What is 'purdy'?

[Anonymous]

They are talking about their looks. And one thinks he has
quite good look. Then he says like that

Think I might be purdy.

What does 'purdy' mean?

Always appreciate your help.

 

[Casiopea]

They are talking about their looks. And one thinks he has
quite good look. Then he says like that

Think I might be purdy.

What does 'purdy' mean?

Always appreciate your help.

purdy is a pronunciation variant of pretty.

Input: pretty
Stress [r]: puretty
Delete "e": pur_tty
Voice "tt": purdy
Output: purdy

All the best,

 

[blacknomi]

They are talking about their looks. And one thinks he has
quite good look. Then he says like that

Think I might be purdy.

What does 'purdy' mean?

Always appreciate your help.

purdy is a pronunciation variant of pretty.

Input: pretty
Stress [r]: puretty
Delete "e": pur_tty
Voice "tt": purdy
Output: purdy

All the best,

Very fascinating information! :up:

 

[Francois]

I don't think you can say 'very fascinating' (not gradable). Sorry to nitpick ;-)

FRC

 

[blacknomi]

Being picky is not a crime.

I've never noticed that 'fascinating' is not gradable. Is there any list that contains ungradable adjective? I believe it will be very helpful to ESL/EFL or English teachers.

 

[Casiopea]

Being picky is not a crime.

I've never noticed that 'fascinating' is not gradable. Is there any list that contains ungradable adjective? I believe it will be very helpful to ESL/EFL or English teachers.

But...people use it.

I like it.

Quite fascinating. 8)

 

[Francois]

Yeah, 'quite fascinating' is fine ('most fascinating' is fine too), but then I can say 'he's not quite dead' (whereas 'he's very dead' is wrong). Maybe 'gradable' is not the good term. Anyway, 'very fascinating' does sound weird, doesn't it?

FRC

 

[blacknomi]

• Non-gradable adjectives express qualities that cannot be intensified by using degree adverbs such as ‘very’, e.g. *‘very male’.
  
  Notes The qualities expressed by non-gradable adjectives tend to be absolute, and they often fall into pairs, e.g. ‘male/female’, ‘married/single’, ‘black/white’, ‘true/false’. When such adjectives are modified by degree adverbs like ‘very’, the effect is sometimes to give emphasis rather than to express the degree of the characteristic expressed, e.g. ‘That’s very true’, ‘It was a very black day’. Alternatively, the nature of the adjective is changed: compare ‘I’m Scottish’ (= nationality) with ‘I’m very Scottish’ (= I have many Scottish characteristics).

FRC, I would like to ask you a question from a point of ESL learner. How can you distinguish from gradable to ungradable/non-gradable ajectives? For me, 'fascinating' is a hard one for me to categorize this as non-gradable adjective. There are some adjectives that I can think of now, would you please check if it is correct.


non-gradable: perfect/ fabulous/ fantastic/ awesome/ wonderful/ perfect


Can you provide some nore commonly used adjectives if there is any? Thank you.



Sources from here

 

[Francois]

non-gradable: perfect/ fabulous/ fantastic/ awesome/ wonderful/ perfect

Yes, 'very perfect' is clearly wrong, likewise for the others. But 'quite fantastic' is fine for instance, etc. I would put 'fascinating' into that group.

How can I tell? Well, I just ask myself whether if the adjective divide the word in two eg. legal/illegal.
Some more: acceptable, legal, moral, feasible, mortal, original, debatable...
Yes, many work with 'very', but that's the meaning you put in red in your post: " the effect is sometimes to give emphasis rather than to express the degree of the characteristic expressed". Eg. I'm not sure it's very legal. This is a turn of speech; either it's legal, or it's not. Either it's an original painting, or it's not etc.
Some words are too strong to be gradable, like awesome, fantastic etc. How can something be slightly fantastic? Likewise, slightly fascinating sounds wrong.

FRC

 

[blacknomi]

I must say I have to spend more time on developing a feeling of English. You just mentioned that 'fascinating' is not a gradable adjective. So it's a bit weird to use modifier 'very' in front of 'fascinating'.

Cas, what do you mean by "But...people use it"? Is this the case that I just mentioned in my previous post, to give emphasis rather than to express the degree of the characteristic expressed.



1. Cas' explanation is as fantastic as Mike's.
==> Although 'fantastic' is categorized into non-gradable adjective, one still can use this word as a posive degree in a sentence. Right?

2-a. Cas' explanation is more fantastic than Mike's.
==> Thus, I assume non-gradable adjective is not allowed in a comparative sentence. But I had myself persuade in this condition where both Cas' and Mike's explanations are fantastic. I'd like to make them in comparison deliberately, Cas' is more fantastic while Mike's is less fantastic.


Does that make sense?

 

[Francois]

1. Cas' explanation is as fantastic as Mike's.
==> Although 'fantastic' is categorized into non-gradable adjective, one still can use this word as a posive degree in a sentence. Right?

Yes, it's fine. Both are fantastic. The Earth is as round as an orange. But 'very round' is not good, strictly speaking.

