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🎙Mistake Break Podcast - Episode 02

🎙Mistake Break Podcast - Episode 02 

Audio Script

Hello and welcome to episode 2 of Mistake Break with me: Mohammad

Today’s focus is on a very very very…common mistake. 

It is: the word VERY! 

Let's go

Milad Tower in Tehran is very huge 

WROONG! 

To correct it, we should remove ‘very’ for example: 

Milad tower in Tehran is huge! OR … is absolutely huge.

But why the heck is that? 

Simply, we never use ‘very’ when the word has a strong meaning. 

Wait. Whadyo meaaan? 

Well, my fellas, the word huge already means: very big ..not just big! VERY BIG so ‘huge’ is called an extreme/strong adjective. Shall we look at some more examples? 

The traffic was very terrible. 

WRONG! 

The traffic was absolutely terrible.

What next? 

Well, if you wanna increase the strength of these extreme adjectives you can say really, absolutely, or quite (there's a lot more - check the blog or visit a good online dictionary).

Anyways, here are my examples: 

I worked for 10 hours nonstop and I am completely exhausted. 

Phew! It was absolutely boiling out there! 

We've come to an end and you definitely need the audio script + exercises + a bonus common cool mistake with very. For that check out my blog in the description. See ya then fellas 


Exrcises

Task 1: The 'Very' Problem

In the podcast I explained that we don't use 'very' with strong or extreme adjectives. Below are five sentences. If the sentence is grammatically correct, write 'Correct'. If it's incorrect, rewrite it correctly by either removing 'very' or replacing it with a suitable intensifier like 'absolutely' or 'completely'.

  1. The movie was very fantastic; I highly recommend it!

  2. My friend was very furious when I broke his new video game.

  3. The exam was very difficult, but I think I did well.

  4. The cake was very delicious.

  5. It was a very wonderful experience to see the ancient ruins.

Task 2: Match the Adjectives

Match the weak adjective from the first column with its corresponding strong/extreme adjective from the second column. Each strong adjective corresponds to only one weak adjective.

Weak Adjective

Strong/Extreme Adjective

1. bad

a. starving

2. hot

b. boiling

3. big

c. hilarious

4. hungry

d. enormous

5. funny

e. terrible


Bonus Intensifiers and Extreme Adjectives Exercise

Below are two lists. The first is a list of intensifiers, and the second is a list of extreme adjectives. Choose an intensifier from the first list to complete each sentence with the extreme adjective provided in the parentheses. Some intensifiers may be used more than once.

Intensifiers: absolutely, completely, really, totally, utterly

Extreme Adjectives: exhausted, furious, starving, wonderful, boiling

  1. After running the marathon, I was __________ (exhaused).

  2. The food at the restaurant was __________ (wonderful).

  3. She was __________ (furious) when she found out her car had been towed.

  4. It was __________ (boiling) outside, so we stayed indoors all day.

  5. I haven't eaten all day; I'm __________ (starving).


Task 3: Communicative Task

Imagine you are giving a tour of your city to a friend who is visiting for the first time. Use at least 3 different extreme adjectives from the podcast or the exercises above to describe your experiences, places, or feelings. You can also use intensifiers like 'absolutely', 'completely', or 'really' to add emphasis. Write a short paragraph of 5-7 sentences.

Answer Key

Task 1: The 'Very' Problem

  1. Incorrect. The movie was fantastic; I highly recommend it!

  2. Incorrect. My friend was absolutely furious when I broke his new video game.

  3. Correct.

  4. Correct.

  5. Incorrect. It was a wonderful experience to see the ancient ruins.

Task 2: Match the Adjectives

  1. e. terrible

  2. b. boiling

  3. d. enormous

  4. a. starving

  5. c. hilarious


Bonus Intensifiers and Extreme Adjectives Key

  1. After running the marathon, I was completely/totally (exhaused).

  2. The food at the restaurant was absolutely (wonderful).

  3. She was absolutely/utterly/really (furious) when she found out her car had been towed.

  4. It was absolutely/really (boiling) outside, so we stayed indoors all day.

  5. I haven't eaten all day; I'm absolutely/really/utterly (starving).


Bonus Cool Fact!

Did you know that the word 'very' can also be used as an adjective? When used this way, it means 'the particular thing or person and not another'. For example, if you're looking for a specific podcast and you find me, you can say, "This is the very podcast I was looking for!" You are emphasizing that it is the exact one you needed, not just any podcast.


Useful link:

Intensifiers - British Council   

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