GRAMMAR: Common and extreme adjectives
Adjectives can be either common or extreme depending on the degree of intensity they express.
Exercise 1
Match the common adjectives below with their extreme counterpart.
Common
happy - sad - funny - interesting - tired - angry - good - bad |
Extreme
excellent - hilarious - exhausted - furious - awful - fascinating - miserable - thrilled |
If you want to intensify extreme adjectives you cannot use very. You can use absolutely:
Example: Santiago is very wonderful* > Santiago is absolutely wonderful
REALLY can be used with both common and extreme adjectives:
Example: I’m really tired OR I’m really exhausted
Exercise 2
Complete the gaps with an appropriate adjective.
Would you like to do more exercises about common and extreme adjectives? Go to Unit 5 section 5.2.