Speaking Strategy
When you talk about a photo, try to use a range of adjectives. For example, extreme adjectives
can make your description more impressive.
VOCABULARY Read the Speaking Strategy. Then put the adjectives below into two
groups: positive and negative
Extreme adjectives: awful, delighted, ecstatic, exhausted, fascinated, hilarious, miserable,
starving, terrible, terrified, thrilled, wonderful
Answer:
Positive: delighted, ecstatic, fascinated, hilarious, thrilled, wonderful
Negative: awful, exhausted, miserable, starving, terrible, terrified
Synonym:
clap-applaud, automobile-car, sick-ill
Complementary pairs: Non-gradable antonyms:
on-off, same-different, dead-alive, married-unmarried, forbidden-permitted, Jew-Gentile, open-
closed, present-absent, awake-asleep
Relational opposites:
parent-child, grandparent-grandchild, greater than-less than, own-belong to, teacher-student,
lend-borrow, give-receive, buy-sell, teacher-pupil
Gradable antonyms:
tall-short, happy-sad, clever-stupid, top-bottom, love-hate, firm-soft, healthy-unwell, young-old,
big-small, hot-cold, fast-slow,
Hyponymy:
automobile-vehicle, athlete-cyclist, rugby-sport, shirt-clothing
Which adverb can be used to modify both ordinary and extreme adjectives? – absolutely,
totally, pretty, really
We do not use modifying adverbs like very and quite with extreme adjectives. Instead, we use
absolutely, completely, really, totally, utterly.
I was very terrified.
I was absolutely terrified.
1G Gradable and extreme adjectives
Gradable adjectives:
describe qualities that can be measured in degrees, such as size, beauty, age, etc.
can be used in comparative or superlative forms.
are used with grading adverbs: a bit, little, slightly, fairly, rather, very, extremely,
immensely
Extreme adjectives:
talk about an absolute state.
can’t be used with comparative or superlative forms.
are used with intensifying adverbs: absolutely, completely, utterly, totally
NOTE: absolutely, totally, pretty, really can be used with both types.
3. Complete the sentences with the adjectives below.
clean, cold, scary, small, starving, terrible
1. My room is always very __________. I tidy it every day.
2. I want to go home. This party is really __________!
3. I need some lunch now because I’m absolutely _________!
4. The food was good, but the portions were rather ___________.
5. I don’t want a lift with Anna – her driving’s pretty ___________.
6. It was slightly too ____________ to be sitting outside in March.
Gradable adjectives Non-gradable adjectives
Grading adverbs + Gradable Extreme adjectives Absolute adjectives
adjectives
a bit, little, slightly, fairly, absolutely, completely, utterly, absolutely, totally,
rather, quite, very, extremely, totally completely
immensely
absolutely, totally, pretty, really
clean, cold, small, angry, big, awful, amazing, delicious, dead (can’t be a bit dead
boring, cheap, expensive, delighted, ecstatic, exhausted, or very dead)
frightening, funny, hot, enormous, fascinated, finished (can’t be a bit
interesting, old, tasty, tired freezing, tiny, hilarious, finished or very finished)
miserable, starving, terrible,
terrified, thrilled, wonderful
4. Choose the correct answers to complete the sentences.
1. None of the films seemed ______________.
a. completely interesting b. a bit hilarious c. very awful d. absolutely terrible
2. The crowd outside the theatre was _________ when the star came out to sign autographs.
a. completely ecstatic b. a bit wonderful c. very delighted d. absolutely glad
3. We feel _________ with the theatre because they refused to give us our money back.
a. completely upset b. extremely annoyed c. very furious d. absolutely angry
4. The boy band star’s fans were _________ ecstatic when he ran on stage
a. a bit b. extremely c. absolutely d. very
5. Some _________ spectators waited outside the theatre demanding their money back.
a. very terrible b. very awful c. very furious d. very angry
4. Choose the correct answers to complete the sentences.
1. None of the films seemed ______________.
a. completely interesting b. a bit hilarious c. very awful d. absolutely terrible
2. The crowd outside the theatre was _________ when the star came out to sign autographs.
a. completely ecstatic b. a bit wonderful c. very delighted d. absolutely glad
3. We feel _________ with the theatre because they refused to give us our money back.
a. completely upset b. extremely annoyed c. very furious d. absolutely angry
absolutely furious, very angry
4. The boy band star’s fans were _________ ecstatic when he ran on stage
a. a bit b. extremely c. absolutely d. very
5. Some _________ spectators waited outside the theatre demanding their money back.
a. very terrible b. very awful c. very furious d. very angry
