Quote:
Originally Posted by boothling  Sort of on topic:
I observed an EFL class yesterday. The teacher informed the students that "quite" was an intensifier, whereas "rather" and "fairly" were downtoners.
She insisted that there were major differences between the following phrases:
It's quite hot.
and
It's rather hot.
It's fairly hot.
Personally, I don't see much difference. Neither did one of her students, who suggested that "quite" could function equally well as a downtoner (whatever that is -- I can't find the term in any dictionary).
What do you think? |
I'm with Tdol as to not agreeing, though I
do see a difference; not the one
she was preaching. The way I see it:
It's rather hot - implies the speaker is on the verge of finding it uncomfortable; they might be suggesting they'd like a window opened.
It's fairly hot - concedes that other people may find it hot, although the speaker is quite comfortable for the time being.
I assume that the new word
downtoner (which I haven't met before either) refers to a word that tones down the intensity of another. Assuming this sense, I'd say there were contexts where 'quite'
was one.
b