Gradable and Non-gradable adjectives!

Gradable adjectives

Many adjectives describe qualities that can be measured in degrees, such as size, beauty, age, etc. These adjectives are often called gradable adjectives because they can be used in comparative or superlative forms, or with grading adverbs such as very or extremely, to show that a person or thing has more or less of a particular quality. The following are some examples of common gradable adjectives used with grading adverbs:

Don’t talk to Jenny, she’s very angry.

Sorry, I can’t stop, I’m extremely busy.

I’m worried about Tom, he’s dreadfully unhappy.

This is a very important matter.

That slice of cake is rather big.

Non-gradable adjectives

Some adjectives describe qualities that are completely present or completely absent. They do not occur in comparative and superlative forms, and cannot be used with adverbs such as very or extremely, because we don’t usually imagine degrees of more or less of the quality being described. They are referred to as non-gradable adjectives. Non-gradable adjectives do sometimes occur with non-grading adverbs such as completely which emphasize the extent of the quality, e.g.:

The questions were completely impossible.

The food was absolutely superb.

Adjectives which identify something as belonging to a particular type, sometimes referred to as classifying adjectives, are also non-gradable, cf:

a chemical reaction. = an extremely chemical reaction

an indoor pool = a very indoor pool