Adjectives: gradable and non-gradable

Adjectives: gradable and non-gradable

Do you know how to use adjectives in phrases like a bit cold, really cold and absolutely freezing? Test what you know with interactive exercises and read the explanation to help you.

Look at these examples to see how gradable and non-gradable adjectives are used.

It's really cold.
It's absolutely freezing.
This exercise is really difficult.
This exercise is completely impossible.

Try this exercise to test your grammar.

Grammar test 1

Adjectives: gradable and non-gradable: Grammar test 1

Grammar explanation

Gradable adjectives

Most adjectives are gradable. This means we can have different levels of that quality. For example, you can be a bit cold, very cold or extremely cold. We can make them weaker or stronger with modifiers:

She was quite angry when she found out.
The film we saw last night was really funny!
It can be extremely cold in Russia in the winter.

Here is a list of some common gradable adjectives and some modifiers that we can use with them.

Modifiers a little/a bit pretty/quite really/very extremely
Adjectives angry, big, boring, cheap, cold, expensivefrightening, funny, hot, interestingold, prettysmall, tasty, tired, etc.

Non-gradable: absolute adjectives

Some adjectives are non-gradable. For example, something can't be a bit finished or very finished. You can't be a bit dead or very dead. These adjectives describe absolute qualities. To make them stronger we have to use modifiers like absolutely, totally or completely:

Thank you, I love it! It's absolutely perfect!
Their farm was totally destroyed by a tornado.
My work is completely finished. Now I can relax.

Here is a list of some common absolute adjectives and some modifiers that we can use with them.

Modifiers absolutely/totally/completely
Adjectives acceptable, dead, destroyed, finished, free, impossible, necessary, perfect, ruined, unacceptable, etc.

Non-gradable: extreme adjectives

Adjectives like amazing, awful and boiling are also non-gradable. They already contain the idea of 'very' in their definitions. If we want to make extreme adjectives stronger, we have to use absolutely or really:

Did you see the final match? It was absolutely amazing!
After 32 hours of travelling, they were absolutely exhausted.
My trip home was really awful. First, traffic was really bad, then the car broke down and we had to walk home in the rain.

Here is a list of some common extreme adjectives and some modifiers that we can use with them.

Modifiers absolutely/really
Adjectives amazing, ancient, awful, boiling, delicious, enormous, excellent, exhausted, fascinating, freezing, gorgeous, terrible, terrifying, tiny, etc.

 

Do this exercise to test your grammar again.

Grammar test 2

Adjectives: gradable and non-gradable: Grammar test 2

Average: 4.5 (510 votes)

Submitted by ManuAnd on Mon, 16/06/2025 - 22:57

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I'm just starting to do the exercise now, i hope I'll be consistent

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Submitted by Ang on Fri, 13/06/2025 - 11:46

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It was totally clear to me understand the explanation, thanks!

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Submitted by Fatimaeissa on Mon, 02/06/2025 - 07:54

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Thankyou I will do my bes ❤️     

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Submitted by carolina67 on Sun, 01/06/2025 - 05:21

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This lesson is very easy to undertand . thaks you for your job,it is totally useful. 

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Submitted by Bari on Thu, 29/05/2025 - 10:37

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Thank you for this lesson!

Submitted by Win Lai Yee on Fri, 23/05/2025 - 09:30

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A new step and move forward to my goal C1...

 

Submitted by Muxlisa_13 on Wed, 21/05/2025 - 16:04

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I did not know about non-gradable and gradable adjectives, but now i learned them. Thanks to BCO.

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Submitted by DenisePimenta on Wed, 21/05/2025 - 10:20

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This grammar lesson about gradable and non-gradable adjectives is really interesting.

I always have had doubts about it, now I learned and know how to use them.

Thanks!!! 😍

Submitted by lamaxal on Sun, 18/05/2025 - 08:31

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That is a good topic, I really enjoy it.

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Submitted by Phan Thanh Tan on Sat, 17/05/2025 - 05:45

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I beginner 
I mark here 
May 17, 2025
Hopefully, I will graduate C1

 

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