Gradable Adjectives
Can you use the words, a bit, really, very or absolutely. Take a look at the explanation for gradable and non-gradable adjectives below and test yourself with the final quiz at the bottom of the page.
Gradable adjectives
Gradable adjectives describe how strong the adjective is. For example, you can be a bit hungry, very hungry or extremely hungry. There are many modifiers that make the adjective weaker or stronger.
She was a little sleepy after work.
The food we had was pretty good!
The weather is very hot these days.
Here is a list of some common gradable adjectives and some modifiers that we can use with them.
| weaker | weak | Strong | Stonger |
|---|---|---|---|
| not really,
not very, not particularly |
a bit, kind of, slightly |
really, very, pretty |
extremely, incredibly, super |
Try these other courses
Other info
Non-gradable: absolute adjectives
Some adjectives are non-gradable. If the adjective is n absolute, for example, something can’t be a bit dead or very finished. We use modifiers like absolutely, totally or completely to make the adjective stronger:
It’s totally Amazing!
Their house was absolutely ruined by an earthquake.
My phone is completely brand new.
Some common adjectives that use these modifiers are:
acceptable, unacceptable, dead, destroyed, finished, free, impossible, necessary, perfect, ruined, etc.
Non-gradable: extreme adjectives
Some adjectives are already as strong as they can be. we can make them stronger, by using absolutely or really:
It was absolutely incredible!
He was really exhausted after such a long trip.
The food was absolutely terrible.
Some common adjectives that use these modifiers are:
amazing, ancient, awful, boiling, delicious, enormous, excellent, exhausted, fascinating, freezing, gorgeous, terrible, terrifying, tiny, etc.
Your grade is: __