Adverbs of degree with adjectives

Adverbs of degree modify adjectives to show the degree or extent of a quality or description, in other words, how strong, weak or intense it is. Common adverbs of degree used to modify adjectives include very, really, so, too, enough, quite and extremely. They most commonly modify gradable adjectives, which are adjectives whose meaning can naturally become stronger or weaker, such as cold, difficult, happy and expensive.

Adverbs of degree can also modify other adverbs and verbs to express differences in degree, intensity, extent or completeness.

What are gradable adjectives?

Gradable adjectives describe qualities that can be stronger or weaker or more or less intense. For example, if something is described as cold, the intensity of that quality could range from a low intensity of cold to a high intensity of cold. Likewise, if something is described as big, that quality could vary from a high to a low intensity of big. Common adjectives that can naturally vary in strength or intensity are:

To show the strength or intensity of these kinds of adjectives, we use adverbs of degree before them. For example, something can range in intensity from a little cold, fairly cold, very cold to extremely cold. We can use different adverbs of degree to show a different strength or intensity of a description or quality.

Common adverbs of degree to modify adjectives

Adverbs of degree can increase or decrease the intensity of an adjective. Adverbs that increase the degree or intensity are called amplifiers, while those that decrease it are called downtoners. Some common adverbs of degree for different intensities are:

When these adverbs of degree change the intensity of an adjective, we place them directly before that adjective:

• He’s very intelligent.
• The theme park was really good fun.
• The weather in October can be so cold.
• She’s extremely tall compared to others in her class.
• I was pretty annoyed when I heard the news.
• The book was a little interesting.

Note that certain positive evaluative adjectives, such as good, nice, lovely, pleasant, decent and fine, are generally not used with low-degree adverbs such as slightly, a little and a bit. These adjectives already say that something has reached a positive standard. Instead, we can use moderate-degree adverbs such as fairly, quite, pretty and rather to express the strength of the positive judgement:

• ⚠️ slightly good
• ✅ fairly good
• ⚠️ a bit lovely
• ✅ pretty lovely
• ⚠️ a little pleasant
• ✅ quite pleasant

Very, really and so

The most common adverbs of degree are very, really and so. All of these increase the intensity of the adjective they modify.

Very means to a high degree and is one of the most common ways to strengthen a gradable adjective:

• It’s very hot this time of year.
• He has a very big house.
• She is very rude.
• My kids are very tall.

Really often has a similar meaning and is especially common in everyday spoken English:

• The cakes are really tasty.
• Your face is really red.
• She’s really polite.
• That film was really interesting.

So expresses a very high degree and is stronger than very. It often adds a stronger, more emphatic reaction:

• Paris is so romantic.
• The food was so bad.
• That book was so boring.
• Shakira is so fit.

So can also connect the degree to a result or consequence by adding a that-clause after the adjective:

• The food was so bad that I sent it back.
• It was so cold that I bought a new winter jacket.
• Kerry was so hungry that she ate a whole pizza.
• The monkeys are so friendly that you can feed them.

We use so to intensify an adjective when it is not followed by a noun. However, if the adjective comes before a noun, we use such instead of so. With a singular countable noun, such is placed before a/an:

• ✅ He is so intelligent.
• ❌ He is so an intelligent person.
• ✅ He is such an intelligent person.
• ✅ The weather was so hot.
• ❌ We had so hot weather.
• ✅ We had such hot weather.

Don’t use very with extreme adjectives

Some adjectives already express a very high or very low degree of a quality. These are called extreme adjectives, and they already contain the meaning of very, for example:

freezing = very cold
boiling = very hot
furious = very angry
terrified = very frightened
enormous = very big
ancient = very old
exhausted = very tired
hilarious = very funny

Because very is already included in their meaning, we do not use very with extreme adjectives:

• ❌ very freezing
• ❌ very furious
• ❌ very enormous
• ❌ very exhausted

Instead, extreme adjectives can be intensified with adverbs such as really and absolutely:

• really freezing
• absolutely fabulous
• really terrified
• absolutely gorgeous

How to ask about the degree of an adjective

Use how + adjective to ask about the degree or intensity of a quality:

• How cold is it today? – It’s very cold.
• How good was that film? – It was really good.
• How hard is the test? – It’s incredibly hard.
• How spicy is this dish? – It’s not very spicy.

