Hey, there, how’ve you been?

When we want to intensify an adjective we usually use an adverb like very, right? Well, today in our post we’re going to see that we can use a stronger word to intensify the adjective. For instance, if I ask you, “Are you hungry?” , you can say, “Hungry? I’m starving! I could eat a horse!” meaning you are very very hungry. So starving means very hungry!

Let’s check out some other adjectives that have stronger correspondents!

a lot – tons
angry – furious
bad – awful
beautiful – gorgeous
big – huge
bright – blinding
clean – spotless
cold – freezing
crowded – packed
cute – adorable
dirty – filthy
enough – plenty
exciting – thrilling
full (food) – stuffed
funny – hilarious
happy – ecstatic
huge – gigantic
hungry – starving
important – crucial
interesting – fascinating
loud – deafening
old – ancient
painful – excrutiating
rich – loaded
scared – mortified
shocked – flabbergasted
slim – skinny
small – tiny
smart – brilliant
sure – positive
surprised – astonished
thirsty – parched
tired – exhausted
ugly – hideous
wet – drenched

Some examples:

Oh, this fish was big, I mean, we’re talking huge!
Let me tell you… This hotel was dirty. I mean, we’re talking filthy!
Obviously I was very, very angry, I mean, we’re talking furious!
And this guy’s dog was ugly! I mean, we’re talking hideous!
The thing is, my computer’s old, I mean, we’re talking ancient!
But the music was way too loud. I mean, we’re talking deafening!

Fonte: Como dizer tudo em inglês avançado (Ron Martinez)