English notes # 1: Finish off with "very"

Note Ed .: With this article we begin the cycle of publications devoted to the English language and prepared by our full-time teacher for the company's engineers (in this case, on the basis of the video tutorial engVid, JamesESL English Lessons ). On the one hand, we need to learn a language, on the other, we like to do it, and on the third, why not dilute the technical materials of our blog? Your feedback is very welcome!

The word "very" is very popular in English, and not only. However, using it too often, you can be known as a tongue-tied or simply Ellochka-cannibal .


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As you know, in the great epic novel War and Peace, Lev Nikolayevich does not repeat every three pages (!). Isn't this art? However, we will not long dream - let's get down to business.

So, many of my students ask, why should I, in fact, replace such a universal “very”? So - for example, because:

1. Your speech will sound completely different. It will become deeper and more varied.
2. You are one step closer to sounding like a native speaker. Is this not a reason for pride?
3. You will also improve writing skills. Replays are striking, and you, knowing how to replace the notorious "very", will clearly be the winner.

Without going into further thought, let's move on to practice.

Practice: examples

Consider what can be replaced by “very”, with examples of frequently used phrases taken from the mentioned video :

• Your language is very rude . - VULGAR
• I don’t like your very rude tone. - VULGAR
• We've had a very short conversation. - BRIEF
• The class is very boring today. - DULL
• Merriam is a very stupid person. - DULL

Next comes the well-loved “good”:

• The script is very good . - AWESOME
• The documentation is very good . - PERFECT
• This solution is very good . - BRILLIANT
• You have a very good point on this incident. - UNIQUE
• ...

ome oo-on !!! Guys, catch life hacking for life: come up to the girl, and say instead of the typical “You look really good / pretty / nice !” (Which, to be honest, won't surprise anyone): “You look SUPERB !” - an enthusiastic look is guaranteed!



Going further:

• It's very very cold outside. - FREEZING

You ask how to check: is it still cold or already freezing? We throw meat on the street - turned into ice? Well, that means it's 100% FREEZING .

• Oh, I'm very hungry ! - RAVENOUS

Such words are also called “ 10 dollar word ”, that is, such that we often use instead of simpler and more capacious words, giving a greater stylistic coloring.

• His very slow reaction makes me feel angry. - SLUGGISH

... or the opposite:

• I cann’t drive up with him. - RAPIDLY

And if you are tired to the degree of "finita la comedy"? This word will help to express this feeling:

• I'm very tired of this conversation. - EXHAUSTED

And even carriers are afraid to use this word. It has a very (!) Strong connotation:

• After the divorce I became very poor . - DESTITUTE

It literally means that you live in a box on the street with rats and eat garbage.



About his antipode - a very rich man - say as follows:

• My husband is a very rich person. - WEALTHY

The following example requires you to superb attention:

• My coffee is very very hot ! Don't touch it ! - SCALDING
• The weather is very hot in here. - SCORCHING

Can you see the difference?

• SCALDING - for liquids,
• SCORCHING - for weather.

Finally, for those who have little of this ... The topic with “very”, of course, is not new, so you can find quite large tables on the Internet that help expand your vocabulary. I will not dwell on them in this material - I will leave only one example as a quick preparation for those who might find this format useful:

Practice: bonus

Now, to certainly remember these words, you can proceed to the truly practical part. To do this, you can take, for example, the following text from the same engVid, replacing the boring combinations with the ones studied above:

My name is Jackie. I live in a very poor part of Dallas. I have to work long hours, so I am usually very tired. It’s a hot day. I work hard, so one day I will be very rich.

... or an alternative task is to compose (and write in comments) a similar text from 2-3 sentences, where any other adjectives will be used, replacing the typical expressions with "very". I promise to answer whether everything is correct and, if possible, suggest other / best replacement words.

Instead of conclusion

Hope this article was helpful to you. Do not forget to put a plus, if you learn something new. Hope, it'll help you sound SUPERB! Cheers!