Intensifying Adjectives Grammar for English Learners

When describing physical objects, you can use a wide variety of adjectives such as  large, big, tiny, minuscule, small, etc. However, when describing nouns that are not physical (e.g. joy, anger, wealth) you need to pay careful attention to the choice of intensifying adjectives. AbsoluteCompleteTotalUtter Absolute, complete, total and utter are used to express strong feelings, extreme situations, and other events - especially negative experiences. Absolute agonyComplete astonishmentTotal bliss(An) utter catastropheAbsolute despairTotal ecstasyUtter furyA complete idiotUtter loathingTotal madness Big Big tends to describe a happening or a type of person. It is not usually used with uncountable nouns. Happenings A big decisionA big disappointmentA big improvementA big mistakeA big surprise Types of Persons A big eaterA big dreamerA big drinkerA big spenderA big talker Great Great usually describes nouns which express feelings or qualities. Great admirationGreat angerIn great detail(A) great disappointmentGreat enjoymentGreat excitementA great failureGreat funGreat happinessGreat joyAt great lengthA great number (of)Great powerGreat prideA great quantity (of)Great sensitivityGreat skillGreat strengthGreat understandingGreat wealth Large Large is often used with nouns concerning numbers and measurements. It is not usually used with uncountable nouns. A large amountA large number (of)A large populationA large proportionA large quantityA large scale Common Adjective Collocations A collocation is a word pair, in this  case  an  adjective  and a noun, that always goes together. There are no specific rules for these collocations, however, it is important to learn some of the  standard collocations. Here is a guide to collocations with  deep, heavy, high (low) and strong. Deep   Deep depressionDeep devotionA deep feelingDeep pocketsDeep sleepIn deep thoughtIn deep trouble Heavy A heavy drinkerHeavy rainA heavy sleeperA heavy smokerHeavy snowHeavy traffic High or Low Notice that a number of nouns (but not all) which take high also take low. High - or low - costHigh - or low - densityHigh - or low - energyHigh - or low - esteemA high - or low - expectation (of)A high - or low - level (of)A high - or low - opinion (of someone or something)High - or low - pressureA - or low - high priceHigh qualityHigh speed Strong Strong criticismStrong denialA strong feelingA strong opinion (about something)A strong sense (of)A strong smellA strong taste