Intensifiers in English: very, extremely, quite, rather

When you say something is good, you give basic information. When you say it is extremely good or rather good, you show exactly how good you mean. Intensifiers are words that come before adjectives or adverbs to make their meaning stronger or weaker. They are one of the most-used grammar tools in everyday English and are essential for sounding natural and precise at A2 and B1 level.

What Are Intensifiers?

An intensifier is a word — almost always an adverb — that changes the strength or degree of an adjective or adverb. Linguists divide intensifiers into two main groups:

• Amplifiers increase the strength of the adjective: very cold, extremely tired, absolutely brilliant.
• Downtoners reduce the strength of the adjective: quite cold, fairly tired, rather slow.

Intensifiers nearly always appear directly before the adjective or adverb they modify. They cannot normally stand alone or follow the word they modify: The film was very good is correct; The film was good very is not.

Amplifiers: Making Meaning Stronger

Amplifiers push the meaning of an adjective or adverb above its base level. They range in strength from moderate (very) all the way to absolute (completely, absolutely).

Downtoners: Making Meaning Weaker

Downtoners reduce the force of a description, indicating that something is below average or only partially true. They are gentler than amplifiers and add an important layer of politeness and softening in English.

Gradable vs. Ungradable Adjectives

This is the rule most learners at B1 level need to understand. Adjectives split into two categories, and the intensifier you choose depends on which type you are using.

Gradable adjectives

A gradable adjective exists on a scale — there can be more or less of it. Use amplifiers like very, extremely, really and downtoners like quite, fairly, rather with these adjectives.

• cold → slightly cold / very cold / extremely cold
• tired → a little tired / very tired / incredibly tired
• interesting → quite interesting / really interesting / extremely interesting

Ungradable (absolute / extreme) adjectives

An ungradable adjective is already at the extreme end of a scale — it has no degrees. Words like freezing, exhausted, brilliant, terrible, enormous, impossible are already "total". You cannot say something is very freezing or very exhausted. Instead, use maximisers: absolutely, completely, totally, utterly.

• absolutely freezing (not very freezing)
• completely exhausted (not very exhausted)
• absolutely brilliant (not very brilliant)
• totally impossible (not very impossible)

The Tricky Case of quite

The word quite causes more confusion than almost any other intensifier because it behaves differently depending on the type of adjective and the variety of English being spoken.

With gradable adjectives (British English)

In British English, quite is a downtoner meaning "to some degree but not very much": The hotel was quite comfortable (= fairly comfortable, but not exceptional). This is often a polite way of expressing mild disappointment.

With ungradable adjectives

With ungradable adjectives, quite changes meaning and acts as a maximiser equivalent to absolutely: That was quite brilliant (= absolutely brilliant). I'm quite sure means completely sure, not just "a bit sure".

American English

In American English, quite usually means "very" or "completely" with both gradable and ungradable adjectives: That's quite good (AmE: very good). Be aware of this difference when reading or listening to material from different English-speaking countries.

Position and Grammar Rules

Intensifiers are adverbs of degree. Their position in a sentence follows strict patterns:

• Before an adjective: very tired, absolutely brilliant, quite interesting
• Before an adverb: He speaks very quickly. / She runs incredibly fast.
• Before a past participle used as an adjective: completely surprised, rather bored
• Not before nouns or verbs directly: You cannot say a very idea or she veried smiled. Intensifiers need an adjective or adverb as their target.

One partial exception is quite a and rather a before a noun phrase with an adjective: It was quite a difficult exam. / That was rather a strange thing to say. Here quite / rather precede the article, and the adjective follows as normal.

Common Errors to Avoid

Even intermediate learners make predictable mistakes with intensifiers. Knowing these patterns in advance will help you avoid them:

• Using very with ungradable adjectives: Do not say very exhausted or very freezing. Use absolutely or completely instead.
• Confusing quite in British and American contexts: Quite good in British English is modest praise; in American English it is strong praise. Context and speaker background matter.
• Overusing very: In formal writing and at B1+, replace very with more precise amplifiers or with a stronger adjective. Instead of very big, try enormous. Instead of very tired, try exhausted.
• Mixing up fairly and rather: Both are downtoners, but rather often implies something unexpected or more negative: The film was rather long (= longer than I expected, and perhaps annoyingly so). Fairly long is more neutral.
• Placing the intensifier after the adjective: The film was good very is incorrect. Intensifiers always precede the word they modify.

Practice Exercises

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