Introduction
"I went to a jazz club last night. The band was absolutely great. Dinner was really amazing! The club was quite crowded when I arrived, so I had to wait outside for about an hour."
Can anyone tell me what I did last night?
Grammar 1
Re-read intro sentences for students. What do quite, very and absolutely mean in these sentences?
In English we call these qualifiers. What other qualifiers can you think of? (Also known as intensifiers.)
Common qualifiers:
(Chart showing: absolutely, extremely, very, too, almost, nearly, enough, quite, somewhat, rather)
In spoken English, pretty and really are also often used. It’s quite hot outside. - It’s pretty hot outside or It’s really hot outside.
(Qualifiers modify adjectives or adverbs and precede the word they modify. They modify adjectives and adverbs, telling to what degree.)
* Note: "too" and "very" vary in that "very" expresses a fact and "too" suggests there is a problem.
For example:
The test was very difficult.
(I took the test but I probably got many answers wrong.)
The test was too difficult.
(I took the test but I just could not answer the questions.)
Some qualifiers consist of adverbs, that change or show the meaning of the adjective which it modifies, to the positive form. e.g. very, quite, somewhat, etc.
(It's quite sunny outside. Jack lives near me, so we see each other very often.)
The qualifiers rather, fairly and quite can replace each other in most sentences.
For example:
“It’s rather windy outside.”
“It’s quite windy outside.”
“It’s fairly windy outside.”
In some cases, only the qualifier “quite” can be used. This is the case with “absolute” adjectives. Examples of absolute adjectives are: impossible, perfect, wrong, different, catastrophic, magnificent, hilarious.
The qualifiers “fairly” and “rather” cannot be used with these adjectives.
For example:
“This task is quite impossible.” (correct)
“This task is fairly impossible.” (incorrect)
“This task is rather impossible.” (incorrect)
Controlled Practice 1
Substitute the word quite with either fairly (f) or completely (c).
(It was quite amazing how the magician was able to make the man disappear./Foul language such as that is quite unnecessary.) Instructor reads for students:
I find English quite difficult.
It's quite impossible to climb Mt. Everest in a day.
I live quite close to work. It's only a two-minute walk.
That computer is quite useless because it's too slow.
Mary was quite happy with her raise.
Thomas seemed quite upset after receiving his medical results.
Violence is quite unnecessary in sports
That sweater you're wearing is quite colorful.
Language in Use 1
Make sentences with the following adjectives, using quite + adjective. Give a reason why, using because.
(safe, different, sure, wrong, unnecessary, obvious, impossible)
Grammar 2
(We can sometimes use quite before a noun, without an adjective.)
(I have quite a treat in store for you. I had quite a headache last night.)
What do these sentences mean?
Controlled Practice 2
Fill in the blank with quite + noun and complete the sentence.
(show, disruption, appetite, scene, lump, surprise)
Bill will have quite a _____ waiting for him when he gets home because...
... caused quite a _____ this morning on the highway.
That was quite a _____ we saw last night. I wouldn't mind...
The angry customer made quite a _____ because...
Diego had quite a _____ on his head from...
My children usually work up quite an _____ after...
Grammar 3
As we learned, we usually prefer to use quite with a positive idea.
For negative ideas we often use rather (although "quite" is still possible). Often the intonation can affect the meaning.
(The food was rather bad. That movie was rather terrible.) Make two sentences using "rather" in the context of a negative idea.
(In favorable comments, "rather" can also mean "surprising".)
(He is rather tall for his age! The prices are rather expensive, considering this is a fast food restaurant.)
Make two sentences using rather in the context of surprising.
Controlled Practice 3
Fill in the blank, with the best answer, using quite, rather, or both.
The prices in Italy are _____ expensive.
I was _____ shocked that I failed the exam, considering I studied all night.
It is _____ warm today. How about going out for a walk?
I felt the waiter was _____ rude to us tonight.
I find it _____ amazing that dinosaurs used to roam the Earth.
That was _____ a performance he put on in court this morning. I actually believed that he was innocent.