emphasizing adverbs - Learning English | BBC World Service

absolutely/definitely/certainly/exactly. There is not very much difference in meaning or in use when these emphasizing adjectives are used to express strong ... Thispagehasbeenarchivedandisnolongerupdated.Findoutmoreaboutpagearchiving.   Home General&BusinessEnglish Grammar,Vocabulary&Pronunciation Quizzes TheFlatmates Community Forteachers Specials Aboutus Downloads   Youarein: Home >Grammar,Vocabulary&Pronunciation>AskaboutEnglish LearningEnglish emphasizingadverbs Aydyn TürkfromTurkeywrites: Ihave beenlearningEnglishforeightmonthsbutsomeadjectivesandadverbs arestillaproblemforme,especiallyadverbssuchasabsolutely, definitely,certainly,exactly,etc.These meanalmostthesamethinginTurkishandIdon’tknowwhentouse theminEnglishorwhichonetouse.Ifyougavemesomeexamples thatwouldhelpme. Thanks alot.   Roger Woodhamreplies: absolutely/definitely/certainly/exactly There isnotverymuchdifferenceinmeaningorinusewhentheseemphasizing adjectivesareusedtoexpressstrongagreementwithastatement, questionorsuggestion. Absolutely isperhapsthestrongest.Ifyouuseexactly,youareemphasizing thatwhatsomeonehassaidis100%correct. Compare thefollowing: Doesn’t Sandralookstunninginthathat? Oh,absolutely!Icouldn’tagreemore. Geoffrey isacompleteandutterfool. Absolutely!/Definitely!/Exactly! Will youcomeshoppingwithmeonSaturday? Definitely!/Certainly! If wecan’tfindthosetickets,weshan’tbeabletogetintothe show. Exactly! Are yougoingtoTurkeyagainthissummer? Definitely!Withoutadoubt!   absolutely/simply/utterly/totally/completely/perfectly These emphasizingadverbsarenormallyusedwithadjectivesthatare inthemselvesalreadyquiteabsolute.Theygiveevengreateremphasis towhatissaid. Compare thefollowing: Your advicewasinvaluable–absolutelyinvaluable! I wassimplyamazedwhenshesaidthatshewasgoingto marryHenry. It wasperfectlyclearthatshewasseriousandIwastotally powerlesstostopher. I feltthatshewascompletelywrongtoeventhinkabout itandIamutterlyexhaustedbyitall.   completely orquite Note thatquitecanmeanverymuchorcompletely. Itcanalsomeanfairlyortosomeextent. Compare thefollowing: Are youquitecertainthatJack’sinParis? Completelysure? I’m absolutelysure. Are youcomingtothepub? No,I’mquitetired,abitsleepy.IthinkI’llgotobed.    certainly or surely When itisusedinresponsetoarequestorsuggestion,surely meanscertainlyandtheycanbeusedinterchangeably. Compare thefollowing: Can yougivemeahandwashingup? Surely!/Certainly!/Noproblem! Would youjoinusforsuppertonight? Surely!Whereareyoueating? However, surelycanalsobeusedtoexpressthespeaker’ssurprise thatsomethingishappening.CertainlyCANNOTbeusedin thisway. Study thefollowingand,asyousaythemtoyourselves,givesurely fairlyheavystress: You’re surelynotgoingoutagaintonight,areyou?Youwentout lastnight. Surely thatcan’tbeFelicitystandingoverthere?Ithoughtshe wasinAustralia. I can’tgetanyreply,butthere’ssurelysomebodyathome. Theycan’tallbeout. Surely you’renotsuggestingshepoisonedhimonpurpose? Ican’tbelieveyoucouldthinkthat!   If youwanttopractiseusingsomeofthesewordslookatourMessage BoardintheYou,MeandUspartofourwebsite.       more questions   LearningEnglish|NewsEnglish|BusinessEnglish|WatchandListen  GrammarandVocabulary|Communicate|Quizzes|Forteachers  Downloads|FAQ|Contactus