Cover of Speakout Upper-Intermediate - Students' Book

Answer — Exercise 2

1.2 - Try something new·Speakout Upper-Intermediate - Students' Book

Question

  1. Check what you know. Work in pairs and cross out the incorrect alternative in each sentence. Explain the reason for your choices.
  2. What other modifiers could be used instead of absolutely or totally?

Answer

a)

1

  1. frustrating
  2. 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

  1. totally
  2. 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

  1. absolutely
  2. very
  • relieved is gradable and over the moon is ungradable / extreme, so the same rules apply here as in the previous item.

b)

  • completely
  • utterly
← Exercise 1Exercise 5 →

More exercises in 1.2 - Try something new

Ex. 1
Ex. 5
Ex. 6
Ex. 7
Ex. 8
Ex. 10
Ex. 11