STRONG ADJECTIVES

They have the idea of "very" and are followed by a normal adjective

Examples

• gorgeous = very beautiful
• huge = very big

Base Adjectives	Strong Adjectives
beautiful	gorgeous
ugly	awful
dirty	filthy
good	superb, great, fantastic
bad	terrible
happy	thrilled
angry	furious
hungry	starving
tired	exhausted
funny	hilarious
big	huge, enormous
small	tiny
fat	obese
scared	terrified
cold	freezing
hot	boiling

With strong adjectives, for intensifiers we normally use: absolutely - exceptionally - particularly - really - quite

The film was absolutely awful.

He was an exceptionally brilliant child.

The food smelled really disgusting

Very, absolutely and really are used differently according whether the adjective is a base or a strong one:

	very	absolutely	really
Base adjectives
Strong adjectives

Examples:

• He was very happy; he was absolutely thrilled.
• He was really happy/thrilled.

Intensifiers with comparatives and superlatives:
We use these words and phrases as intensifiers with comparative adjectives: much - far - a lot - quite a lot - a great deal - a good deal - a good bit - a fair bit

• He is much older than me.
• New York is a lot bigger than Boston.
• We use much and far as intensifiers with comparative adjectives in front of a noun:
• France is a much bigger country than Britain.
• He is a far better player than Ronaldo.

We use these words as intensifiers with superlatives: easily - by far - far

• The blue whale is easily the biggest animal in the world.
• This car was by far the most expensive.

To practise this grammar point, please go to tolearnenglish.com or english file. For all the other grammar points in this unit (quantifiers, articles, infinitive/gerund), please go the OUP website here.

INFINITIVE OR GERUND?

See this presentation; I hope it helps you:

Inf Ger NI2
If you want to play while you learn, you can try this duel game from englishmedialab.com.

Male brains vs Female brains

"A tale of two brains"

Mark Gungor

In this video Mark Gungor, a marriage expert, talks about the difference between male brains and female brains in a very humorous way. Are you ready to have a laugh?

I WISH...

Would you like things to be different? Then, MAKE A WISH.... and remember...
1. when  we make a wish about the present,  we use 

If only / I wish + simple past

Example:

If only I knew how to use a computer. (I don’t know how to use a computer and I would like to learn how to use it) 

I wish I spoke Italian. (I don't speak Italian) 

Now listen to Avril Lavigne, enjoy the song and sing along

2. To express a wish about the past (usually regretting something):

If only / I wish + past perfect

Example:

If only I had woken up early. (I didn't wake up early and I missed my bus.) 

I wish I hadn't eaten so much. (I ate a lot.) 

3. When you wish that SOMEONE ELSE would do something (you are usually impatient, or you complain about something you don't like / annoys you):

I wish / if only + would + verb

Example:

I wish you wouldn't arrive so late all the time (I'm annoyed because you always come late and I want you to arrive on time) 

I wish it would stop raining. (I'm impatient because it is raining and I want to go outside.)

Finally, to practise a little, go here. to better-english.com, myenglishpages.com... In busyteacher you'll find some sentences and their answers below (please, don't look at them until you've done them first). 
Tolearnenglish has exercises for present wishes, regrets, and past situations, and more...