2-a. Cas' explanation is more fantastic than Mike's.
==> Thus, I assume non-gradable adjective is not allowed in a comparative sentence. But I had myself persuade in this condition where both Cas' and Mike's explanations are fantastic. I'd like to make them in comparison deliberately, Cas' is more fantastic while Mike's is less fantastic.

I suppose you can say that too. You can also say 'This project is more feasible than that one', or 'It would be more moral to bring that money to the police'. Turn of speech again, I think.
Not so clear-cut, huh?

FRC

 

[blacknomi]

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: (I am really laughing out loud here.)

How disappointed to read your ending sentence, "Not so clear-cut, huh?"

 

[blacknomi]

Both are fantastic. The Earth is as round as an orange. But 'very round' is not good, strictly speaking.

hehe. We are in a pottery class. I use potter's clay to make a ball and so do you. But mine is rounder than yours. It makes sense in this situation, doesn't it?

 

[MikeNewYork]

I don't think you can say 'very fascinating' (not gradable). Sorry to nitpick ;-)

FRC

I think that there are degress of fascination. I see no problem with that.

 

[MikeNewYork]

non-gradable: perfect/ fabulous/ fantastic/ awesome/ wonderful/ perfect

Yes, 'very perfect' is clearly wrong, likewise for the others. But 'quite fantastic' is fine for instance, etc. I would put 'fascinating' into that group.

How can I tell? Well, I just ask myself whether if the adjective divide the word in two eg. legal/illegal.
Some more: acceptable, legal, moral, feasible, mortal, original, debatable...
Yes, many work with 'very', but that's the meaning you put in red in your post: " the effect is sometimes to give emphasis rather than to express the degree of the characteristic expressed". Eg. I'm not sure it's very legal. This is a turn of speech; either it's legal, or it's not. Either it's an original painting, or it's not etc.
Some words are too strong to be gradable, like awesome, fantastic etc. How can something be slightly fantastic? Likewise, slightly fascinating sounds wrong.

FRC

I think you are being a bit quick to decide on absolutes.

There are few words that are completely absolute: unique is the classic. The phrase "more perfect" exists in the preamble to the US Constitution.
We use half dead. We say "not very original".

 

[blacknomi]

There are few words that are completely absolute: unique is the classic. The phrase "more perfect" exists in the preamble to the US Constitution.
We use half dead. We say "not very original".

I see. But in most occasion, "perfect" is complete absolute. I have another question, I found Patrick is perfect gentleman. A few days later, I also found Michael is perfect too. Which one should I choose to be my boyfriend? Finally I chose Richard. :wink:

My conclusion is
Richard is more perferct than Patrick and Michael.
Three gentlemen are just perfect. But Richard is the best of the three.

Which sentence sound good to your ear? Or could you suggest? ( I'm sorry for being nitpicking! :? )

 

[Francois]

I think you are being a bit quick to decide on absolutes.

There are few words that are completely absolute: unique is the classic. The phrase "more perfect" exists in the preamble to the US Constitution.
We use half dead. We say "not very original".

You can even say 'To make it even more unique, get a punk band to play at your wedding". I believe absolutes is a natural ground for such extensions, and they abound indeed (eg. 'half dead' or 'more perfect'). The limit between 'extension' and strict meaning is a gray area, but this debate is probably purely academic. I think there are a few uses who are still weird, eg. slightly legal or.... very fascinating -- though I admit 'half legal' or 'pretty fascinating' are ok. That's why I said I was not sure 'gradable' was the right term.

FRC

 

[MikeNewYork]

There are few words that are completely absolute: unique is the classic. The phrase "more perfect" exists in the preamble to the US Constitution.
We use half dead. We say "not very original".

I see. But in most occasion, "perfect" is complete absolute. I have another question, I found Patrick is perfect gentleman. A few days later, I also found Michael is perfect too. Which one should I choose to be my boyfriend? Finally I chose Richard. :wink:

My conclusion is
Richard is more perferct than Patrick and Michael.
Three gentlemen are just perfect. But Richard is the best of the three.

Which sentence sound good to your ear? Or could you suggest? ( I'm sorry for being nitpicking! :? )

Perfect has a number of meanings. They are not all absolutes. A perfect gentleman is one who conforms to a particular type or a standard. In that sense there can be more than one. It would be perfect to say, I dated three perfect gentlemen, but Richard was the most perfect for me. You could also say, the best of the three. :wink:

 

[MikeNewYork]

You can even say 'To make it even more unique, get a punk band to play at your wedding". I believe absolutes is a natural ground for such extensions, and they abound indeed (eg. 'half dead' or 'more perfect'). The limit between 'extension' and strict meaning is a gray area, but this debate is probably purely academic. I think there are a few uses who are still weird, eg. slightly legal or.... very fascinating -- though I admit 'half legal' or 'pretty fascinating' are ok. That's why I said I was not sure 'gradable' was the right term.

FRC

In that context, even "more unique" is probably OK. The one I heard is this.

If you find a unicorn walking down the streets of New York, that would be unique. If it spoke to you that would be more unique.

 

[Francois]

Usage rules. Out of mere curiosity, how does the 'more perfect' preamble run?

FRC