Can i use 'overly' instead of 'very'?

Question

Hello dear teachers,1 : "I sit on the swing and you pull it backwards then leave it.It will automatically move from backwards to forwards" correct?2 : "I wish to go to UK in the first or second week of April" correct?3 : "I'm overly ugly" "I'm overly sorry" correct?

Avangi · Accepted Answer

Hi twil, Thanks for joining us. Welcome to English Forums.

twilit021 : "I sit on the swing and you pull it backwards then leave it.It will automatically move from backwards to forwards" correct? "Automatic" usually implies some man-made device. "Leave it" is to walk away. I'd suggest "let it go," or "release it." I'd suggest future tense, followed by imperative mood. "I'll sit on the swing. You pull it back, and then let it go. It will naturally travel / swing forward and back."

2 : "I wish to go to UK in the first or second week of April" correct? I'd say, " . . . to the UK . . . "

3 : "I'm overly ugly" "I'm overly sorry" correct? These are not idiomatic. The first one works only in the negative. "I'm not overly ugly."

"Very" can be a good thing or a bad thing (very rich / very late for work), but "overly" is only bad. "Very" is the right choice for your two examples here.
I think "overly" works for an emotion only when there's some sort of action or demonstration involved. "She was overly apologetic"; "She was overly excited." "Overly sorry" doesn't work for me. "I think this music is overly sentimental." This is a criticism of what someone has done. "Overly" usually means "excessively," where someone has done something excessive. Being ugly is not an act of excess.

Best regards, - A.

Twilit02 · Answer

Avangi thanks for the help and welcome.

Can i use 'overly' instead of 'very'?

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