Please help. Test with native speakers.

[twin_sister1]

Hi. I am writing my master thesis and need to do a kind of a test with native speakers. Could you take a look at the following sentences and insert RATHER, PRETTY, FAIRLY or QUITE where it seems more natural to you. There is no right or wrong. I simply need the statistics. Please, specify the country of origin and your age. Thanks in advance.

1.I was _______ surprised to see him with his ex-wife.
2.He was limping _______ badly.
3.I got a letter from Sylvia ________ recently.
4.The food in the cafeteria is usually _____ good.
5.She still looks ________ miserable.
6.I’m ________ sure he’ll say yes.
7.The house had a ______ large garden.
8.She speaks English ________ well.

[Searching for language]

Originally Posted by twin_sister1

Hi. I am writing my master thesis and need to do a kind of a test with native speakers. Could you take a look at the following sentences and insert RATHER, PRETTY, FAIRLY or QUITE where it seems more natural to you. There is no right or wrong. I simply need the statistics. Please, specify the country of origin and your age. Thanks in advance.

1.I was _Quite______ surprised to see him with his ex-wife.
2.He was limping _rather______ badly.
3.I got a letter from Sylvia __fairly______ recently.
4.The food in the cafeteria is usually _quite____ good.
5.She still looks _rather_______ miserable.
6.I’m _quite_______ sure he’ll say yes.
7.The house had a _fairly_____ large garden.
8.She speaks English _quite_______ well.

born in Germany, came to Canada at age 11. Current age 64

[BobK]

Originally Posted by Searching for language

...
1.I was _Quite______ surprised to see him with his ex-wife.
2.He was limping _rather______ badly.
3.I got a letter from Sylvia __fairly______ recently.
4.The food in the cafeteria is usually _quite____ good.
5.She still looks _rather_______ miserable.
6.I’m _quite_______ sure he’ll say yes.
7.The house had a _fairly_____ large garden.
8.She speaks English _quite_______ well....

Let's see what we've got here - is it an assertion that the most common collocational pairings in these contexts are as you've said? Let's take just one (I'm about to go out )

A: With all the rumours that have been going round, were you really very surprised when you saw them together?
B Well yes - I was fairly surprised to see him with his ex-wife, but not very, I suppose.

In this case, I reckon "fairly" would be the most likely choice, as an echo of the first speaker's use of "very".

My point is that these collocations - most of which I agree with - would become less strong in a wider context (not just the words in the example, but the words, feelings, actions, surroundings, company... that preceded and accompanied them). So if the message is

"These words go together:

• Quite______ surprised
• rather______ badly
• fairly______ recently
• quite____ good
• rather_______ miserable
• quite_______ sure
• fairly_____ large
• quite_______ well"

I disagree. It's largely a question of context - much more than the quoted words supply.

And specifically, in Br English, 'quite' can mean two things. If someone was "rather miserable", he might not want to go out with his mates; whereas if he was quite miserable his mates wouldn't leave him alone in case he slashed his wrists. So there's a question of meaning.

b

[twin_sister1]

Hi. I am writing my master thesis and need to do a kind of a test with native speakers. Could you take a look at the following sentences and insert RATHER, PRETTY, FAIRLY or QUITE where it seems more natural to you. There is no right or wrong. I simply need the statistics. Please, specify the country of origin and your age. Thanks in advance.

1.I was _______ surprised to see him with his ex-wife.
2.He was limping _______ badly.
3.I got a letter from Sylvia ________ recently.
4.The food in the cafeteria is usually _____ good.
5.She still looks ________ miserable.
6.I’m ________ sure he’ll say yes.
7.The house had a ______ large garden.
8.She speaks English ________ well.

[twin_sister1]

Hi. I am writing my master thesis and need to do a kind of a test with native speakers. Could you take a look at the following sentences and insert RATHER, PRETTY, FAIRLY or QUITE where it seems more natural to you. There is no right or wrong. I simply need the statistics. Please, specify the country of origin and your age. Thanks in advance.

1.I was _______ surprised to see him with his ex-wife.
2.He was limping _______ badly.
3.I got a letter from Sylvia ________ recently.
4.The food in the cafeteria is usually _____ good.
5.She still looks ________ miserable.
6.I’m ________ sure he’ll say yes.
7.The house had a ______ large garden.
8.She speaks English ________ well.

[Niigatablue]

1. quite
2. pretty
3. fairly
4. pretty
5. rather
6. fairly
7. rather
8. quite

Good Luck!

[thedeebo]

1.I was quite surprised to see him with his ex-wife.
2.He was limping pretty badly.
3.I got a letter from Sylvia fairly recently.
4.The food in the cafeteria is usually pretty good.
5.She still looks pretty miserable.
6.I’m pretty sure he’ll say yes.
7.The house had a fairly large garden.
8.She speaks English pretty well.

I am from the US, around Los Angeles in Southern California. I am 21 years old.

[Anglika]

Originally Posted by twin_sister1

Hi. I am writing my master thesis and need to do a kind of a test with native speakers. Could you take a look at the following sentences and insert RATHER, PRETTY, FAIRLY or QUITE where it seems more natural to you. There is no right or wrong. I simply need the statistics. Please, specify the country of origin and your age. Thanks in advance.

1.I was _______ surprised to see him with his ex-wife. any of these would be acceptable.
2.He was limping ___rather____ badly.
3.I got a letter from Sylvia __fairly______ recently.
4.The food in the cafeteria is usually _____ good. any of these would be acceptable.
5.She still looks ________ miserable. any of these would be acceptable.
6.I’m _____pretty___ sure he’ll say yes.
7.The house had a __rather____ large garden.
8.She speaks English ________ well.any of these would be acceptable.

UK - over the age of discretion.

[David L.]

It deterred me too!

[naomimalan]

Originally Posted by twin_sister1

Hi. I am writing my master thesis and need to do a kind of a test with native speakers. Could you take a look at the following sentences and insert RATHER, PRETTY, FAIRLY or QUITE where it seems more natural to you. There is no right or wrong. I simply need the statistics. Please, specify the country of origin and your age. Thanks in advance.

1.I was rather_____ surprised to see him with his ex-wife.
2.He was limping rather_______ badly.
3.I got a letter from Sylvia _quite_______ recently.
4.The food in the cafeteria is usually quite_____ good.
5.She still looks pretty________ miserable.
6.I’m pretty________ sure he’ll say yes.
7.The house had a fairly______ large garden.
8.She speaks English quite________ well.

UK same as Anglika: UK - over the age of discretion.