Intensifiers and adverbs of degree | The parts of speech | Grammar | Khan Academy

Hey Grim, marians! So we've already talked about the idea of the comparative modifiers, right? So you know the difference between saying something is cute and then saying that something is cuter than that thing. And then looking at, like, I don't know, let's say we're looking at a puppy or a little mushroom with a smiley face, and you say, "Oh, that's the world's cutest mushroom!" Right? That's the comparative.

We've already covered that. I would like to talk about something I think is a really interesting topic.

What's that? Just say a really interesting topic. Now, what's that really doing there in this little phrase, in a really interesting topic?

Um, well, it's modifying interesting. We recognize that this is an adverb, right? Um, really is modifying interesting, which is an adjective. Um, interesting in turn is modifying topic. But the question is, what does really mean? What is its function?

And the answer is that it's a type of word we call an intensifier. So the function of really is to just double down on the idea of interesting. So it's not just an interesting topic; it's a really interesting topic. You could also say it's a very interesting topic or even an extremely interesting topic.

Um, and that kind of gets us into this other category, which is called adverbs of degree. So an intensifier, let me step back a little bit. An intensifier is a type of adverb that modifies an adjective or another adverb in a way that doubles down on the modified thing's meaning.

So it's not just an interesting topic; it's a really interesting topic. So it's like extra special, extra interesting. It makes it intensifies it, really accentuates or makes clear the fact that you're trying to drive home the interestingness of this topic. But frankly, talking about how interesting a topic is, is a pretty good shortcut for boring.

So in order to talk about adverbs of degree, I'm going to talk instead about the incredibly deadly Viper, which is a creature from A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket. So the incredibly deadly Viper—there it is, there's your terrifying horned viper! Yonder voop! And what the word incredibly is doing here is it is serving as an intensifier, right? But it is also what we like to call an adverb of degree, because it's saying the extent to which this Viper is so very deadly.

However, if this Viper had a cousin that was the somewhat deadly Viper? You know, maybe we can blunt its teeth somewhat. Maybe it's got, like, square teeth. That's the somewhat deadly Viper. You know, we can see that somewhat this word here is changing the meaning of the phrase. It's not just the deadly Viper; it's the somewhat deadly Viper. Its import has been blunted slightly, as have its teeth.

And you could also say, you know what? What if he didn't have any teeth at all, this ostensibly deadly Viper? What if he just had, like, little gums? Well then, he's the barely deadly Viper instead. And these words, like incredibly, somewhat, and barely, these are adverbs of degree. So they illustrate the degree to which the Viper is deadly dangerous.

So that's basically what intensifiers and adverbs of degree do. So whenever you see, whenever you think of an intensifier, just think of the word very. You know, and when you're trying to figure out what an adverb of degree is? Well, that kind of answers the question: how much?

So if you want to double down on the meaning of something, you use an intensifier like very or extremely. And if you want to express a degree of something? You know, you could say, um, let's say we're talking about like a cup of tea or something. You want to express how warm it is.

Um, you could say it's too hot. You could say it's slightly hot. You could say somewhat or almost hot. There are a lot of different adverbs of degree.

But that's basically the distinction: an intensifier is powerful, but it has a very narrow usage, and adverbs of degree you can use for a wide range of uses to express a variety of different meanings. That's intensifiers and adverbs of degree. You can learn anything.

Daveid out.