Adjectives: gradable and non-gradable

Do you know how to use adjectives in phrases like a bit cold, really cold and absolutely freezing?

Look at these examples to see how gradable and non-gradable adjectives are used.

• It's really cold.

• It's absolutely freezing.

• This exercise is really difficult.

• This exercise is completely impossible.

Gradable adjectives

Most adjectives are gradable. This means we can have different levels of that quality. For example, you can be a bit cold, very cold or extremely cold. We can make them weaker or stronger with modifiers:

• She was quite angry when she found out.

• The film we saw last night was really funny!

• It can be extremely cold in Russia in the winter.

Here is a list of some common gradable adjectives and some modifiers that we can use with them.

Adjectives: angry, big, boring, cheap, cold, expensive, frightening, funny, hot, interesting, old, pretty, small, tasty, tired, etc.

Non-gradable: absolute adjectives

Some adjectives are non-gradable. For example, something can't be a bit finished or very finished. You can't be a bit dead or very dead. These adjectives describe absolute qualities. To make them stronger we have to use modifiers like absolutely, totally or completely:

• Thank you, I love it! It's absolutely perfect!

• Their farm was totally destroyed by a tornado.

• My work is completely finished. Now I can relax.

Here is a list of some common absolute adjectives and some modifiers that we can use with them.

Non-gradable: extreme adjectives

Adjectives like amazing, awful and boiling are also non-gradable. They already contain the idea of 'very' in their definitions. If we want to make extreme adjectives stronger, we have to use absolutely or really:

• Did you see the final match? It was absolutely amazing!

• After 32 hours of travelling, they were absolutely exhausted.

• My trip home was really awful. First, traffic was really bad, then the car broke down and we had to walk home in the rain.

Here is a list of some common extreme adjectives and some modifiers that we can use with them.

Explanation

Most adjectives have a meaning which can be made stronger or weaker; these are called "gradable adjectives".

Other adjectives have a meaning which is extreme or absolute and cannot easily be made stronger or weaker. These are called "ungradable adjectives".