Opinions with Gradable and Extreme Adjectives

Opinions with gradable and extreme adjectives

Try to make statements using adjectives below that your partner agrees with. If possible, try to use more than one word, also agreeing on the adverbs and/ or making statements with pairs of both gradable and extreme adjectives, e.g. both agreeing that one thing is “absolutely awful” and that a different thing is “fairly bad”. 

Possible topics

• Tourist spots
• Movies
• TV series
• (Visual) arts
• Museums
• Dining spots
• Nightlife spots
• Shops
• Food and drink
• Technology
• Brands
• Accommodation (e.g. hotel)
• Transport (e.g. airline)
• Books

I think/ In my opinion/ I’d say that To be frank/ Frankly I really think that
B&Bs Bangkok black coffee business meetings durian exams German gin horror movies Italy jogging learning Chinese London maths murder mysteries roller coasters Skype snails teleconferences thatched cottages The Mona Lisa
is are
Adverbs with gradable adjectives (a little)/ (slightly) extremely fairly incredibly (not very) really very	Adverbs with extreme adjectives absolutely completely really totally utterly
gradable adjectives	extreme adjectives (= very/ extremely + gradable adjectives)
amusing/ funny	hilarious/ side-splitting
annoying/ irritating	infuriating
attractive/ good looking/ pretty	gorgeous/ stunning
bad	awful/ dreadful/ disastrous/ terrible
good	great/ brilliant/ fantastic/ fabulous/ terrific
boring	mind-numbing/ stupefying
interesting	captivating/ fascinating/ spellbinding
exciting	gripping/ thrilling
crowded	packed/ cram-packed
challenging/ difficult/ hard/ tricky	impossible
dirty	filthy
confusing	mind-boggling/ mystifying
cold	freezing
different/ distinctive	unique
expensive/ pricey	exorbitant
frightening/ scary	terrifying/ petrifying
hot	baking/ boiling/ roasting
important/ necessary	crucial/ essential/ vital
impressive	awe inspiring
loud/ noisy	ear-splitting
memorable	unforgettable
moving	heart-wrenching
nice/ pleasant	charming/ lovely/ delightful
painful	excruciating
silly	idiotic/ ridiculous
special	exceptional
surprising	amazing/ astonishing/ unbelievable
tasty	delicious/ mouth-watering/ lip-smacking
tiring	exhausting
ugly	hideous
unpleasant/ yucky	repulsive/ revolting/ sickening
unsuccessful	disastrous

Share one sentence you agreed on and see if other groups agree. Then ask about anything in the table above that you couldn’t understand or couldn’t use, working together as a class to make suitable statements each time.

Extreme adjectives grammar presentation

Without looking above for now, brainstorm suitable words into the boxes above.

Adverbs with gradable adjectives	Adverbs with extreme adjectives
gradable adjectives	extreme adjectives (= very/ extremely + gradable adjectives)

Use the help on the following pages. Your teacher will tell you which page(s) you should use (and maybe in which order).

 

Mixed gradable and extreme adjectives

amazing/ astonishing/ unbelievable

amusing/ funny

annoying/ irritating

attractive/ good looking/ pretty

awe inspiring

awful/ dreadful/ disastrous/ terrible

bad

baking/ boiling/ roasting

boring

captivating/ fascinating/ spellbinding

challenging/ difficult/ hard/ tricky

charming/ lovely/ delightful

cold

confusing

crowded

crucial/ essential/ vital

delicious/ mouth-watering/ lip-smacking

different/ distinctive

dirty

disastrous

ear-splitting

exceptional

exciting

excruciating

exhausting

exorbitant

expensive/ pricey

filthy

freezing

frightening/ scary

good

gorgeous/ stunning

great/ brilliant/ fantastic/ fabulous/ terrific

gripping/ thrilling

heart-wrenching

hideous

hilarious/ side-splitting

hot

idiotic/ ridiculous

important/ necessary

impossible

impressive

infuriating

interesting

loud/ noisy

memorable

mind-boggling/ mystifying

mind-numbing/ stupefying

moving

nice/ pleasant

packed/ cram-packed

painful

repulsive/ revolting/ sickening

silly

special

surprising

tasty

terrifying/ petrifying

tiring

ugly

unforgettable

unique

unpleasant/ yucky

unsuccessful

 

Adverbs to go with gradable and extreme adjectives

One can be used twice.

• a little
• absolutely
• completely
• extremely
• fairly
• incredibly
• not very
• really
• slightly
• totally
• utterly
• very

 

Gradable adjectives

Make sure that you have these words in the left-hand column above, and then match the other words above to them.

amusing/ funny

annoying/ irritating

attractive/ good looking/ pretty

bad

good

boring

interesting

exciting

crowded

challenging/ difficult/ hard/ tricky

dirty

confusing

cold

different/ distinctive

expensive/ pricey

frightening/ scary

hot

important/ necessary

impressive

loud/ noisy

memorable

moving

nice/ pleasant

painful

silly

special

surprising

tasty

tiring

ugly

unpleasant/ yucky

unsuccessful

 

Extreme adjectives

amazing/ astonishing/ unbelievable

awe inspiring

awful/ dreadful/ disastrous/ terrible

baking/ boiling/ roasting

captivating/ fascinating/ spellbinding

charming/ lovely/ delightful

crucial/ essential/ vital

delicious/ mouth-watering/ lip-smacking

disastrous

ear-splitting

exceptional

excruciating

exhausting

exorbitant

filthy

freezing

gorgeous/ stunning

great/ brilliant/ fantastic/ fabulous/ terrific

gripping/ thrilling

heart-wrenching

hideous

hilarious/ side-splitting

idiotic/ ridiculous

impossible

infuriating

mind-boggling/ mystifying

mind-numbing/ stupefying

packed/ cram-packed

repulsive/ revolting/ sickening

terrifying/ petrifying

unforgettable

unique

Check your answers. Other answers are possible, so check anything else you wrote.

Why are some of the adverbs in brackets? How are they similar to and different from each other? Which kinds of adjectives do they go with?

Test each other on the vocabulary:

• Read out a pair and see if your partner can say which one means “extremely” + the other one
• Read out a gradable adjective and help your partner make the extreme version
• Read out an extreme adjective and help your partner make the gradable version
• Read out an adjective and see if your partner can identify which kind it is and then make the other version
• Help your partner brainstorm as many extreme adjectives as they can