Adverbs of degree

Adverbs of degree tell us to what extent or how much something happens, answering questions like “To what level?” or “How intense?” They modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs to indicate the intensity, quantity, or strength of an action, quality, or description, amplifying or toning it down.

Characteristics of adverbs of degree

• Focus: They measure the degree of something (e.g., “very” intensifies, “barely” reduces).
• Position: They typically come before the word they modify (e.g., “She’s very tired” or “He runs too fast”), though some can shift (e.g., “Enough” often follows, as in “smart enough”).
• Effect: They scale up (e.g., “extremely”), scale down (e.g., “slightly”), or set a boundary (e.g., “completely”).

Examples

1. Almost: “We’re almost there.” (Near completion.)
2. Barely: “I barely heard him.” (Low extent.)
3. Enough: “She’s strong enough.” (Sufficient degree.)
4. Extremely: “The dog is extremely dirty.” (High intensity.)
5. Hardly: “He hardly works.” (Almost not at all.)
6. Quite: “He’s quite tall.” (Moderately high degree.)
7. Too: “It’s too hot.” (Excessive degree.)
8. Very: “She’s very happy.” (Intensifies “happy.”)
9. More words: Altogether, completely, entirely, fairly, greatly, intensely, largely, little, much, nearly, perfectly, practically, rather, scarcely, slightly, so, somewhat, terribly, utterly.

Important notes

• They can modify more than verbs: “very loud” (adjective) or “quite quickly” (adverb).
• Some overlap with other categories (e.g., “enough” can hint at quantity or sufficiency).
• Nuance matters: “quite” can mean “very” in casual use (“quite good”) or “somewhat” formally (“quite tired”).

In short, adverbs of degree fine-tune the strength or scope of what’s being described, making it more precise.

Continue learning:

⁍ About adverbs
⁍ Adverbs of
Frequency
Manner
Place
Purpose/reason
Time
⁍ Adverb positions
⁍ Conjunctive adverbs

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