Adverb quite

[BrunaBC]

Hi,

In the book Business Goals (Cambridge) they say you should use the adverbs quite/fairly before an adjective to weaken it. Nevertheless, in the OALD, it says quite means "to the greatest possible degree". I believe I could use it interchangeably with very. -> I'm quite/very happy today.

Is the book wrong?

Thanks.

 

[TheParser]

***** NOT A TEACHER *****


Hello, Bruna:

1. Here in the States, "Your English is quite good" means something like "very good."

2. But in England, according to some Brits who post here, it means something like "It is good, but ...."

3. This morning at another grammar helpline, two Brits told me this:

a. Your English is QUITE good. = less than enthusiastic about the quality of your English.

b. Your English is quite GOOD. = a little more enthusiastic about the quality of your English.

4. Maybe we non-Brits should avoid using "quite" when we are speaking with Brits.

5. Let's see what the Brits advise us to do.


HAVE A NICE DAY!

 

[BrunaBC]

Thanks TheParser. It's confusing to me because I was taught AmE English, and now I'm teaching a BrE book. But I'll use your explanation to point the difference in the two variants.;-)

 

[TheParser]

***** NOT A TEACHER *****


I am sure that some of our British friends will soon answer you.

(I used "Brit" in my first post because I was told here that it is absolutely not offensive. Nevertheless, I felt uncomfortable using it. In American English, sometimes the shorter the word, the more offensive it is. For example, during World War II one of our enemies was referred to with a three-letter word. And I understand that during World War I, one of our enemies was also referred to with a three-letter word.)

 

[BobK]

'Quite' works to ways; sometimes it's only intonation that makes it clear whether it means a little or a lot.

'I thought it quite interesting...' could be followed by ', but I was glad when it was over.'

On the other hand if something is 'quite extraordinary' 'quite' is a reinforcer. Usually you can tell from the adjective that follows. If it's gradable, 'quite' means 'not a lot'. For example, a pan's handle can be 'quite hot' - but you can still pick it up. But if a tap's frozen 'quite solid' it can't be turned at all.

The difficulty is that not everyong agrees on what's gradable. For me, it's possible to say 'You've got to see it - it's quite unique' and mean 'absolutely unique', because in my worldview 'unique' is not gradable. There are teachers who would say there was no question about this: something's unique or it's not. But I'm afraid we just have to recognize that not everyone agrees; a DJ, for example, might say 'Some artistes are quite unique, but Lady Gaga is really one of a kind.'

b