- UNIT 50 -

Adverbs of Degree

Adverbs of degree show how much or to what degreee something happened. For example:
- Mike is a very good student.
- I'm quite excited about my interview tomorrow.

There are many adverbs of degree. Some common ones include:
almost, completely, enough, extremely, hardly, just, nearly, pretty, quite, too, scarcely, so, such, very.

Adverbs of degree usually go before the adjective, adverb, or noun being modified. For example:
- That test was extremely difficult.
- You did pretty well in that test.
- I almost got an 'A' in our test.

Enough

Enough means a satisfactory amount or degree. For example:
- I'm so busy, I haven't got enough time.
- Do you have enough potatoes?

Enough comes after adjectives and adverbs:
- This jacket isn't big enough for me.
- She speaks English well enough to go to an American university.

Enough usually comes before nouns:
- We have enough money to buy our own apartment.

We often use enough...for, especially with people and things. For example:
- This job isn't good enough for her.
- We have enough time for a quick lunch.

Enough...to infinitive is also a common structure. For example:
- She's old enough to drive a car.
- We have enough time to eat some lunch.

Too

Too means more than enough, an excessive amount or degree. For example:
- This room is too hot.
- He eats too quickly.

Too is also used with for: For example:
- This book is too simple for me
- Our apartment is too small for us.

Too...to infinitive is also a common structure. For example:
- This book is too easy to study.
- Our apartment is too small to live in.

Too and Very

Very means something is done to a high degree, it is usually factual. For example:
- He finishes his work very quickly.
Too means something is done to an excessive degree, it is often a criticism.
- He finishes his work too quickly.

Very is a common word, so if you'd like to use something different to spice up your vocabulary try one of these:

absolutely, acutely, amply, astonishingly, awfully, certainly, considerably, cruel, dearly, decidedly, deeply, eminently, emphatically, exaggeratedly, exceedingly, excessively, extensively, extraordinarily, extremely, greatly, highly, incredibly, indispensably, largely, notably, noticeably, particularly, positively, powerfully, pressingly, pretty, prodigiously, profoundly, really, remarkably, substantially, superlatively, surpassingly, surprisingly, terribly, truly, uncommonly, unusually, vastly, wonderfully.
(Quoted from Roget's New Millennium¢â Thesaurus, First Edition)

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