How to use adverbs of degree

by R. S. Karunaratne

Sometimes we want to give more information about an action or the degree to which an action is performed. For these purposes we use adverbs of degree.

My daughter is remarkably tall for her age.

I enjoyed the film ‘Aba’ immensely.

She had almost forgotten to lock the front door.

The new US president can radically change the government.

Most adverbs of degree are formed from adjectives by adding “ly”.

The speaker began to make the position absolutely clear.

Rich people are adequately insured.

Clothes are amazingly cheap in India.

I’m afraid I’m awfully late today.

Both vehicles were badly damaged in the collision.

He is completely innocent of the crime.

It’s considerably warmer today.

I couldn’t see clearly because of the darkness.

The judges were deeply impressed by her performance.

Our expenditure has been drastically reduced.

We suffered dreadfully during World War II.

Her uncle is enormously rich and influential.

She has twins, but they look entirely different.

The Sri Lankan team played exceedingly well.

When we were in Tokyo we had to pay excessively high prices.

Mala has travelled extensively in the United States.

Aishwarya is extra-ordinarily beautiful.

The boy was pulled up because he behaved extremely badly.

‘Gulliver’s Travels’ is a fairly easy book to read.

His new car is fantastically expensive.

Information Technology is now a subject fully covered at certain institutes.

The opposition charges are greatly exaggerated.

All of us enjoyed his jokes hugely.

The children enjoyed the circus immensely.

My friend is now behaving incredibly well.

After an argument she disliked him intensely.

The case was reopened largely because of new evidence.

I think I did moderately well in the examination.

The safe was nearly empty when she opened it.

We were partly responsible for the accident.

I think you know perfectly well what I mean.

Some of the streets are poorly lit at night.

Chandra was positively glowing with excitement.

Athletes are powerfully built.

The author’s books are practically unknown here.

Diane was profoundly shaken by the news.

Our meeting is purely accidental.

The architect has radically altered my plan.

You really should not misbehave in the classroom.

Let’s discuss the problem calmly and reasonably.

My daughter is remarkably tall for her age.

Cost of living has risen significantly.

He solved the problem quite simply.

The patient is slightly better today.

If you can sleep soundly, you are healthy.

I feel strongly that criminals should be punished.

Unless you are sufficiently careful, you will fall from the ladder.

She was supremely happy after the graduation.

The patient looked surprisingly well.

Everything was suspiciously quiet.

She suffered terribly when she lost her job.

Nayana totally forgot to bring her notes.

Some students work tremendously hard.

Tell me truly what you think about him.

Some people are unbelievably stupid.

Sandun and Hemantha are utterly different.

Virtually everyone I knew had left the country.

His new car is fantastically expensive.

Everything worked out wonderfully.

“much” is a special adverb of degree used in negative clauses.

The lecturer’s explanation did not help much.

“very much” is used in a similar way.

Nadira is beautiful and charming. I like her very much.

Comparative and superlative adverbs can be used as adverbs of degree.

I know Raju better than anyone else.

It’s raining worse than yesterday.

The coastal areas were worst hit by the tsunami.