pretty much perfect

Question

The movie was perfectThe movie was pretty perfect.The movie was pretty much perfect.What's the difference?Thanks.

RayH · Accepted Answer

The movie was perfect Pretty much what it says--you should pardon the expression.

The movie was pretty perfect. I wouldn't expect to hear this much if at all.
The movie was pretty much perfect. Very little to complain about. Very nearly perfect.

CalifJim · Answer

The movie was perfect. OK
The movie was pretty perfect. Anomalous. Impossible.
The movie was pretty much perfect. ... was very close to being perfect; was perfect in almost all respects.
CJ

New2grammar · Answer

Why is pretty perfect not natural while pretty good and pretty well are OK?

RayH · Answer

New2grammarWhy is pretty perfect not natural while pretty good and pretty well are OK?

Well, if one of the grammar experts has a better answer I look forward to it. My guess is that it's just one of the vagaries of the English language.

Huevos · Answer

New2grammarWhy is pretty perfect not natural while pretty good and pretty well are OK?

Some adjectives can be used for comparison while others cannot. Perfect is one of the ones that cannot and personally I would avoid anything that tries to shoehorn it into this type of use.

New2grammar · Answer

HuevosSome adjectives can be used for comparison while others cannot

I don't quite understand why comparison has anything to do with my post. Did I make comparisons in this thread without my own knowledge? Are you saying pretty is a comparison tool?

Huevos · Answer

N2G, if you say "pretty perfect" the adverb pretty is modifying the adjective perfect, but to be perfect is a state, hence something is either perfect or it is not. Take, for example, the adjective "even". It is the same in this respect. So you cannot say "the number is pretty even" or "almost even" because a number is either even or it is not.

New2grammar · Answer

Huevoshence something is either perfect or it is not.

If it's either yes or no, why is pretty much perfect OK? It's really confusing to me

RayH · Answer

Huevosbut to be perfect is a state, hence something is either perfect or it is not.

Not to be contentious, but this isn't exactly true. I can say "nearly perfect", "almost perfect", etc.

Here is a quote from answers.com
Some people maintain that perfect is an absolute term like chief and prime, and therefore cannot be modified by more, quite, relatively, and other qualifiers of degree. But the qualification of perfect has many reputable precedents (most notably in the preamble to the U.S. Constitution in the phrase “in order to form a more perfect Union”). By the same token, perfect often means “ideal for the purposes,” as in There could be no more perfect spot for the picnic, where modification by degree makes perfect sense. I'm afraid N2G's question (and now mine) has not yet been answered.

26TMNTJG2PG · Answer

I append below 2 usage notes from dictionary.com (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/perfect) for perusal of those interested:-

—Usage note A few usage guides still object to the use of comparison words such as more, most, nearly, almost, and rather with perfect on the grounds that perfect describes an absolute, yes-or-no condition that cannot logically be said to exist in varying degrees. The English language has never agreed to this limitation. Since its earliest use in the 13th century, perfect has, like almost all adjectives, been compared, first in the now obsolete forms perfecter and perfectest, and more recently with more, most, and similar comparison words: the most perfect arrangement of color and line imaginable. Perfect is compared in most of its general senses in all varieties of speech and writing. After all, one of the objectives of the writers of the U.S. Constitution was "to form a more perfect union." See also complete, unique.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Usage Note: Some people maintain that perfect is an absolute term like chief and prime, and therefore cannot be modified by more, quite, relatively, and other qualifiers of degree. But the qualification of perfect has many reputable precedents (most notably in the preamble to the U.S. Constitution in the phrase "in order to form a more perfect Union"). By the same token, perfect often means "ideal for the purposes," as in There could be no more perfect spot for the picnic, where modification by degree makes perfect sense. See Usage Notes at absolute, equal, unique.
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth EditionCopyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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