📣 Certify your English today with Duolingo English Test—anytime, anywhere.

Have you ever been a little mad? How about extremely mad? If so, you know how useful it is to be able to describe the intensity of things! But did you know that not all adjectives can be described on a continuum? If this sounds, well, a bit confusing, keep reading to understand this very important topic!

In this post:

DOWNLOAD DUOLINGO FOR FREE

What are gradable adjectives?

Most adjectives in English can have varying levels of intensity. For example, when you take a swim in the ocean, the water might be a little cold or very cold.


Illustration of Duo the owl submerged head-first in very cold water or ice, looking crumpled

Adjectives that can be described in different degrees are called gradable adjectives.

In order to describe a gradable adjectives’s degree, it can be combined with adverbs like:


slightly
somewhat
a little
a bit
very
extremely

Compare how the meaning of the following sentence changes when different adverbs are used to modify the adjective sad:

INTENSITY EXAMPLE
🙁 She’s a little sad.
🙁🙁 She’s very sad.
🙁🙁🙁 She’s extremely sad.

Examples of gradable adjectives

ADJECTIVE EXAMPLE
good This cake is very good.
bad That is an extremely bad idea!
big They live in a very big house.
small Eddy has a somewhat small car.
heavy Careful, that table is extremely heavy.
short I’m a little short.
tall Her dad is very tall!
nice They have extremely nice friends.
mean I’m sorry I was a little mean.
happy Lily is always very happy to go to sleep.
sad That movie is a little sad.
angry Don’t worry, he’s only slightly angry.
scared Vikram is a bit scared of dogs.
old This couch is very old.
young Your teacher is a little young!

What are non-gradable adjectives?

Some adjectives cannot be described in varying levels of intensity. These adjectives are called non-gradable adjectives.

Two common forms of non-gradable adjectives are extreme adjectives and absolute adjectives.

Extreme adjectives

Certain adjectives in English have very built into their meaning. These adjectives, called extreme adjectives, are non-gradable. 

For example, the adjective horrible means very bad. Because the intensity is already part of the adjective’s meaning, you typically wouldn’t use little or very with the adjective horrible.

Instead, extreme adjectives can be modified with adverbs that emphasize the intensity that is already inherent to the adjective, like:


really
absolutely
completely
particularly
so
such a / such an


Note that these adverbs can also be used with gradable adjectives for added emphasis (as in they are really nice).

Compare how the intensity of the following sentence doesn’t change when different adverbs are used to modify the adjective horrible:

INTENSITY EXAMPLE
😖😖😖 It’s really horrible.
😖😖😖 It’s absolutely horrible.
😖😖😖 It’s so horrible.

Examples of extreme adjectives

ADJECTIVE EXAMPLE
fantastic This restaurant is so fantastic!
horrible I have some really horrible news.
enormous Her school is absolutely enormous.
tiny Our baby has really tiny toes.
gorgeous This dress is particularly gorgeous!
terrified He is really terrified of snakes.
amazing They had such an amazing vacation.
hilarious That movie was absolutely hilarious!

Absolute adjectives

Some adjectives in English describe qualities or states that are either true or not true. For example, a person cannot be a little married or very married. You are either married or not!

These are called absolute adjectives. Unlike gradable adjectives, they usually don’t describe different degrees. As a result, they generally can’t be modified with words like a little or very.

Instead, with these adjectives, you can use adverbs such as:


absolutely
almost
completely
really
truly

These adverbs emphasize the extent to which an absolute state has been reached. For example, while an adjective like ready isn’t gradable, you can still be almost ready—meaning the state of readiness has almost been achieved.


These adverbs can generally also be used with gradable adjectives (like in I’m almost happy).

Note that the meaning of really depends on the type of adjective it modifies. With an extreme adjective, really emphasizes the intensity of the adjective, but with an absolute adjective, really emphasizes that the state is true.

TYPE OF ADJECTIVE EXAMPLE FUNCTION OF REALLY
EXTREME I have some really fantastic news! to emphasize the intensity of fantastic
ABSOLUTE Yes, these books are really free. to highlight the certainty of free

Compare how the meaning of the following sentence can only alternate between “true” or “not true” when different adverbs are used to modify the adjective dead:

DEAD = TRUE? EXAMPLE
✅ This plant is really dead.
✅ This plant is truly dead.
❌
(soon, though… 😉)		 This plant is almost dead.

Examples of absolute adjectives

ADJECTIVE EXAMPLE
perfect These are truly perfect peaches!
finished Junior is almost finished with his homework.
dead This plant is almost dead.
free Are these books really free?
married Yes, we are truly married.
impossible This puzzle is almost impossible!
identical The images are completely identical.
unique You have some truly unique ideas.

We hope this was very helpful!

Now that you’ve studied this guide, you are truly amazing with gradable and non-gradable adjectives!

A table with the heading “Gradable and non-gradable adjectives.” The table is divided into columns for gradable adjectives, extreme adjectives, and absolute adjectives. In the first row, it says: “Can they be intensified?”. Gradable adjectives: “Yes, they vary in intensity.” Extrem adjectives: “No, they are intense by definition.” Absolute adjectives: “No, they are either true or not true.” In the next row, there are example adjectives for all three types. Gradable adjectives: “sad,” “bad,” “good,” “young,” “scared.” Extreme adjectives: “horrible,” “amazing,” “terrified,” “devastated,” “tiny.” Absolute adjectives: “impossible,” married,” “unique,” “dead,” “perfect.” Lastly, there are examples of the different adjective types with adverbs. Gradable adjectives: “a little sad,” “very good,” “extremely scared.” Extreme adjectives: “really horrible,” “absolutely terrified,” “so tiny.” Absolute adjectives: “almost impossible,” “really unique,” “truly perfect.”