Intensifiers and adverbs of degree

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Intensifiers and adverbs of degree 발음듣기

[Voiceover] Hey, grammarians, so we've already talked about the idea of the comparative modifiers, right, 발음듣기

so you know the difference between saying something is cute and then saying that something is cuter than that thing, and then looking at, like, I don't know,발음듣기

let's say we're looking at a puppy or a mushroom, a little mushroom with a smiley face and you'd say, "Oh, that's the world's cutest mushroom."발음듣기

Right, that's the comparative, we've already covered that.발음듣기

I would like to talk about something I think is a really interesting topic.발음듣기

"What's that," you say?발음듣기

A really interesting topic.발음듣기

Now, what's that really doing there in this little phrase?발음듣기

A really interesting topic.발음듣기

Well, it's modifying interesting.발음듣기

We recognize that this is an adverb, right?발음듣기

Really is modifying interesting, which is an adjective.발음듣기

Interesting, in turn, is modifying topic.발음듣기

But, the question is, what does really mean?발음듣기

What is it's function?발음듣기

And the answer is that it's a type of word we call an intensifier.발음듣기

So the function of really is to just double down on the idea of interesting.발음듣기

So it's not just an interesting topic, it's a really interesting topic.발음듣기

You could also say it's a very interesting topic.발음듣기

Or even, an extremely interesting topic.발음듣기

And that kind of gets us into this other category which is called adverbs of degree.발음듣기

So an intensifier, let me just step back a little bit, an intensifier is a type of adverb that modifies an adjective or another adverb in a way that doubles down on the modified thing's meaning.발음듣기

So it's not just an interesting topic, it's a really interesting topic, so it's like extra special, extra interesting.발음듣기

It makes, it intensifies, it really accentuates or makes clear the fact that you're trying to drive home the interesting-ness of this topic.발음듣기

But frankly talking about how interesting a topic is is a pretty good shortcut for boring.발음듣기

So in order to talk about adverbs of degree I'm going to talk instead about the Incredibly Deadly Viper, which is a creature from A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket, so the Incredibly Deadly Viper.발음듣기

There it is, there's your terrifying, horned viper, yonder.발음듣기

And what the word incredibly is doing here is, it is serving as an intensifier, right.발음듣기

But it is also what we like to call an adverb of degree because it's saying the extent to which this viper is so very deadly.발음듣기

However, if this viper had a cousin that was the somewhat deadly viper, maybe we can blunt its teeth somewhat, maybe it's got square teeth.발음듣기

That's the somewhat deadly viper.발음듣기

We can see that somewhat, this word here is changing the meaning of the phrase.발음듣기

It's not just the deadly viper, it's the somewhat deadly viper.발음듣기

It's import has been blunted slightly as have its teeth.발음듣기

And you could also say, what if he didn't have any teeth at all, this ostensibly deadly viper?발음듣기

What if he just had little gums?발음듣기

Well then he's the barely deadly viper, instead.발음듣기

And these words like incredibly and somewhat and barely, these are adverbs of degree, so they illustrate the degree to which the viper is deadly dangerous.발음듣기

So that's basically what intensifiers and adverbs of degree do.발음듣기

So, whenever you think of an intensifier just think of the word very, and when you're trying to figure out what an adverb of degree is, well that kind of answers the question, how much?발음듣기

So if you want to double down on the meaning of something you use an intensifier like very or extremely, and if you want to express a degree of something you could say, let's say we're talking about a cup of tea or something and you want to express how warm it is.발음듣기

You could say it's too hot.발음듣기

You could say it's slightly hot.발음듣기

You could say somewhat, or almost hot.발음듣기

There are a lot of different adverbs of degree.발음듣기

But that's basically the distinction.발음듣기

An intensifier is powerful but it has a very narrow usage.발음듣기

And adverbs of degree, you can use for a wide range of uses to express a variety of different meanings.발음듣기

That's intensifiers and adverbs of degree.발음듣기

You can learn anything. David out.발음듣기

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