very と一緒に使えない形容詞
Today we are talking about ‘non-gradable adjectives’, what they are and how we use them.
How to tell if an adjective is gradable or non-gradable
Let’s take the example ‘hot’ and ‘boiling’:
Hot は “quite hot, fairly hot, really hot, very hot, extremely hot” のように使えるので、段階を表せる（gradable）形容詞です。
Boiling は “very/extremely hot” の意味しか持たず、段階を変えられない（non-gradable）形容詞です。
イメージで理解する
gradable: 『hot』 はオレンジ線上を少しずつ動かせるイメージ。
non-gradable: 『boiling』 は『very hot / extremely hot』と同じ位置に固定。
まとめ
gradable adjectives (hot, big, interested…) → gradable adverbs (fairly, quite, very, extremely)
non-gradable adjectives (boiling, fascinated…) → non-gradable adverbs (absolutely, really, nearly…)
さらに例を見よう
Very awful → absolutely awful
Very impossible → utterly impossible
Very terrified → extremely terrified
Very excellent → absolutely excellent
Very freezing → completely freezing
That’s it! Easy, right? If you’re ever not sure, try drawing a picture like the one above to see if your adjective is gradable or not. Keep up the hard work!