The key to exercise solutions in chapter 1.2 - Try something new for the textbook Speakout Upper-Intermediate - Students' Book with authors Frances Eales and Steve Oakes from Pearson Education
Question
Check what you know. Work in pairs and cross out the incorrect alternative in each sentence. Explain the reason for your choices.
What other modifiers could be used instead of absolutely or totally?
Answer
a)
1
frustrating
embarrassed
adjectives ending in -ed refer to how a person feels
adjectives ending in -ing refer to the thing / person that causes the feeling
2
totally
very
interested is a gradable adjective and can be used with the modifier very but cannot be used with totally
fascinating is an ungradable / extreme adjective and cannot be used with very. It needs a stronger modifier such as totally or absolutely. Really can be used with both gradable and ungradable adjectives.
3
absolutely
very
relieved is gradable and over the moon is ungradable / extreme, so the same rules apply here as in the previous item.