About the word 'quite'

[zzang418lee]

I have learned 'quite' generally has 2 meanings: 1. completely 2. fairly

So, 'quite tired' means 'fairly(or pretty) tired' while 'quite exhausted' means 'completely tired" (according to Practical English Usage by Swan).

What I don't understand, however, is how we can tell which meaning was used in a certain sentence. This book explains using the term 'non-measurable vs measurable, but I still don't get this.

Thanks for your trouble.

[Khosro]

I have learned 'quite' generally has 2 meanings: 1. completely 2. fairly

So, 'quite tired' means 'fairly(or pretty) tired' while 'quite exhausted' means 'completely tired" (according to Practical English Usage by Swan).

What I don't understand, however, is how we can tell which meaning was used in a certain sentence. This book explains using the term 'non-measurable vs measurable, but I still don't get this.

Thanks for your trouble.

I had the same problem with "quite". check this link and read Bobk's last post. He gave 2 examples: "quite tired" and "quite exhausted". You can not say:"I am a little bit exhausted" or "I am very exhausted" but you can say:"I am a little bit tired" or "I am very tired". "Tired" is measurable and "exhausted" is non-measurable. (Or as Bobk said, "gradeable" and "non-gradeable").

http://www.usingenglish.com/forum/as...ind-quite.html

By the way, I don't think that "Thanks for your trouble" is a correct sentence" here.