I'm pretty sure you're going to find this video really interesting.
We're going to talk about a fairly challenging subject which many non-native speakers find
very confusing.
If you're not really that confident using intensifiers like the ones I just mentioned,
this video will be pretty helpful.
In this video, we're going to discuss intensifiers, which are extremely common in everyday, natural
speech.
We'll also talk about how to stress intensifiers and how we can clarify what we mean by using
different intonation patterns.
First things first, what are intensifiers?
Intensifiers are adverbs that we add to adjectives or other adverbs in order to make them stronger
or more intense.
However, some intensifiers actually weaken or limit the adjective or adverb, which we'll
talk about in just a moment.
Intensifiers can add more clarity or specificity to your meaning when you use certain adjectives
or adverbs.
In writing, you probably want to choose a more precise word, but we're talking about
how people use intensifiers in everyday speech.
That's why we'll focus on common adjectives that you probably use on a regular basis.
Before we get started, a quick note about stress.
Because these are intensifiers and they add additional meaning, we tend to stress them
in order to really emphasize that we are strengthening or weakening the adjective or adverb.
You'll see what I mean when we start looking at the examples.
Let's start by identifying the middle of the range, which is the adjective or adverb all
by itself.
This game is easy.
That movie was good.
The news is exciting.
The book is interesting.
In these examples, we're using the dictionary definition of these adjectives.
If we want to strengthen the adjective, we add the word "really."
This game is really easy.
That movie was really good.
The news is really exciting.
The book is really interesting.
"Really" is a more natural way to say "very," and you'll hear it all the time when listening
to native speakers.
As you can hear, we tend to stress the intensifier in order to express a stronger emotion or
feeling.
This game is really easy.
That movie was really good.
I'm really tired.
The test was really difficult.
Of course, you can use the word "very" to intensify the adjective.
I would say this is a degree stronger than "really."
The news is very exciting.
The book is very interesting.
We're very happy.
They'll be finished very soon.
In natural speech, you'll often hear people substitute the word "so" for "very."
We stress the word "so" by making it longer, louder, and higher in pitch, and really holding
that vowel sound.
We're so happy.
This book is so interesting.
I'm so tired.
That's so exciting.
For an even stronger version, you can add the word "extremely."
We're extremely busy.
That test was extremely difficult.
The problem is extremely complicated.
I'm extremely tired.
Instead of using the word "extremely," people may choose a stronger, more intense adjective.
For example, instead of saying "I'm extremely tired," I would probably say "I'm exhausted."
I might say "That test was impossible" instead of saying "extremely difficult."
Beyond that, you'll start to notice that certain intensifiers are more common with certain
adjectives.
Pay attention to how native speakers use these intensifiers and which adjectives they choose
to emphasize how they feel.
This is why it's important to learn words in chunks.
Some adjectives aren't commonly used with certain intensifiers, even if grammatically
it makes sense.
To sound natural, you have to listen carefully and pay attention to what you hear people
saying.
Now let's talk about intensifiers that weaken or lessen the strength of these adjectives.
Let's start with the word "pretty."
This is the word that is often most confusing for non-native speakers.
When we use "pretty" with an adjective, we're toning down the adjective.
The adjective by itself would be stronger.
The word "pretty" actually limits or weakens the adjective.
"Pretty" usually means somewhat, so-so, just about average, okay.
For example, if you say "That movie was pretty good," you're saying "It's okay."
You're basically expressing a noncommittal attitude.
You're either hesitating about giving a negative opinion, or you're just not interested in
being too enthusiastic.
If you're trying to give someone a compliment, saying that it's "pretty good" can actually
make them feel like they could have done better.
If you say, "I'm pretty happy," it can sound like you're not 100 percent certain that you're
actually happy.
Same thing with "I'm pretty sure this is the right way."
This doesn't make me feel confident that you know this is the right way.
If I say something is "pretty common," it may not be that common.
Of course, context matters, and your intonation will help clarify your meaning.
