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Mjomran Posted 20 years ago
Vocabulary
Quite and Pretty
Hi,
1. When one says "quite good", does this mean "very good" or "faily good"?
2. When one says "pretty sure", does this mean "very sure" or "faily sure"?
Thanks in advance
1. When one says "quite good", does this mean "very good" or "faily good"?
2. When one says "pretty sure", does this mean "very sure" or "faily sure"?
Thanks in advance
Top answer
that's "fairly," which is pretty average by the way "quite" is closer to "very" quite 3 : to a considerable extent : PRETTY, RATHER <quite near> <quite ill> <quite rich> fairly 4 : TOLERABLY, MODERATELY, RATHER <a fairly difficult scientific text> <a fairly steady diet of lamb and beef> : moderately well <how are you getting along? Only fairly>
- that's "fairly," which is pretty average by the way "quite" is closer to "very" quite 3 : to a considerable extent : PRETTY, RATHER <quite near> <quite ill> <quite rich> fairly 4 : TOLERABLY, MODERATELY, RATHER <a fairly difficult scientific text> <a fairly steady diet of lamb and beef> : moderately well <how are you getting along?
- Only fairly>
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6 Answers
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that's "fairly," which is pretty average by the way
"quite" is closer to "very"
quite
3 : to a considerable extent : PRETTY, RATHER <quite near> <quite ill>
<quite rich>
fairly
4 : TOLERABLY, MODERATELY, RATHER <a fairly difficult scientific text>
<a fairly steady diet of lamb and beef> : moderately well <how are
"quite" is closer to "very"
quite
3 : to a considerable extent : PRETTY, RATHER <quite near> <quite ill>
<quite rich>
fairly
4 : TOLERABLY, MODERATELY, RATHER <a fairly difficult scientific text>
<a fairly steady diet of lamb and beef> : moderately well <how are
00
I think it depends on the intonation, in British English. With a confident intonation, "That's quite good!" can mean "that's surprisingly good!". With a hesitant intonation – "That's quite good" – it can mean "fairly good".
(The same applies to "pretty".)
MrP
(The same applies to "pretty".)
MrP
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MrPedanticI think it depends on the intonation, in British English. With a confident intonation, "That's quite good!" can mean "that's surprisingly good!". With a hesitant intonation – "That's quite good" – it can mean "fairly good".It's the same in NAmE (North American English).
(The same applies to "pretty".)
MrP
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Thank you all for ur valuable feedbacks. So it depends on the intonation. However, when one writes it. How can we distiguish between the two meanings?
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Hi,
Generaly speaking, in writing you just have to rely on the context and on your familiarity, if any, with the writer.
Best wishes, Clive
Generaly speaking, in writing you just have to rely on the context and on your familiarity, if any, with the writer.
Best wishes, Clive
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