Adverbs of degree for comparative adjectives

Comparative adjectives compare the degree of a quality between people, things, situations or states and include forms such as bigger, smaller, hotter, colder, more intelligent and more difficult. They use some degree modifiers differently from ordinary gradable adjectives.

The table below shows common adverbs of degree used with comparative adjectives:

These adverbs of degree are placed directly before the comparative adjective they intensify or weaken:

• He is way taller than his brother.
• They are much happier than last year.
• This test was far more difficult than the previous test.
• London is considerably bigger than Edinburgh.
• The A1 will take slightly longer than the M1.
• You are even more attractive than I imagined.

Note that we do not use very or so on their own to modify comparative adjectives. Instead, we use adverbs such as far or much to show a large difference. We can also use very much and so much:

• ❌ He is very taller than his brother.
• ✅ He is much taller than his brother.
• ✅ He is very much taller than his brother.

• ❌ They are so happier than last year.
• ✅ They are far happier than last year.
• ✅ They are so much happier than last year.

Too to show excessive degree

To show that the degree of a quality is greater than wanted, needed or acceptable, use the adverb too. This often describes something as restrictive, unbearable or undesirable. For example:

• My coffee is too hot. (so I can’t drink it)
• This test is too difficult. (so I can’t complete it)
• My colleagues are too loud. (so I can’t concentrate)
• The soup was too salty. (so I couldn’t eat it)
• The shopping centre is too busy on Saturdays. (so I won’t go)
• This tape is too weak. (so it won’t work)

It is common to add a to-infinitive phrase after too and the adjective to explain why the intensity is excessive. For example:

• The couch is too heavy to lift.
• It’s too cold to go outside.
• She’s too ill to come to work today.
• You’re too young to drink alcohol.

We can modify too itself with adverbs of degree to show how excessive the degree is. Use far, much or way to strengthen too, and forms such as rather, a little or a bit to show a smaller degree of excess:

• This coffee is far too hot to drink.
• The test was way too difficult.
• The room is a little too cold.
• This jacket is rather too expensive.

Are too and very interchangeable?

In very informal English, we might use too in an exaggerated way to mean very when describing positive attributes. This is especially common in American English:

• Oh she’s too cute!
• That cake was too good!
• Your cat is too adorable!
• Thank you so much! You’re too kind!

Because of the popularity of American TV shows around the world, and therefore because of the likelihood of hearing this use of too, many students mistakenly believe that too and very are synonyms that can be used interchangeably.

While too can sometimes substitute for very in informal, exaggerated expressions, especially when describing something positively, they are not generally interchangeable. Using too instead of very usually changes the meaning of the sentence, for example:

• Vindaloo curries are very spicy (level of spiciness is high).
• Vindaloo curries are too spicy for me. (level of spiciness means I cannot eat vindaloos).
• Learning Mandarin is very hard. (a high degree of difficulty)
• Learning Mandarin is too hard for me. (the level of difficulty prevents me from learning)

Remember that unless you are exaggerating how great something is, using too instead of very will often come across as negative, critical or even insulting, for example:

• You’re too clever. (could be interpreted as annoying or irritating)
• He’s too nice. (could be interpreted as naïve or gullible)
• My boss is too honest. (could be interpreted as blunt or tactless)
• Sean is too confident. (could be interpreted as cocky or arrogant)

Enough to show sufficient degree

Enough means to the necessary or desired degree. Unlike most degree adverbs, put enough after the adjective it modifies:

• His idea is clear enough.
• My house is big enough.
• The water isn’t hot enough.
• Is your room warm enough?

We can add a to-infinitive or a phrase beginning with for to explain why the degree is sufficient:

• My dad is old enough to retire.
• He’s brave enough to try it.
• It’s cold enough for snow.
• This is durable enough for what we need.

To say that the degree is insufficient, use not + adjective + enough:

• He’s not tall enough to reach it.
• My tea isn’t hot enough.
• You’re not old enough to buy beer.
• This string isn’t long enough.

We can also use enough in a question to ask whether a quality reaches the necessary or desired degree:

• Are you warm enough? – Yes, I am.
• Is this strong enough? – No, it’s not.
• Are the boxes big enough to fit everything in? – Yes, they are.
• Is he tall enough to reach the top shelf? Yes, he is.

Common mistakes with adverbs of degree modifying adjectives

Free adverbs of degree for adjectives worksheets