Page 136 - English For Nursing

Modifying an adjective

Look at these sentences.
 This looks a bit suspicious.  It feels quite hard.
 The shape is fairly irregular.  It is extremely itchy.

 The edge is not clearly marked.  You have really fair skin.
 It’s much darker in parts.

 Used with comparatives, e.g. more painful, a lot, much, far
worse

 Used with superlatives, e.g. the most tender, the by far
hardest

 Used with gradable adjectives, e.g. sore, itchy too, very, extremely, rather,
pretty, quite, fairly, a little, a
bit, unusually, slightly

 Used with non-gradable adjectives, e.g. absolutely, utterly,
unbearable, terrible, fantastic completely, totally, nearly,

essentially, mainly, almost

Underline the adverbs that best complete the dialog.

Mm, your scalp’s still a lot / a bit inflamed, but actually it’s much / by far better
Doctor :
than it was.

Yes – it’s my neck that’s really / much sore. It’s extremely / absolutely itchy too,
Patient : and it’s got really / a lot worse this week. It was absolutely / slightly unbearable
last night – by far / easily the worst it’s been.
Doctor : You’ve got to resist the urge to scratch, though, or it can get infected.
I know, I know. It’s very / a lot dry – that’s the problem. I’ve tried creams from
Patient :
the chemist, but they don’t seem to work.
Doctor : I’ll prescribe you Topicon.
Patient : Is that a barrier cream?
Yes. It’s really / very wonderful stuff. It’s a little bit / by far the best I’ve come
Doctor :
across – fast-acting too.
Patient : Let’s hope so.

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