EMPHASIZERS with | EXAMPLE |
POSITIVE DEGREE | |
very | It’s very awkward. |
ever so | The book is ever so interesting. |
too | Everybody would be only too glad to see you. |
far too | It’s far too expensive. |
most | “Yes”, she thought, “everybody’s been most kind.” |
a most | The 5th Symphony by Tchaikovsky is a most beautiful piece of music. |
that | Are things that bad with you? |
repetition of the intensifier or the Adj | I agree with every word you’ve said ― every single word. You bad, bad boy. It’s very, very bad. |
COMPARATIVE DEGREE | |
much, a lot, lots | My brother is much younger [ than myself] He thought how much more advanced the young were. |
a great / good deal, a good bit | The performance proved to be a great deal better than I could ever expect. |
still | The first edition is good, the new one is still better. |
ever | Environmental issues acquire an ever greater scope. |
far | I’ve been with good people, far better than you. |
Adj + by far | He is funnier by far. |
no | This method is no better than the one we’ve been using. |
none the + Adj | He was none the wiser for that answer, but he didn’t try to analyse it. |
all the + Adj | His remorse was all the more painful because of the irony of his mistake. |
Adj + and + Adj | The sound grew fainter and fainter. |
SUPERLATIVE DEGREE | |
by far | “The Swan Lake” is by far the best ballet we have. |
Adj + possible | It’s difficult to go about in the wrongest way possible. |
the very | She put on her very best dress. |
Idiomatic intensifiers. All the grammar rules are lavishly supplied with explanations and examples.
You can find all the linguistic terms and their Russian equivalents on pagecommon collocations.
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The cake is rock hard!
He is bone idle and won’t do a stroke of work.
Ssh. The baby’s fast asleep at last!
She is fully conversant with the problems.
The boss has got a brand new car.
I slept like a log and now I’m wide awake.