[General] The subtleties of the word "quite"

[salvador.dal1950]

Hello, I recently realized that I've been treating the word "quite" as the equivalent of "very". If something is "quite good" I'd have assumed it meant "very good", and I know that is correct to most English speaking countries. But I found that in Britain when something is "quite good" is not "very good", it means "slightly good".

My question is: Is this just an exemption or it applies to every "quite + something"? When I say in Britain that "the movie was quite interesting" does it mean that it was boring?

Thanks you :up:

 

[MikeNewYork]

In AmE, we usually use "quite" as "very" or "to a great extent". I will leave it to one of our British speakers to explain their usage.

 

[Jaskin]

hi,

Please note I'm not a teacher nor a native speaker;

It's a tricky one in British English. You can check a link to quite an explanation at Cambridge on-line dictionary .
Another similar word is pretty.
Cheers.

 

[2006]

Hello, I recently realized that I've been treating the word "quite" as the equivalent of "very". "quite" is a confusing word, which you will discover when you consult a dictionary.
If something is "quite good" I'd have assumed it meant "very good", No, 'quite good' is not as good as 'very good'. But I found that in Britain when something is "quite good" it is not "very good"; it means "slightly good". A better adjective is 'considerably'.

My question is: Is this just an exemption or it applies to every "quite + something"? When I say in Britain that "the movie was quite interesting" does it mean that it was boring? no!
Let's take an exam result as an example. If your test score is 80 %, that's very good. 65% or 70% is quite good.
Thanks you :up:

add...
I agree that 'quite good' and 'pretty good' are the same.

 

[salvador.dal1950]

add...
I agree that 'quite good' and 'pretty good' are the same.

Brilliant explanation! Thank you very much! :-D

Also the link posted by Jaskin was very useful, not only quite useful.

 

[MikeNewYork]

In AmE, "quite good" and "pretty good" are miles apart.

 

[2006]

In AmE, "quite good" and "pretty good" are miles apart.

details please

 

[MikeNewYork]

Usually pretty good means only fair and quite good means very good. Of course voice inflection can make a difference also.

 

[2006]

Usually pretty good means only fair and quite good means very good. Of course voice inflection can make a difference also.

I think that "pretty good" is better than "fair" and "quite good" is not as good as "very good".

My dictionary defines "pretty" as both 'moderately' and 'quite', so it seems there is some leeway.

 

[MikeNewYork]

And there is a difference between BrE and AmE.

If I eat a meal and say the food is "pretty good", I was not impressed. If I say "quite good", I was impressed. But that is not true for everyone, evidently.

 

[probus]

See this entry from the Oxford dictionaries:

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/quite

The old meaning of "quite" was absolutely or certainly. When a pukkah member of the British raj in India said "quite" that is what he meant. Evidently the modern meaning has migrated "quite" a long way from that point, and I am frankly at a loss to know exactly where it stands now.

 

[2006]

I should mention that I am in Canada.

 

[Roman55]

I am not a teacher.

That entry from the Oxford dictionaries sums up exactly how I - as a BrE speaker - understand the word. It seems quite clear to me.

 

[Tdol]

With gradable adjectives, it's usually not very strong in BrE (quite good = pretty good). With non-gradable adjectives, it's very strong (quite brilliant = absolutely brilliant). It's a tricky word.Stress can also be used to affect the meaning.