'not very good' meaning
Hi: I hope you all will be fine as the world is facing the current crisis.(referring to Covid-19)
Anyway, the confusion I have at the moment is about the phrase "not very good".
For example:
-How was the interview?
~It wasn't very good.
Here, what meaning does "not very good" convey, please? Does it mean it was good, but not 'very' good?
Top answer
Laborious Does it mean it was good, but not 'very' good? No. It is understatement.
- Laborious Does it mean it was good, but not 'very' good?
- No.
- It is understatement.
- It means that it was bad.
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LaboriousDoes it mean it was good, but not 'very' good?
No. It is understatement. It means that it was bad.
0Here, what meaning does "not very good" convey, please? Does it mean it was good, but not 'very' good?
It usually means that it was bad or very bad. It's a form of what is called understatement, ie expressing something in milder terms than you actually feel about it.
eg I say It wasn't very good. But I'm thinking It was terrible, It was awful, IT WAS A DISASTER!!!
0Laboriousn't very good
The negation of an adjective tends to attract the word 'very'. This weakens the sense of the adjective.
If something is not good, we think "It was bad". If something is not very good, we think "Well, at least it wasn't horrible".
LaboriousDoes it mean it was good, but not 'very' good?
0
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