Make your English stronger with INTENSIFIERS: very, really, so, do, definitely, absolutely…

Hello. I'm Gill at engVid, and today's lesson is on what I might call intensifiers, if that's

not too alarming a word. These are extra words that just make something sound stronger, that

gives more emphasis to what you're saying, so it makes it more powerful. So there are

quite a few of these words that add something, extra strength to the impact of what you're

saying. So, these are just a few examples, really. But a very typical one that's used

a lot is "very", so instead of just saying "I'm happy", if you say "I'm very happy",

it adds more to what you're saying. It makes it stronger. "I'm very happy." So, the word

"very", it comes from the French word or maybe Latin, going further back, meaning "true".

So it's like saying "I'm truly happy. I'm very happy." So, truthfully, I'm very happy.

Okay, so "very", you probably use that word quite a lot. So, these things just help to

give you more... More scope in your English... Use of English, more... More variety. So,

there we are. That's that one, a very well-known one. You can also use the verb "do" in a kind

of modal sense here. You can say "I like your new car." "Oh, I like your new car." But if

you say "I do like your new car", it adds a little bit, even though it's only one syllable.

"I do like your new car", it adds more emphasis to what you're saying. So, you've got the

main verb, "I like", and this is just an extra one to strengthen it. Okay.

And then another little word, "so". You can say "that tastes good", "that tastes good",

but if you say "that tastes so good", it gives more emphasis again. "That tastes so good."

There we are. So, that's nice and simple.

Another one that's used a lot, "really". So, instead of just saying "that's a good idea",

if you want to emphasize it, "that's a really good idea". And I think it then... If you're

using an extra word like that, it comes out in how you sound as you're saying it, the

tone of your voice, instead of just "that's a good idea", which can sound a bit neutral,

a bit flat. "That's a really good idea", you can add a lot more and you go towards that...

That's your sort of... "That's a really good idea", and that's the strongest word in the

sentence when you say it; it sounds stronger than all the others. Okay.

Then we have some longer words, which... These are all adverbs ending -ly, so "absolutely".

You can use the word "absolutely" all on its own, just as a statement. If someone says,

"Oh, that was a good film, wasn't it?" and you could just reply "absolutely", just one

word and it's... It's a good word to use on its own. But you can also use it, of course,

in a sentence. So, instead of just saying "that's amazing", which is quite strong already,

"that's amazing", but if you say "that's absolutely amazing", absolutely, four syllables, so it's

a longer word, it's a longer statement, so that's a good one to use for that in a sentence

or just on its own.

The same with "definitely". You can use "definitely" on its own. So, you could say... Oh, somebody

could ask you, "Are you going to Mary's party at the weekend?" and you'd say "definitely",

so you definitely want to go, you're planning to go, so you can reply just with the one

word again. But you can say something like... You have some choices, some options, and that

one, that's the best option. I think that's the best option, but you can make it much

stronger if you say "that's definitely the best option". Okay?

And then finally, maybe this word, it's not so easy to use just on its own, although you

could possibly. "Extremely". "Do you like that movie star?" "Oh, extremely. It doesn't

sound quite right, but perhaps this word is better as part of a sentence." So, you can

say, "Oh, it's hot in here. It's hot in here." But if you say, "It's extremely hot in here",

it's more likely that somebody is going to do something about it and say, "Oh, oh, sorry.

I'll open a window." So, "It's extremely hot in here" makes it much stronger as a statement,

and you might get some results, some reactions from people when you say it.

Okay, so I hope that's been a useful session to help you to expand your vocabulary and

put more emphasis when you want to into what you're saying by using these intensifier words.

So, there's a quiz on this topic. If you'd like to go to www.engvid.com and do the quiz

and see how you do. So, thank you for watching, and I hope to see you again soon. Okay. Bye

for now.