Adverbs

ADVERBS OF DEGREE

Usage

Adverbs of degree tell us about the intensity

or degree of an action, an adjective or another

adverb.

Common adverbs of degree:

Almost, nearly, quite, just, too, enough,

hardly, scarcely, completely, very, extremely

Adverbs of degree are usually placed:

before the adjective or adverb they are 

modifying:

e.g. The water was extremely cold.

before the main verb:

e.g. He was just leaving. She has almost

finished.

Enough, very, too

Enough as an adverb meaning 'to the

necessary degree' goes after adjectives

and adverbs.

It also goes before nouns, and means 'as

much as is necessary'. In this case it is not

 an adverb, but a 'determiner'.

Too as an adverb meaning 'more than is 

necessary or useful' goes before adjectives 

and adverbs, e.g.

Enough and too with adjectives can be 

followed by 'for someone/something'.

We can also use 'to + infinitive' after enough

and too with adjectives/adverb.

If we want to make a negative form of an 

adjective or adverb, we can use a word of 

opposite meaning, or not very.

BE CAREFUL! There is a big difference 

between

too and very.

Other adverbs like very

These common adverbs are used like very

and not very, and are listed in order of

strength, from positive to negative:

extremely, especially, particularly, pretty, 

rather, quite, fairly, rather, not especially, 

not particularly.

Note: rather can be positive or negative, 

depending on the adjective or adverb that 

follows:

Positive: The teacher was rather nice.

Negative: The film was rather disappointing.