INTENSIFIERS (DEGREE ADVERBS)

SO AND SUCH

They make the meaning of the adjective stronger. (stronger than very)

It’s a beautiful day, isn’t it? It’s so warm (=really warm)

We enjoyed our vacation. We had such a good time (=a really good time)

So + adjective/adverb → I didn’t enjoy the book. The story was so stupid.

Such a/an + adjective + singular noun → I didn’t enjoy the book. It was such a stupid story.

Such + adjective + plural or uncountable noun → They’re such clever children / He’s such a professional.

We often say so + adjective that ….. and such + adjective that……

I was so tired that I went to bed at seven o’clock

It was such beautiful weather that we spent the whole day in the park

The book was so good that I couldn’t put it down.

It was such a good book that I couldn’t put it down.

So long / So far / So many / So much

I haven’t seen him for so long that I’ve forgotten what he looks like.

I didn’t know you lived so far from the city

Why did you buy so much food?

Such a long time / Such a long way / Such a lot (of)

I haven’t seen him for such a long time that I’ve forgotten what he looks like.

I didn’t know you lived such a long way from the city

Why did you buy such a lot of food?

TOO AND (NOT) ENOUGH

These expressions suggest a problem or difficulty. Compare:

It’s very expensive, but it’s good quality. I’ll buy it. It’s too expensive. I can’t afford it.

There are a lot of people here. How exciting! There are too many people here. There’s no room to move.

• Too:

Goes before adjective /adverb

The camera is too expensive. You’re speaking too quickly.

Too many + countable noun / Too much + uncountable noun

There are too many students here. There is too much food.

• Enough:

Goes before nouns → We had just enough time.

Goes after adjectives / adverbs → Their new house is big enough for all of us.
Too + adjective and not + adjective + enough can mean the same when used with adjectives of opposite meaning:

This classroom is too small for our class. This classroom isn’t big enough four our class.

We say enough/too ….. for somebody/something

Does Joe have enough experience for the job?

That shirt is too small for you. You need a larger size.

But we say enough/too….. to do something

Does Joe have enough experience to do the job? (not for doing)

She’s too young to have a driving licence.

VERY AND TOO

Before adjectives, we use very when we mean “to a high degree”, and too when we mean “more than enough” or
“more than is wanted or needed”.

The weather was very hot in Majorca. Perfect for swimming (not too hot)

It’s too hot to stay in this room. Let’s find somewhere cooler (not very hot)

In negative sentences in informal spoken English, we can use not too to mean “not very”

I’m not too bothered about who wins (or I’m not very bothered…)

QUITE, PRETTY, RATHER AND FAIRLY

We use these expressions before adjectives or adverbs. So you can say:

It’s quite cold It’s pretty cold. It’s rather cold. It’s fairly cold.

All these expressions mean less than “very” but more than “a little”.

• Quite/Pretty are similar in meaning

I’m surprised you haven’t heard of her. She’s quite famous/pretty famous (=less than “very famous” but more
than “a little famous”.)

Pretty is an informal word and is used mainly in spoken English.

Quite goes before a/an → We live in quite an old house. (not a quite old house)

Sara has quite a good job.

Sarah has a pretty good job.

You can use quite (but not pretty) in the following ways:

Quite a/an + noun (without an adjective) → I didn’t expect to see them. It was quite a surprise (= quite a big
surprise).

Quite a lot (of…) → There were quite a lot of people at the meeting.

Quite + verb, especially like and enjoy → I quite like tennis, but it’s not my favourite sport.

• Rather is similar to quite/pretty but we often use it for negative ideas (things we think are not good).

The weather isn’t so good. It’s rather cloudy.

Paul is rather shy. He doesn’t talk very much.

When we use rather for positive ideas (good/nice etc), it means “unusually” or “surprisingly”.

These oranges are rather good. Where did you get them?
 • Fairly is weaker than quite/pretty/rather. For example, if something is fairly good, it is not very good and it
could be better.

My room is fairly big, but I’d prefer a bigger one.

We see each other fairly often, but not as often as we used to.

*IMPORTANT*

Quite also means “completely” → For example: “Are you sure?” -“Yes, quite sure.” (=completely sure)

It means completely with a number of adjectives, especially:

Sure / Right / True / Clear / Different / Incredible / Amazing / Certain / Wrong / Safe / Obvious/
Unnecessary / Extraordinary / Impossible

She was quite different from what I expected (=completely different)

We also use quite (=completely) with some verbs:

I quite agree with you (=I completely agree)

Not quite = not completely

They haven’t quite finished eating yet.

I don’t quite understand what you mean.

“Are you ready yet?” “Not quite” (=not completely).

So / Such

Enough / Too
Quite/Pretty/Rather/Fairly/