Modifiers
a bit
extremely
fairly
quite
really
terribly
very
rather
1 – Basic meaning
Which of the other modifiers from the list could you use in each sentence below?
the woodcutter was extremely poor ______________________________
the woodcutter was terribly sad _________________________________
Hansel and Gretel were quite tired _______________________________
the children were very hungry ___________________________________
Hansel and Gretel were rather frightened __________________________
Hansel and Gretel were very happy _______________________________
Their father was delighted when they returned ______________________
2 - Pronunciation
Read the two different versions of the sentence below, stressing the word that is underlined.
How does this change the meaning of the sentence? Match each one with the best follow-up comment.
It was quite good.
But the food was nothing special.
It was quite good.
Much better than I thought.
2 – Quite and a bit: how much – only a little or more than that?
What do the modifiers quite and a bit mean in the following examples?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
The film was quite good – you should go and see it.
I thought she was quite rude. In fact, I think I’ll complain.
He got quite angry. I thought they were going to have a fight.
I’m a bit hungry - I’d better get a sandwich.
I’m quite hungry – shall we get something to eat?
You can take a direct flight but it’ll be quite expensive.
‘The Sony’s a bit expensive but it’s nicer that the others, don’t you think?’
‘Alright then. Let’s get the Sony. It’s Christmas, after all1’
h. ‘What’s that computer like? Is it any good?’
‘It’s a bit slow, but apart from that it’s OK.’
i. ‘She’s a bit impatient, isn’t she?’
‘Yes, I know. But she’s quite a good boss otherwise.’
3 – Register and errors
Which of these sound strange? Why?
1. She’s a terribly good singer – I’m sure she’ll be famous one day.
2. ‘What was the restaurant like?’
‘A bit good. The desserts were nice.’
3. Relocating the office in the current financial climate would be a bit difficult to arrange and
also really expensive.
4. ‘Shall we go out for a drink?’
‘I’m extremely tired and it’s rather late. How about tomorrow?’
5. You must try the crab – it’s very delicious.
Practice
What would you say in the following situations? Write a short sentence for each including a modifier.
You look at the temperature – it’s 4 degrees. Oh my god, it's really cold!
Tell your friend about a sandwich you bought in the IFC – it was HK$90.
You’re writing a complaint about the service in a restaurant. You waited 45 minutes for a bowl of soup.
You reply to the letter of complaint. You admit that the service was slow and apologize.
You thought some parts of the English test were difficult – but you could answer most of the questions.
You think the art exhibition was good – not the best you have ever seen – but good. You recommend it.
Answers
1 – Basic meaning
the woodcutter was extremely poor
very, terribly, really
the woodcutter was terribly sad very, extremely, really
Hansel and Gretel were quite tired a bit, fairly, rather
the children were very hungry terribly, extremely, really
Hansel and Gretel were rather frightened
a bit, quite, rather
Hansel and Gretel were very happy extremely, really, terribly
Their father was delighted when they returned
absolutely
2 - Pronunciation
Read the two different versions of the sentence below, stressing the word that is underlined.
How does this change the meaning of the sentence? Match each one with the best follow-up comment.
It was quite good.
Much better than I thought. Stress on the adjective makes it stronger.
It was quite good.
But the food was nothing special. Stress on quite makes it weaker.
2 – Quite and a bit: how much – only a little or more than that?
What do the modifiers quite and a bit mean in the following examples?
j. The film was quite good – you should go and see it. (Good – four stars out of five.)
k. I thought she was quite rude. In fact, I think I’ll complain. (Definitely rude – bad enough to
complain.)
l. He got quite angry. I thought they were going to have a fight. (Angry enough to fight – not a
little angry.)
m. I’m a bit hungry - I’d better get a sandwich. (Only hungry enough for a snack.)
n. I’m quite hungry – shall we get something to eat? (Hungry enough for a meal.)
o. You can take a direct flight but it’ll be quite expensive. (It’s a warning – it won’t be cheap.)
p. ‘The Sony’s a bit expensive but it’s nicer that the others, don’t you think?’ ‘Alright then.
Let’s get the Sony. It’s Christmas, after all.’
(It’s a little more than you want to pay, but you don’t mind.)
q. ‘What’s that computer like? Is it any good?’
‘It’s a bit slow, but apart from that it’s OK.’ (It’s not a big problem – the computer is
generally good.)
r. ‘She’s a bit impatient, isn’t she?’
‘Yes, I know. But she’s quite a good boss otherwise.’
(She’s generally a good boss; her impatience is a minor problem.)
3 – Register and errors
Which of these sound strange? Why?
6. She’s a terribly good singer – I’m sure she’ll be famous one day.
Nowadays we don’t normally use terribly with positive qualities.
7. ‘What was the restaurant like?’
‘A bit good. The desserts were nice.’
We don’t normally use a bit with good and bad.
8. Relocating the office in the current financial climate would be a bit difficult to arrange and
also really expensive.
We don’t normally use a bit and really in a formal written style.
9. ‘Shall we go out for a drink?’
‘I’m extremely tired and it’s rather late. How about tomorrow?’
This is informal conversation; ‘really tired’ and a bit late would be better.
10. You must try the crab – it’s very delicious.
Delicious is an extreme adjective. These can be modified by absolutely or are not modified.
Note – some extreme adjectives can be modified by quite. When we do this, quite makes the
extreme adjective stronger, not weaker.
Practice
What would you say in the following situations? Write a short sentence for each including a modifier.
You look at the temperature – it’s 4 degrees. Oh my god, it's really cold!
Tell your friend about a sandwich you bought in the IFC – it was HK$90.
I bought a sandwich in the IFC. It was really expensive – ninety dollars.
You’re writing a complaint about the service in a restaurant. You waited 45 minutes for a bowl of soup.
The service was extremely slow.
You reply to the letter of complaint. You admit that the service was slow and apologize.
I am sorry to hear that the service was rather slow.
You thought some parts of the English test were difficult – but you could answer most of the questions.
It was a bit difficult in places.
You think the art exhibition was good – not the best you have ever seen – but good. You recommend it.
It was quite good. You should go.
You love your new phone. It’s the best you’ve ever had – but it cost nearly HK$6000.
It’s really good but it was quite expensive.