Lesson 18: Adding Detail: Adverbs & Intensifiers
use precise adverbs and intensifiers to colour your speech instead of leaning on "very".
Why this matters
"Very good / very nice / very interesting" is the most over-used phrase in IELTS. Precise adverbs of degree show range and make descriptions vivid — a quick, reliable lexical upgrade.
The Tip/Trick
Ban "very"; use a precise intensifier or a stronger adjective. "very good" → "absolutely brilliant"; "very tired" → "completely exhausted".
- Before: "It is a very good hobby and very fun and very relaxing."
- After: "It's an incredibly rewarding hobby — genuinely relaxing and surprisingly addictive."
Grammar Focus — Adverbs of degree (intensifiers)
Rule: intensifiers grade adjectives: absolutely/completely + extreme adjectives (exhausted, brilliant); incredibly/really/fairly/somewhat/slightly + gradable adjectives. Reference: the "Adverbs of degree (intensifiers)" section.
- "It's incredibly satisfying but fairly time-consuming."
- "I'm absolutely hooked." (extreme adjective + absolutely)
- "It's somewhat challenging at first, then remarkably easy."
Vocabulary Cluster — A hobby / skill
Add to under "A hobby / skill".
- to be hooked on — addicted to — "I'm completely hooked on it."
- to pick up a skill — learn it — "I picked up the skill quickly."
- to get the hang of it — become competent — "It took a while to get the hang of it."
- a steep learning curve — hard at first — "There's a steep learning curve."
- incredibly rewarding — very satisfying — "It's incredibly rewarding."
- second nature — automatic with practice — "Now it's second nature."
- to dabble in — do casually — "I also dabble in painting."
- to hone a skill — improve it carefully — "I'm honing my editing skills."
Drill these as flashcards — flip, then grade yourself.
Answer Outline
- What + intensifier: "It's an incredibly ____ hobby."
- Learning curve: "At first it was somewhat ____, but ____."
- Now: "These days it's pretty much second nature."
- Why: "What I find genuinely ____ is ____."
Model Answers: 5.0 vs 7.0
Cue card: Describe a skill you would like to improve.
Band 5.0: "I want improve my guitar. It is very hard but very fun. I practice very much. I am not very good but I like it very much."
Band 7.0: "I'd love to get better at playing the guitar. When I started, it was genuinely frustrating — there's a fairly steep learning curve, and my fingers were absolutely killing me. But it's incredibly rewarding once chords start to feel like second nature. I'm slowly honing the skill, and honestly, I'm completely hooked. What I find remarkably relaxing is just losing an hour to it after work."
What changed:
- "very" eliminated, replaced with: "genuinely", "fairly", "absolutely", "incredibly", "remarkably".
- Collocations: "a steep learning curve", "second nature", "hooked", "honing the skill".
- Gradable vs extreme intensifiers used correctly.
- "very" overload → vary intensifiers.
- "absolutely good" (wrong) → "absolutely brilliant" (extreme adjective) or "really good".
- "I want improve" → "I want to improve".
Your Turn (Record)
Task: Cue card "Describe a hobby or skill you enjoy." 2-min talk with a strict no-"very" rule — use at least 4 different intensifiers and 3 collocations. ⏱ 1 + 2 min.
Your turn — record & get scored
Part 2- Describe a hobby or skill you enjoy.
Self-Check + Spaced Review
Done when:
- I used zero (or near-zero) "very".
- I used ≥4 intensifiers and ≥3 collocations.
- My intensifier+adjective pairings were correct.
Spaced review:
- From Lesson 17: avoid repeating the same adjective.
- From Lesson 16: store the new collocations in your vocab bank.