2018-05-30 Grammar: degree complements

Greg Malivuk
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http://www.pastebin.com/u/gmalivuk - notes from all classes
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Homework: p. 129 exercise 3 - Write sentences with intensifiers that are true for you. (Read p. 128 for help with the meaning of different intensifiers.)
1 I’m a pretty good traveler.
2 I’m really fond of meat. / I really like meat.
3 Waiting more than half an hour for the next class is kind of boring.
4 I don’t speak Spanish fluently enough.
5 I drink too much coke.
6 I’m a very good student. = I’m an excellent student.
- We don’t use most intensifiers with “strong” adjectives like “excellent”, because those already include the idea of “very”.
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“too” and “very”
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Q: What do you think of the food?
A1: It’s very spicy! = It’s spicy, but maybe I like it.
A2: It’s too spicy! = I can’t eat it.
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p. 131 exercise 5 - Complete the sentences with “too” or “very”.
1 too
2 very
3 too
4 very
5 too
6 too, very (“pretty” would be a lot more common in this sentence)
7 too
8 very
9 very
10 too
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p. 132 - We can use intensifiers with “too” (and comparatives) to show how big a difference there is.
way/far/much - it’s a great deal more than I want
a bit/a little/somewhat - it’s a small amount more than I want
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exercise 7 - Tell your partners about things you don’t like (from the list or your own ideas), and explain why you don’t like them with an intensifier and “too”.
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p. 134 focus 6 - We can put infinitive phrases after expressions with “too” or “enough” to say what can or can’t happen as a consequence of the degree.

It’s too cold to go swimming, but it’s not cold enough to go skiing.
= It’s not warm enough to go swimming, but it’s too warm to go skiing.
= I can’t do either activity.

It’s finally warm enough to go swimming. = It’s not too cold to go swimming. = I can do it.
It’s finally cold enough to go skiing. = It’s not too warm to go skiing. = I can do it.

This is too spicy for me to eat, but you might love it.
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p. 135 exercise 9 - Write sentences that have the same meaning, with “too” or “enough” and an infinitive phrase.
1 Denise has too many responsibilities to take a vacation right now.
2 The pace of work is too hectic for Denise to do her best work.
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Tomorrow: write 5 sentences about the Spring Games activity that use intensifiers or degree complements (“My team ran too slowly to win.”)