UNIT 104. Quite, pretty, rather and fairly ENGLISH GRAMMAR IN USE FOR INTERMEDIATE

ENGLISH GRAMMAR IN USE FOR INTERMEDIATE

UNIT 104. Quite, pretty, rather and fairly

A	You can use quite/pretty/rather/fairly+ adjectives or adverbs. So you can say: It’s quite cold It’s pretty cold It’s rather cold It’s fairly cold Quite/pretty/rather/fairly= less than 'very' but more than 'a little'.
B	Quite and pretty are similar in meaning: √ I'm surprised you haven't heard of her. She's quite famous I pretty famous. (=less than 'very famous', but more than 'a little famous') √ Anna lives quite near me, so we see each other pretty often. Pretty is an informal word and is used mainly in spoken English. Quite goes before a/an: √ We live in quite an old house. (not a quite old house) Compare: √ Sarah has quite a good job. Sarah has a pretty good job. You can also use quite (but not pretty) in the following ways: quite a/an+ noun (without an adjective): √ I didn't expect to see them. It was quite a surprise. (=quite a big surprise) quite a lot (of ... ): √ There were quite a lot of people at the meeting. quite+ verb, especially like and enjoy: √ I quite like tennis, but it's not my favourite sport.
C	Rather is similar to quite and pretty. We often use rather for negative ideas (things we think are not good) √ The weather isn't so good. It's rather cloudy. Paul is rather shy. He doesn't talk very much. √ Quite and pretty are also possible in these examples. When we use rather for positive ideas (good/nice etc.), it means 'unusually' or 'surprisingly': √ These oranges are rather good. Where did you get them?
D	Fairly is weaker than quite/rather/pretty. For example, if something is fairly good, it is not very good and it could be better: √ My room is fairly big, but I'd prefer a bigger one. We see each other fairly often, but not as often as we used to. √
E	Quite also means 'completely'. For example: √ 'Are you sure?'              'Yes, quite sure.' (= completely sure) Quite means 'completely' with a number of adjectives, especially: sure right true clear different incredible amazing certain wrong safe obvious unnecessary extraordinary impossible √ She was quite different from what I expected. (= completely different) Everything they said was quite true. (= completely true) √ We also use quite (= completely) with some verbs. For example: √ I quite agree with you. (= I completely agree) Not quite: not completely. √ They haven’t quite finished eating yet. I don't quite understand what you mean. 'Are you ready yet?' 'Not quite.' (= not completely) √ √

EXERCISES

104.1	Complete the sentences using quite + the following. famous good hungry late noisy often old surprised 1 I'm surprised you haven't heard of her. She's _____ quite famous. _______________ 2 I'm _______________________________. Is there anything to eat? 'How were the pictures you took?' _______________________________. Better than usual.' I go to the cinema _______________________________ -maybe once a month. We live near a very busy road, so it's often _______________________________. 3 4 5 6 I didn't expect Laura to contact me. I was _______________________________ when she phoned. I went to bed _______________________________ last night, so I'm a bit tired this morning. I don't know exactly when these houses were built, but they're _______________________________. 7 8
104.2	Put the words in the right order to complete the sentences. 1 The weather was better than we had expected. It was _________________ quite a nice day _____________ (a /nice /quite /day). 2 Tom likes to sing. He has _____________________________________ (voice /quite /good /a). 3 The bus stop wasn't very near the hotel. We had to walk _____________________________________  (quite /way /a /long). 4 It's not so warm today. There's _____________________________________  (a /wind /cold /pretty). 5 The journey took longer than I expected. There was _____________________________________  (lot /traffic /a /of /quite). 6 I'm tired. I've had _____________________________________  (pretty /day /a /busy).
104.3	Use your own ideas to complete these sentences. Use rather+ adjective. 1 The weather isn't so good. It's _____ rather cloudy_____. 2 I enjoyed the film, but it was ____________________. The hotel we stayed at wasn't very good. I was ____________________. I think it's ____________________that Chris went away without telling anybody. Lucy doesn't like having to wait. Sometimes she's ____________________. 3 4 5
104.4	What does quite mean in these sentences? Tick ( √ ) the right meaning. more than a little, less than very (5ection B) completely (Section E) 1 It's quite cold. You'd better wear your coat. √ ___________________ 2 'Are you sure?' 'Yes, quite sure.' ___________________ √ 3 Anna's English is quite good. ___________________ ___________________ 4 I couldn't believe it. It was quite incredible. ___________________ ___________________ 5 My bedroom is quite big. ___________________ ___________________ 6 I'm quite tired. I think I'll go to bed. ___________________ ___________________ 7 I quite agree with you. ___________________ ___________________
104.5	Complete these sentences using quite+ the following: different impossible right safe sure true unnecessary 1 I didn't believe her at first, but in fact what she said was ____ quite true. _________ 2 You won't fall. The ladder is __________________. I'm afraid I can't do what you ask. It's __________________. I couldn't agree with you more. You are __________________. You can't compare the two things. They are __________________. You needn't have done that. It was __________________. I think I saw them go out, but I'm not __________________. 3 4 5 6 7

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