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Anonymous Posted 16 years ago
Grammar

Pretty vs. very

very good
pretty good

What's the difference between these words?
I'm confused because the dictionary defines 'pretty' as moderately/farily and also quite/very, which I believe both definitions are not the same in meaning. Could you please clarify?
  

Top answer

With adverbs of degree like these, defining the exact degree is difficult. Dictionaries do vary somewhat with their definitions - personally I like the ones in the Oxford dictionary: very good - to a high degree pretty good - to a certain extent or fairly It's worth noting that how we say a word can also play an important part in conveying its precise meaning. g.

— BillJ

  • With adverbs of degree like these, defining the exact degree is difficult.
  • Dictionaries do vary somewhat with their definitions - personally I like the ones in the Oxford dictionary: very good - to a high degree pretty good - to a certain extent or fairly It's worth noting that how we say a word can also play an important part in conveying its precise meaning.
  • g.
  • very good, that could indicate a slightly higher degree than the 'normal' very , whereas with pretty good that could mean to a slightly lower degree that the 'normal' pretty .
  • BillJ
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2 Answers
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With adverbs of degree like these, defining the exact degree is difficult. Dictionaries do vary somewhat with their definitions - personally I like the ones in the Oxford dictionary:

very good - to a high degree

pretty good - to a certain extent or fairly

It's worth noting that how we say a word can also play an important part in conveying its preci
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Hi BillJ,

Thank you for your explanation.
BillJwhereas with pretty good that could mean to a slightly lower degree that the 'normal' pretty.
I understand stressing the word could give more emphasis to the meaning. Just to clarify, does stressing the word 'pretty' with pretty good indicate a slightly lower degree as y
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