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

hot のイメージ図

gradable: 『hot』 はオレンジ線上を少しずつ動かせるイメージ。

boiling のイメージ図

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!

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