Adjectives and Special Intensifiers

This week we have been thinking about adjectives. Adjectives are words that describe the attributes of a noun, for example sweet tea, blue jumper, exhausted parent, furious driver. We can intensify (make stronger) adjectives by using words such as ‘very’, ‘really’, ‘totally’, ‘absolutely’, ‘completely’, ‘utterly’ and ‘entirely’. Thus we can say: very sweet tea, really blue jumper, totally exhausted parent, absolutely furious driver. While reading a story about the Mongolian desert one of the students discovered an intensifier that was very different.

“The ground was bone dry as it had not rained for many months.”

The adjective dry is intensified by the word bone (bone, in this sentence, means very). We call this type of intensifier a special intensifier and they are quite common.

What is the special intensifying word in the following sentences? Choose the correct word from the box.

1. My mother has just bought a ______ new computer.
2. The river near my house is ______ clear.
3. For some reason I was ______ awake at 4.30am!
4. You were ______ right about what would happen.
5. I was tired and was _____ asleep by 8.30.
6. The hotel walls were ______ thin and I could hear everyone outside.
7. You will need a torch as it is ______ black.
8. I cannot eat that cake, it is ______ hard.
9. My grandfather cannot hear you as he is ______ deaf.
10. Someone has left the door ______ open again.

Answers

1. My mother has just bought a brand new computer.
2. The river near my house is crystal clear.
3. For some reason I was wide awake at 4.30am!
4. You were dead right about what would happen.
5. I was tired and was fast asleep by 8.30.
6. The hotel walls were paper thin and I could hear everyone outside.
7. You will need a torch as it is pitch black.
8. I cannot eat that cake, it is rock hard.
9. My grandfather cannot hear you as he is stone deaf.
10. Someone has left the fridge door wide open again.

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