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We don't say "very wonderful" but can we say "very terrible"? Please let me know if it's good English to say "very terrible" since "terrible" is already a strong word. Thank you!
Dec 29, 2014 1:12 AM
Answers · 10
2
I do not agree with the other people answering this question. Both of these constructions are unusual. I wouldn't use them myself. But I do not think they are incorrect. They might be old-fashioned. A search in Google Books finds these examples from famous authors: "...it is not very wonderful that, with all their promising talents and early information, they should be entirely deficient in the less common acquirements of self-knowledge, generosity and humility..."--Jane Austen, "Mansfield Park" "...fishing for the curious inhabitants of the deep,—all of which, although the sailors thought little of them, were strange, and interesting, and very wonderful to me."--R. M. Ballantyne, "The Coral Island" "This growth and dying and reproduction of living things leads to some very wonderful consequences..."--H. G. Wells, "The Outline of History" "Mr. Whistler, whose wonderful and eccentric genius is better appreciated in France than in England, sends a very wonderful picture entitled The Golden Girl..."--Oscar Wilde, "Miscellanies" "The lady, however, did not prove so very terrible."--Charles Reade, "A Terrible Temptation" "This was a very terrible and melancholy thing to see..."--Daniel Defoe, "A Journal of the Plague Year" "He was very terrible to look upon."--Oscar Wilde, "Salomé" "This was a very terrible thing to poor travellers, as you may suppose..."--Nathaniel Hawthorne
December 30, 2014
1
no, you can't use very with either of those adjectives. You can use words like absolutely, completely, or totally, with such adjectives. Or, you can use "really" with any adjective you want. You can also use "quite" in this sense with any adjective you want although the meaning is different between British and US English for the word quite. Another option would be the word rather, especially good with adjectives that are seen as undesirable.
December 29, 2014
1
Very wonderful and very terrible are both wrong. How wonderful! How terrible! (both correct) That is really wonderful. That is really terrible. (both correct) That was so wonderful. That was so terrible. (both correct)
December 29, 2014
1
No, we would not say something is "very terrible" for the reason you give.
December 29, 2014
1
No, it's wrong.
December 29, 2014
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