Art and Intensifying adverbs
Inroductory Listening Exercise
https://www.topworksheets.com/t/IFb9aB8vjQq
C1-level
Intensifying Adverbs
Intensifying
adverbs strengthen (or occasionally weaken) the meaning of an adjective, verb,
or another adverb. They add emphasis, highlight emotional depth, or show the
degree of intensity. They’re not always interchangeable—some strongly prefer
certain collocations.
Explanation
by Adverb
1. Absolutely
- Use: To emphasize totality or strong agreement.
- Collocations: absolutely essential, absolutely
certain, absolutely fantastic, absolutely impossible.
- Example: The view from the top was absolutely
stunning.
2. Completely
- Use: To show that something is whole or entire,
without exception.
- Collocations: completely wrong, completely
different, completely empty.
- Example: I felt completely exhausted after
the meeting.
3. Deeply
- Use: To express strong feelings, emotions, or states
of mind.
- Collocations: deeply concerned, deeply sorry,
deeply grateful, deeply moved.
- Example: She was deeply committed to
helping her students.
4. Dreadfully
- Use: (slightly old-fashioned in formal English) to
mean “very” in a negative sense.
- Collocations: dreadfully sorry, dreadfully wrong,
dreadfully boring.
- Example: The weather was dreadfully cold
that night.
5. Eagerly
- Use: To show enthusiasm or strong interest (usually
modifies verbs).
- Collocations: eagerly await, eagerly accept,
eagerly anticipate.
- Example: The audience eagerly awaited the
band’s arrival.
6. Generally
- Use: To express something true in most cases, but not
always.
- Collocations: generally speaking, generally
accepted, generally true.
- Example: The students are generally
well-prepared for class.
7. Highly
- Use: To intensify in a positive or evaluative sense,
often with participles or adjectives of opinion.
- Collocations: highly recommended, highly unlikely,
highly intelligent, highly effective.
- Example: This book is highly recommended
for exam preparation.
8. Perfectly
- Use: To mean 'completely' or 'flawless.'
- Collocations: perfectly clear, perfectly normal,
perfectly safe, perfectly reasonable.
- Example: Your explanation is perfectly
understandable.
9. Totally
- Use: Similar to completely, but often less
formal and sometimes used conversationally.
- Collocations: totally different, totally
unexpected, totally agree.
- Example: I totally forgot about the
appointment.
10. Utterly
- Use: Stronger than completely, often used with
negative or extreme adjectives.
- Collocations: utterly ridiculous, utterly
exhausted, utterly alone.
- Example: The proposal was utterly absurd.
11. Wonderfully
- Use: To intensify in a very positive sense, with
admiration or pleasure.
- Collocations: wonderfully talented, wonderfully
simple, wonderfully kind.
- Example: The actors gave a wonderfully moving
performance.
12. Widely
- Use: To indicate large extent, coverage, or
acceptance.
- Collocations: widely known, widely used, widely
recognized, widely accepted.
- Example: Her research is widely respected
in academic circles.
Final Notes:
- Absolutely / utterly / completely / totally →
intensify adjectives that are non-gradable ,
e.g., perfect, impossible, exhausted.
- Deeply / dreadfully / wonderfully / highly →
usually collocate with emotions, evaluations, or extreme descriptions.
- Generally / widely → less emotional; they
indicate extent or frequency rather than intensity of feeling.
- Eagerly → stands out because it intensifies
verbs (actions) rather than adjectives.
Description of Sunflowers
Van Gogh’s Sunflowers is an absolutely iconic
painting that captures the vibrancy of nature in a highly distinctive
style. The golden tones are absolutely radiant, creating an atmosphere
that feels perfectly uplifting yet at the same time deeply emotional.
The brushstrokes are completely unconventional, almost wild, which gives
the flowers a wonderfully expressive quality. Some critics have called
it utterly overrated, but for many art lovers, it remains a widely
acclaimed masterpiece that is profoundly inspiring.
