在描述的词前面加 very 或 really,可以让语气更强。这两个词意思差不多(really 稍微更口语一点)。
very 和 really 让语气更强
It's very cold today.
She's really kind.
That film was really good.
试一试: The show was amazing! It was ___ good. (really / quite / too) 答案: really — "Amazing" 表示非常好,所以用 really(或 very):really good。
quite 和 fairly 表示“有一点”,不是“很”
quite 和 fairly 比 very 弱一些。在英式英语里,quite 通常是缓和语气的:quite cold 意思是有点冷,不是冻死人。
It's quite cold. (a bit cold, not freezing)
The test was fairly easy.
The film was quite good. (good, but not amazing)
试一试: It's not freezing, just ___ cold. You'll be fine without a coat. (quite / very / too) 答案: quite — 你想说的是有点冷,不是很冷,所以用 quite:quite cold。“Very” 会表示冷得厉害,“too” 又表示这是个问题。
too 是个问题,不只是程度强
too 和 very 不一样。too 的意思是超过了合适的程度,是个问题。另外,描述的词前要说 too cold,绝不说 “too much cold”。
It's very cold, but we can still go out. (strong, but OK)
It's too cold to go out. (a problem, we can't)
I'm too tired. (not "too much tired")
Not "It's very too cold." — say "It's too cold. / It's very cold.". 不要把 very 和 too 放在一起用,只能选一个。
试一试: I can't carry this, it's ___ heavy. (too / too much / very too) 答案: too — 这是个问题(你搬不动),所以用 too + 词:too heavy。“Too much” 不能放在描述的词前面,“very too” 又把两个词重复用了。
enough 放在另一边
这个程度阶梯上还有一个词,而它不守规矩。very、quite 和 too 都放在描述的词前面——enough 却放在后面:warm enough,绝不能说 "enough warm"。
before: very warm · quite warm · too warm
after: warm enough
Is the water warm enough? (as warm as we need)
He's tall enough to reach the shelf. (he can reach it)
Not "She is enough old to vote." — say "She is old enough to vote.". enough 放在描述的词后面,不放在前面。
试一试: The soup has cooled down. It's ___ to eat now. Go ahead! (cool enough / enough cool / too cool) 答案: cool enough — 汤凉得刚刚好,所以用 enough——而且 enough 要放在形容词后面:cool enough。"Enough cool" 顺序不对,"too cool" 会变成凉过头了、成了问题。
试一试: Which sentence is correct? (My bag is light enough to carry. / My bag is enough light to carry. / My bag is very light enough to carry.) 答案: My bag is light enough to carry. — enough 放在描述的词后面:light enough。"Enough light" 顺序不对,而且 very 不能加在 enough 上。
程度有多强?一张速查表
从弱到强:quite / fairly(有点)→ very / really(很强)。too 不一样——它表示超过了合适的程度,成了问题。还要记住位置:very、quite、too 放在单词前面,enough 放在单词后面。
quite warm → very warm → too warm (a problem)
before the word: very big, too big
after the word: big enough
试一试: The water was ___ warm — just right. The sun was ___ strong, so we got sunburnt. (quite … too / too … quite / very … quite) 答案: quite … too — 刚刚好 → quite。造成问题 → too。