There's a big difference between saying "That's pretty good..." with intonation that expresses
hesitation, or "That's pretty good!" with intonation that expresses more enthusiasm.
On top of that, this word is tricky because we often use "pretty" for effect in order
to understate or downplay how we actually feel.
If you say "That test was pretty easy," you may be trying not to insult the person who
made the test by saying something like "That test was ridiculously easy."
Or you may not want to make the other person feel bad if they thought the test was difficult.
If you've just given someone amazing news and they say, "That's pretty exciting" with
a big smile on their face, they're probably understating how they actually feel.
Maybe they don't want to show off how they feel because someone else might feel bad,
or they're making a joke because we both know that they actually feel overjoyed.
Or if someone says to me, "Wow, you must be exhausted after all of that travel," and I
respond, "Yeah, I'm pretty tired," I'm basically restating the obvious and downplaying how
tired I actually feel.
If you hear someone use "pretty" in this way, consider all of the other information you
got during the conversation to interpret what they mean.
For example, when we add "pretty" for effect, it will sound something like this: That's
pretty cool.
That's pretty interesting.
That's pretty exciting.
As you can hear, my intonation is different than the versions where I'm hesitating.
That's pretty good.
I'm pretty sure.
That's pretty difficult.
Once again, intonation matters.
We often use the word "kinda," the reduction of "kind of," as well as the word "sorta,"
the reduction of "sort of" in casual speech in order to express the same meaning as "pretty."
But I want you to remember that these words aren't very precise, and they sound a little
noncommittal.
You want to use them in appropriate situations, probably not in professional or academic situations,
and definitely not in writing.
Next, let's move another step down and talk about the word "fairly."
You'll hear "fairly" from time to time, although I think the other intensifiers are more common.
Fairly also means so-so or somewhat and limits the adjective.
We often use the word "fairly" when we don't want to scare the person.
It's an example of hedging, or when you don't want to state how you feel directly for whatever
reason.
For example, you might say: The test was fairly difficult.
Or the problem is fairly complicated.
Or I'm fairly certain that we're going to finish on time.
I think "fairly" sounds a little more formal than "pretty," so you'll probably hear it
in more professional situations.
The last intensifier that we're going to look at is "not really."
We often use "not really" followed by "that" to weaken the adjective even further.
Let's look at some examples.
I'm not really sure.
They're not really happy.
That movie is not really that good.
This book is not really that interesting.
Once again, you can hear that my intonation is showing a less intense emotion.
Basically I'm expressing the opposite of the original adjective.
If I felt enthusiastic about my opinion, I would say "This book is really interesting."
But because I don't feel that enthusiastic, I say, "This book is not really that interesting."
I can show that I'm a little bored with my intonation.
This book is not really that interesting.
As you can see, intensifiers are a powerful way to add additional meaning to your adjectives,
especially when you use them with the right intonation.
Let's review the intensifiers we talked about today from weakest to strongest: not really
or not really that, fairly, pretty, the adjective by itself, really, very, and extremely.
Of course, there are many more intensifiers that you'll hear people using.
Try to identify how the person feels by paying attention to the context and the emotion they're
expressing through their intonation.
Notice which intensifiers you hear with particular adjectives and take notes.
There aren't any strict rules, but you'll start to notice patterns that will help you
use them more naturally.
Here are a few more examples: We're absolutely thrilled.
The meal was completely ruined.
He was seriously injured.
The campaign was highly successful.
You can always search Google to check and see if these adjectives are commonly used
together.
Here's a trick: put the words together inside quotation marks.
This tells Google that you want to look for the two words together.
And remember, be careful about how you use pretty when giving someone a compliment.
Be sure to choose the intensifier that best expresses your meaning.
For more practice, try using one or more of these intensifiers in an example in the comments.
I'll be sure to let you know how you did.
Once again, I'm Kim from englishwithkim.com.
I'm your guide to the essential communication skills you need to sound more natural in English.
If you like this video, please give it a thumbs up and share it with a friend.
Be sure to hit subscribe if you haven't already.
Have a good one.
Goodbye.