in "completely insane" or "It went completely out of hand". Now 'full', though mainly used as an adjective, occurs in English ...
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We did it at exactly the right time vs We did it at the exactly right time.
I know the first example is correct and I'm pretty sure the second is incorrect, but I wonder why. So, we can say "I saw an extremely angry dog", but not "I saw extremely an angry dog." When do we ...
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The day started off incredibly terribly?
Is it grammatically correct to say:
The day started off incredibly terribly.
My reasoning is that it is, since this is correct:
The day started off terribly.
The manner in which the day ...
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"Thirty times weaker": Using a multiplier to describe the lack of something [duplicate]
I was watching CNN's coverage of the earthquake that struck northern California this morning, and I heard the following exchange between the CNN anchor and a seismologist, Walter Hays:
ANCHOR: This ...
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Using “So” Followed by a Noun Phrase to Express Boredom, Disgust, Tediousness, Dullness, Banality
In the BBC TV series Sherlock’s episode two from series three, “The Empty Hearse", John Watson waxes maudlin over being left out of the loop for two years regarding Sherlock’s faked death. Sherlock ...
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Why do we use "awfully" as an intensifier?
First, consider this sentence:
We lost the game because we played awfully.
Since "awful" means "very bad," it makes sense that "awfully" means "very badly."
Now, consider these two sentences:
...
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Is "further strengthen" or "further bolster" redundant?
For example,
To further strengthen my graduate school application, I studied Spanish in Argentina for a semester.
The wording seems redundant and awkward to me, but it's common and I'd like some ...
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Shall I use 'thus' or 'thusly'? [duplicate]
Which is correct?
...others are compensated thus.
...others are compensated thusly.
This page says 'thusly' is incorrect: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/thusly
However without the 'ly' is sounds ...
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How do you modify an adverb with another adverb?
This is the case I have in mind. I wish to express that impact acted in a way that was severely adverse.
It impacted her severely adversely.
The proposed text above doesn't feel right at all, ...
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Is there a way to intensify "blooming" in "The flowers are blooming"?
In some languages, for example, in Korean, it is possible to intensify the act of blooming. For example, using the phrase 핍니다 would imply blooming, for example, simply "The flowers are blooming". ...
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Is there an acceptable corresponding negative to "well off"?
When we wish to refer to people who are living an affluent lifestyle or simply enjoying favorable circumstances in any particular area, we often say they are well off.
So far so good.
But listening to ...
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Adverb placement: "There is still" vs. "there still is"
I believe the following sentences are grammatically correct and that perhaps the latter has an emphasizing effect on still in certain contexts.
There is still some time left.
There still is some ...
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When and how did "pretty" enter English as an intensifying adverb?
Today I saw an idiomatic road sign: "Pretty Muddy". I found this lack of strict English on a road sign unusual (on par with my "Dead Slow" official speed limit sign in Leeds, pic below), but as it ...
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“Thank you very much” vs. “Thank you so much”
Some people used to say:
Thank you very much.
Where others say:
Thank you so much.
Could anybody please explain what differences there may be between those, whether of correctness or ...
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