Teaching English through e-learning

Gradable and ungradable and adjectives

Adjectives describe a quality that something possesses. To describe, for example, variations in temperature we can use hot or cold , which are gradable adjectives. But to describe the limits (the maximum or minimum level) of temperature we use boiling or freezing which are ungradable adjectives.

   limit                                  amount of a quality                             limit

Some other common gradable and ungradable forms are tired → exhausted, angry→ furious, hungry→ starving, interesting→ fascinating, upset→ devastated, unusual →unique and important→ essential

Adverbs make adjectives stronger or weaker. Some adverbs can only be used with gradable or ungradable adjectives.

The water was very cold.

By the end of the day I was extremely hungry.

The water was absolutely freezing.

We were really hungry and really exhausted!

Don't use comparative or superlative forms of ungradable adjectives. Use gradable adjectives instead.

This water is more freezing than the water in the sea.     ᵡ

This water is colder than the water in the sea.     √

With some adjectives we do not use very, absolutely, etc. , but instead we use other adverbs, e.g. highly qualified, completely wrong.

The position of adverbs / adverbs phrases

Adverbs / Adverb phrases of time, place and manner

We usually put adverbs of time (e.g. then, in 1972, nowadays), adverbs of place (e.g. there, at home, to New York) and adverbs of manner (e.g. quickly, carefully, creatively, dramatically)at the enf of a clause.

The last invasion of England took place in 1066.

When did you live there  ?

We can emphasize adverbs  of time and place by putting them at the beginning of the clause:

In 2001 I decided to give up my job and go back to college.

At home I always feel calm and relaxed.

Adverb of frequency, certainty and degree

We usually put adverbs of frequency (e.g. never, often, usually, frequently), adverbs of certainty (e.g. definitely, probably, certainly) and adverbs of degree (e.g. completely, mostly, mainly) in the middle of a clause, between the subject and the verb,

We often take the train to college.

You probably left your mobile phone in the taxi.

His work mainly focuses on the human body.

With the verb to be , we put the adverb after verb.

She is probably the best person for the job.

His later works are often very large.

With auxiliary verbs, we put the adverb between the auxiliary and the main verb.

We have often laughed at his jokes.

She was definitely staying in the big hotel.