Busca entre varios profesores de Inglés...
Владимир
be hungry vs be starving
Hi!
Is there any difference in their using or they're the same?
Thank you.
25 de jul. de 2016 7:10
Respuestas · 8
2
Theyare the same. If you want to differentiate:
"I'm hungry" = the normal expression
"I'm starving = adds emphasis
But either one is fine. :)
25 de julio de 2016
1
You may think like this. If I were hungry I would eat a regular meal rather quickly. If I were starving I wouldn't be satisfied by a regular meal, I would ask for more.
25 de julio de 2016
1
'Starving' is more extreme than 'hungry'. Originally, the word verb 'starve' meant 'die' in its broadest sense, but in modern English it means 'dying of hunger'. If a person actually starves, it means that they die from lack of food.
In casual idiomatic speech, we use the word 'starving' to mean extremely hungry.
"Are you hungry?"
"Hungry? Are you joking? I'm absolutely starving! I haven't eaten all day."
Obviously this is a deliberate exaggeration, as the person who says that they are starving is not literally dying of hunger - they are just extremely hungry. Similar pairs of words to hungry/starving are hot/boiling and cold/freezing.
Are you cold? Yes, I'm absolutely freezing!
Was it hot when you went to Spain? Yes, it was boiling.
Again, these are obvious exaggerations. In each case, the neutral word (hungry, cold, hot) is a gradeable adjective, while the 'extreme' word (starving, freezing, boiling) is ungradeable.
25 de julio de 2016
1
Also, "starving" is less formal. It would be considered inappropriate in formal occasions. A better word to use is "famished" which is a bit more polite. Starving is something a child might say,
25 de julio de 2016
¿No has encontrado las respuestas?
¡Escribe tus preguntas y deja que los hablantes nativos te ayuden!
Владимир
Competencias lingüísticas
Inglés, Ruso
Idioma de aprendizaje
Inglés
Artículos que podrían gustarte

Same Word, Different Meaning: American, British, and South African English
22 votos positivos · 17 Comentarios

How to Sound Confident in English (Even When You’re Nervous)
17 votos positivos · 12 Comentarios

Marketing Vocabulary and Phrases for Business English Learners
14 votos positivos · 6 Comentarios
Más artículos
