Intensifiers and mitigators are used to vary the degree or strength of an adjective, verb or adverb.
Intensifiers
1. Intensifiers add strength or force to the meaning of an adjective.
very, really, extremely, amazingly, exceptionally,
incredibly, remarkably, particularly, enough…
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Kate is really beautiful.
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Michael can run very fast.
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Sharks are extremely dangerous.
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The restaurant was remarkably empty for a Saturday.
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It’s incredibly kind of you to help.
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Note: “Enough” can be used as an intensifier, but be careful, as “enough” is found after the adjective it modifies.
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Dan is not old enough to vote.
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My sister isn’t tall enough to ride on the roller coaster.
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2. When we want to indicate that something or someone is exceptional, we can use strong adjectives.
enormous, terrible, tiny, excellent, brilliant, perfect,
marvelous…
As these strong adjectives already indicate an extreme (“enormous” = “very big”), we do not use the intensifier “very”. As an intensifier with strong adjectives, we generally use: “absolutely”, “exceptionally”, “particularly”, “really” or “quite”.
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Their house is absolutely enormous.
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Her son is exceptionally brilliant.
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The dinner you made last night was really marvelous.
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Note: Some intensifiers may only be used with particular adjectives.
3. With comparative adjectives we use particular words or phrases as intensifiers.
much, a lot, a great deal, a good bit…
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Dave is much faster than me.
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My brother is a lot taller than my father.
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4. With superlative adjectives we use the following:
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Paul is by far the most intelligent person I know.
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Her essay was easily the longest in the class.
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Mitigators
1. While intensifiers strengthen the meaning of an adjective, mitigators make them less strong.
fairly, rather, quite, pretty
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The movie was fairly boring.
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The students were rather quiet in class.
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Note: “Pretty” is used in more informal English.
2. With comparative adjectives we use the following words and phrases as mitigators:
a bit, rather, a little bit, slightly
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Dave is a bit faster than me.
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My brother is slightly taller than my father.
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Los intensificadores y mitigadores se usan para variar el grado o fuerza de un adjetivo, verbo o adverbio.
Intensifiers (Los intensificadores)
1. Los intensificadores añaden fuerza al sentido de un adjetivo.
very (muy), really (verdaderamente), extremely (extremadamente),
amazingly (sorprendentemente), exceptionally (excepcionalmente),
incredibly (increíblemente), remarkably (notablemente),
particularly (particularmente), enough (suficiente)…
Ejemplo:
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Kate is really beautiful.(Kate es verdaderamente guapa.)
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Michael can run very fast.(Michael puede correr muy rápido.)
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Sharks are extremely dangerous.(Los tiburones son extremadamente peligrosos.)
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The restaurant was remarkably empty for a Saturday.(El restaurante estaba notablemente vacío para un sábado.)
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It’s incredibly kind of you to help.(Es increíblemente amable de su parte de ayudar.)
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Nota: “Enough” se puede usar como intensificador, pero ten cuidado porque “enough” se encuentra detrás del adjetivo que modifica.
Ejemplos:
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Dan is not old enough to vote.(Dan no tiene la edad suficiente para votar)
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My sister isn’t tall enough to ride on the roller coaster.(Mi hermana no es suficientemente alta para subir a la montaña rusa.)
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2. Cuando queremos indicar que algo o alguien es excepcional, podemos usar los adjetivos fuertes.
enormous (enorme), terrible (terrible), tiny (diminuto),
excellent (excelente), brilliant (brillante), perfect (perfecto),
marvelous (maravilloso)…
Como estos adjetivos fuertes ya indican un extremo (“enorme” = “muy grande”), no usamos el intensificador “very”. Como intensificador para adjetivos fuertes, se usa generalmente: “absolutamente”, “excepcionalmente”, “particularmente”, “realmente” o “bastante”.
Ejemplos:
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Their house is absolutely enormous.(Su casa es absolutamente enorme.)
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Her son is exceptionally brilliant.(Su hijo es excepcionalmente brillante.)
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The dinner you made last night was really marvelous.(La cena que hiciste ayer noche era realmente maravillosa.)
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Nota: Algunos intensificadores sólo se pueden usar con adjetivos particulares.
ejemplos:
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dangerously ill(peligrosamente enfermo)
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dangerously fast(peligrosamente rápido)
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seriously injured(seriamente herido)
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seriously damaged(seriamente dañado)
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highly successful(altamente exitosa)
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highly intelligent(altamente inteligente)
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bitterly disappointed(terriblemente decepcionado)
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bitterly cold(terriblemente frío)
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3. Con adjetivos comparativos se usan palabras o frases particulares como intensificadores.
much (mucho), a lot (mucho), a great deal (mucho),
a good bit (bastante)…
Ejemplos:
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Dave is much faster than me.(Dave es mucho más rápido que yo.)
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My brother is a lot taller than my father.(Mi hermano es mucho más grande que mi padre.)
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4. Con adjetivos superlativos usamos lo siguiente:
easily (fácilmente), by far (sin duda)
Ejemplos:
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Paul is by far the most intelligent person I know.(Paul es sin duda la persona más inteligente que conozco.)
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Her essay was easily the longest in the class.(Su ensayo era fácilmente el más largo de la clase.)
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Mitigators (Los mitigadores)
1. Mientras los intensificadores refuerzan el sentido de un adjetivo, los mitigadores los debilitan.
fairly (bastante), rather (bastante), quite (bastante),
pretty (bastante)…
Ejemplos:
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The movie was fairly boring.(La película era bastante aburrida.)
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The students were rather quiet in class.(Los estudiantes eran bastante tranquilos en clase.)
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It’s a pretty nice day.(Es un día bastante bonito.)
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Nota: “Pretty” se usa en un inglés más informal.
2. Con adjetivos comparativos se usan las siguientes palabras o frases como mitigadores:
a bit (un poco), rather (bastante), a little bit (un poco),
slightly (un poco)…
Ejemplos:
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Dave is a bit faster than me.(Dave es un poco más rápido que yo.)
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My brother is slightly taller than my father.(Mi hermano es un poco más alto que mi padre.)
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