I had a very good day today
but now I am very tired and very hungry.
How does this sentence sound and why?
Does it sound interesting?
Does it make you want to hear more of the story?
No, it sounds boring and dull
because we have used the word 'very'
plus a basic adjective three times in one sentence.
There is a huge number of words you can
use instead of 'very' plus a basic adjective
which will help to make your English
sound more interesting and colourful.
That's why in today's English lesson
I am going to show you different ways to say 'very'
plus ten basic adjectives such as 'very good',
'very tired' and 'very hungry'.
So if you're ready to widen
your vocabulary, let's get started.
Let's look at 'very cold' first.
There are many different ways you can say 'very cold'.
The first one is 'freezing'.
We normally use the word 'freezing' when we're
talking about the weather.
So let's pretend you're outside and it's so cold that you are shivering.
You could say 'It's freezing today!'
Another word we can use is 'icy'.
You know what ice is, right?
It's what you are seeing on the screen right now.
So if something is icy, that means it's
very very very cold.
Again, this word is normally used when we're talking about the weather.
An example sentence could be
'Make sure you take a jacket
because it's icy outside there today.'
Another word for 'very cold' is 'chilly'.
'Chilly' is not as cold as 'icy' and 'freezing'
but if the weather is chilly,
it still feels very cold and makes you feel chills.
A 'chill' is when your body feels cold.
Now let's talk about 'very hot'.
Again, there are many different ways to say 'very hot'
in a more interesting way.
The first one is 'boiling'.
Boiling.
For example, you could say 'It's boiling outside today.
Make sure you take some water.'
Another word we can use is 'scorcher'.
'Scorcher' is a noun which means a very hot and sunny day.
An example sentence could be
'Yesterday was a real scorcher.'
'Sweltering' is also another word we can use for 'very hot'.
'Sweltering' is an adjective which means extremely hot weather.
An example sentence could be
'The summers in that country are sweltering.'
The next word for 'very hot' is 'sizzling'.
Sizzling.
'Sizzle' is the sound that food makes when it's
cooking in very hot oil.
That's why the word 'sizzling',
an adjective, means very hot.
This word is normally used to talk about the weather
and an example sentence could be
'It's a sizzling day today
so make sure you put some sunscreen on.'
Now let's talk about 'very good'.
There are hundreds of different ways to say 'very good' in English
but let's talk about five common ones right now.
The first one is 'great'.
This is a great word to use instead of 'very good'.
The word 'great' can be used in many many different situations.
For example, if someone says 'How are you',
instead of saying 'I'm very good',
you could just say 'I'm great! How are you?'
If you went to a party last night and the party was
fun, it was a good time,
you could say 'I had a great time at the party last night.'
The second word for 'very good' is 'amazing'.
'Amazing' means extremely good.
For example, you could say
'The cakes that she makes are amazing.'
The next word is 'fantastic'.
'Fantastic' is an adjective which again means very good.
Let's pretend you are with your friend and he is trying to buy a suit
and he puts a suit on and the suit looks very good on him.
You can say 'The suit looks fantastic on you.'
The fourth word is 'perfect'.
'Perfect' is an adjective which means something can't get any better.
It is 100%
For example, if you think your friend speaks really good English,
and his English can't get any better,
you could say 'My friend speaks perfect English.'
The next word for 'very good' is 'awesome'.
'Awesome' is more of a slang word and used in more informal situations.
Let's pretend you go traveling and you see this.
You could say 'The view is awesome'
or 'The scenery is awesome.'
Now let's talk about 'very bad'.
The first word that we can use instead of 'very bad' is
'atrocious'.
Atrocious.
'Atrocious' means extremely bad.
An example sentence could be 'The weather is atrocious today.'
So that means the weather is very bad so it's
probably raining and cold.
Another word we can use instead of 'very bad' is 'awful'.
Awful.
Let's pretend you went to see a movie last night
and the movie was very bad.
You could say 'The movie last night was awful.'
