"It is very possible" vs "It is very much possible"

Question

HiCould you please shed some light on these?It is very much possible that...It is very possible that ...She is very much busy at the moment and would like you to...She is very busy at the moment and would like you to...Thanks,Tom

Canadian45 · Accepted Answer

Mr. Tom Hi Could you please shed some light on these?
It is very much possible that...

It is very possible that ...

She is very much busy at the moment and would like you to...

She is very busy at the moment and would like you to... Thanks, Tom
I wouldn't use either of the sentences with "much".

Just as I wouldn't say 'much (possible)(busy)', I also wouldn't say 'very much (possible)(busy)'.

Dimsumexpress · Answer

Mr. TomIt is very much possible that...

It wouldn't be wrong and you may probably hear people say that. But it sounds more smooth to the ears without "much".
That said, there are many examples which are normal when used in the pattern you pointed out. i.e.

He was found very much alive when they found him in the woods.

Her house was very much intact from the tornado.

She was pretty much left to fend for myself.

Dave_anon · Answer

Hi

I agree. There doesn't seem to be a rule for "very much"

It seems to work well with comparatives, participles and adjective phrases with a prepostion..

- He looks very much healthier now

- She's very much tied up with her novel

- That style is very much in fashion

But when it comes to ordinary adjectives, it is difficult..

[Probably not good..] - He is very much pink in the face

[Probably OK] - He is very much active in the Democrat party

Perhaps others will have a view on this..

Best regards, Dave

Anonymous · Answer

Mr. Tom
Hi

Could you please shed some light on these?

It is very much possible that...
It is very possible that ...

She is very much busy at the moment and would like you to...
She is very busy at the moment and would like you to...

Thanks,

Tom

Hi,

"Very much' means 'greatly' and doesn't seem to collocate with the adjectives 'possible' and 'busy'. "Greatly possible"?/"greatly busy"? No, it doesn't work.

Mr. Tom · Answer

Thanks!

So, should I understand that both of the following sentences are equally natural?

He was very hurt by her remarks.

He was very much hurt by her remarks.

Thanks,

Tom

Anonymous · Answer

Mr. Tom
Thanks!

So, should I understand that both of the following sentences are equally natural?

He was very hurt by her remarks.
He was very much hurt by her remarks.

Thanks,

Tom

Hi,

I'd prefer the He was very much hurt by her remarks or He was much hurt by her remarks. Eventually, in the He was very hurt by her remarks I'd omit the adverb 'very' altogether and replaced it with 'most': He was most hurt by her remarks.

Yankee · Answer

Hi Tom,

You seem to have stirred up quite a bit of interest with your question about 'very much+adjective'.

Here is my two cents:

First of all, I agree with Canadian45 that the two sentences you posted with 'very much possible' and 'very much busy' are not natural. However, it seems to me I've heard such sentences from Indian speakers of English, so it's possible this may be a feature of Indian English usage.

My next point is that 'very much+adjective' is sometimes used to contradict or to state something you believe will be surprising or unexpected to the listener or to other people. Dimsumexpress's first example illustrated that. Here are some examples with a bit more context:

A: Hey, did you know that John died last month?

B: Well, when I saw him at the bowling alley last night, he was very much alive.

(contradiction)

C: I guess we won't be able to fly into ABC Airport. After that tornado they had yesterday, it's probably closed.

D: No, the airport is very much open. The tornado did a lot of damage in the downtown area, but missed the airport. (surprising, contradictory)

Another thing to keep in mind about the examples above is that those adjectives would NOT normally be the kind that would have varying degrees. In other words, generally speaking, you are either alive or dead (not something in between), or a business is either open or not open. Most of the time there are not varying degrees of 'alive' or 'dead', or 'open' or 'not open'. These sorts of ideas tend to be absolutes, so using 'very' with them would not be done in most cases. However, using 'very much' with absolute adjectives would not be unusual in the sorts of situations I mentioned above.

The next thing that comes to mind is that 'very much' can precede a participle in a situation where it could also be used naturally after the participle. In this sort of situation, the use of 'very' alone would not be natural:

- Humanitarian aid is very much needed in Somalia. / Humanitarian aid is needed very much in Somalia.

- He is very much dreading his final exam. / He is dreading his final exam very much.

However, others will no doubt point out that the participles above are not adjectives, strictly speaking.

Other than that, you will sometimes see 'very much' preceding other types of words and phrases in situations where the word 'very' alone would never be used. This is an emphatic usage:

- He is very much his father's son. (He is just like his father)

- Of course she knows what the situation is! She is very much in the picture! (contradictory, or surprising)

- Until August 1st, whether an agreement on the debt ceiling could be reached in Congress was very much in question.

Those are my thoughts for now. Hope that helps, Tom.

Mr. Tom · Answer

Like I have always said, your posts are complete lessons, Amy. Thanks a lot for the detailed response. I appreciate the effort.

And my thanks to others, too.

Tom

Mr. Tom · Answer

Hi

Would you say that the answers are 100% correct?

http://www.better-english.com/grammar/very.htm

Thanks,

Tom

Dave_anon · Answer

Hi

I don't know. There may be some formal rule here - but the web page doesn't tell us what it might be

Approaching it as a learning experience, I was very much disappointed by it

- but the web page seems to say that's wrong!

Best regards, Dave

"It is very possible" vs "It is very much possible"

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