The next word we can use instead of 'very bad' is 'dreadful'.
Dreadful.
Let's pretend there was a car accident and somebody
passed away, somebody died.
It was a very serious accent.
You could say 'There has been a dreadful accident.'
Now let's talk about 'very short'.
The main way to say 'very short'
is by using the word 'brief'.
Brief.
The word 'brief' means lasting for a short time.
Something that doesn't last very long.
Please note that we don't use the word 'brief' to talk about someone's height.
For example, if you see someone who is very short,
we do not say 'He is brief.'
The word 'brief' talks about the duration of something.
How long something lasts or goes on for.
Some example sentences could be
'Please write a brief response'
or 'His performance was brief.'
Now let's talk about 'very long'.
One of the main ways to say 'very long' is by using the word 'lengthy'.
Lengthy.
'Lengthy' means continuing for a long time.
Something that lasts for a long time.
Please note that we don't use lengthy to talk about somebody's height.
For example, if somebody is very tall, we don't
say 'He is very lengthy.'
This is not correct.
An example sentence could be
'They are having a lengthy discussion.'
This means their discussion is lasting for a long time.
Now let's look at 'very tired'.
One of the most common ways to say 'very tired'
is by using the word 'exhausted'.
Exhausted.
'Exhausted' means you have absolutely no energy.
For example, let's pretend you worked for 12 hours today
and you get home and you feel very tired,
you could say 'I am exhausted.'
This means you have absolutely no energy.
The second word we can use instead of 'very tired' is 'wrecked'.
Wrecked.
'Wrecked' is more of a slang word
and it's used in more informal situations.
Let's pretend you do a three-hour workout at the gym
and you get home and you are super tired.
You could say 'I'm wrecked from that workout.'
The next word we can use is 'knackered'.
Knackered.
Again, this word is more informal and it's normally used in British English.
An example sentence could be
'After that weekend, I am knackered.'
Now let's talk about different ways to say 'very hungry'.
The first way is by using the word 'starving'.
Starving.
If you are starving, it means you are
dying because there is not enough food.
But we can also use the word 'starving'
to mean very very very very hungry.
For example, let's pretend you haven't eaten for 24 hours,
you could 'I am starving.'
The next word which means very hungry is 'ravenous'.
Ravenous.
'Ravenous' means you are so hungry
that you would do anything for food.
Again, let's pretend you haven't eaten all day
and you are really hungry, you could say
'I am ravenous.'
Another way you could say 'I am very hungry'
is by saying 'I'm so hungry I could eat a horse.'
I'm so hungry I could eat a horse.
This is a very informal way to say 'I am super hungry.'
Now let's talk about different ways to say 'very big'.
There is a huge number of words
that you can use instead of 'very big'.
I just said the first one.
It's 'huge'.
Huge.
The word 'huge' means very big.
An example sentence could be
'Their house is huge!
It has two swimming pools and a tennis court.'
The second word we can use is 'massive'.
Massive.
Let's pretend you see this building right here.
You could say 'That's a massive building.'
The third word you can use is 'enormous'.
Enormous.
Let's pretend someone spent a lot
of money to buy a house,
you could say 'They spent an enormous
amount of money on that house.'
Now let's talk about different ways to say 'very small'.
The main word you can use is 'tiny'.
Tiny.
'Tiny' means very very very small.
For example, let's pretend your friend just
had a baby and the baby is very small.
You could say 'The baby is tiny.'
The next word is 'minuscule'.
Minuscule.
'Minuscule' means extremely small
and if you use the word 'minuscule' with an object,
it normally means you can just see that thing.
An example sentence could be
'That ant is minuscule. I can just see it.'
You have learned more than 25 new words today
but wait!
The lesson isn't finished yet.
Now let's have a little quiz to test your understanding.
I will show you five sentences
and I want you to choose the correct word for each sentence.
The sentences will be on the screen for five seconds
so pause the video,
think about your answers
and then click play when you are ready to see the answers.
Are you ready? Good luck!