程度副詞
程度副詞透露動詞、形容詞或另一個副詞的強度或程度；通常放在其修飾的字詞前，不過底下還會再探討幾個例外情況。
| 程度副詞 | 修飾 | 舉例 |
|---|---|---|
| extremely | 形容詞 | The water was extremely cold. |
| quite | 形容詞 | The movie is quite interesting. |
| just | 動詞 | He was just leaving. |
| almost | 動詞 | She has almost finished. |
| very | 副詞 | She is running very fast. |
| too | 副詞 | You are walking too slowly. |
| enough | 副詞 | You are running fast enough. |
enough 的用法
enough 可用作副詞，也可以用作限定詞。
用作副詞的 enough
有「某程度必要性」之意的副詞 enough， 會放在其修飾的形容詞或副詞後，而不是像其他副詞一樣放在前面。enough 可以用在肯定句和否定句。
- Is your coffee hot enough?
- This box isn't big enough.
- He didn't work hard enough.
- I got here early enough.
enough 後面通常會接 to + 不定詞。
舉例
- He didn't work hard enough to pass the exam.
- Is your coffee hot enough to drink?
- She's not old enough to get married.
- I got here early enough to sign up.
enough 後面也可以接 for + 某人或 for + 某物。
舉例
- The dress was big enough for me.
- She's not experienced enough for this job.
- Is the coffee hot enough for you?
- He didn't work hard enough for a promotion.
用作限定詞的 enough
有「足夠」之意的限定詞 enough 會放在其修飾的名詞前面；與可數名詞複數或不可數名詞連用。
舉例
- We have enough bread.
- You have enough children.
- They don't have enough food.
- I don't have enough apples.
too 的用法
too 向來都是個副詞，但它具有兩個截然不同的意思，每個都有特定的用法。
意指「也」的 too
有「也」之意的副詞 too 會放在其修飾的片語後。
舉例
- I would like to go swimming too, if you will let me come.
- Can I go to the zoo too?
- Is this gift for me too?
- I'm not going to clean your room too!
意指「過於」的 too
有「過於」之意的副詞 too，會放在其修飾的形容詞或副詞前。too 可以用在肯定句和否定句。
舉例
- This coffee is too hot.
- He works too hard.
- Isn't she too young?
- I am not too short!
too 後面經常接 to + 不定詞。
舉例
- The coffee was too hot to drink.
- You're too young to have grandchildren!
- I am not too tired to go out tonight.
- Don't you work too hard to have any free time?
too 後面也可以接 for + 某人或 for + 某物。
舉例
- The coffee was too hot for me.
- The dress was too small for her.
- He's not too old for this job.
- Sally's not too slow for our team.
very 的用法
very 會放在副詞或形容詞之前，用來加強意思。
舉例
- The girl was very beautiful.
- The house is very expensive.
- He worked very quickly.
- She runs very fast.
如果想表達形容詞或副詞的相反意思，有幾種方式：可以在動詞加上 not，若要委婉、更有禮貌的說法則是用 not very，或者乾脆用反義的形容詞或副詞來表達。這幾種說法都可以表達否定或反義，但意思上不盡相同。
舉例
| 原始說法 | 以 not 表達相反的意思 | 以 not very 表達相反的意思 | 以反義字表達相反的意思 |
|---|---|---|---|
| The girl was beautiful. | The girl was not beautiful. | The girl was not very beautiful. | The girl was ugly. |
| He worked quickly. | He did not work quickly. | He did not work very quickly. | He worked slowly. |
very 和 too 在意思上的不同
too 和 very 之間的意思有很大的不同；very 表達的是事實，也是個人可接受的範圍；而 too 則是透露某件事有問題，超出個人可接受的範圍。
舉例
- He speaks very quickly.
- He speaks too quickly for me to understand.
- It is very hot outside.
- It is too hot outside to go for a walk.
類似 very 的其他副詞
有些常見的副詞跟 very 的用法類似，用來加強形容詞和副詞的程度。
| 表達非常強烈的感覺 | 表達強烈的感覺 | 表達有點含糊的感覺 |
|---|---|---|
| extremely, terribly, amazingly, wonderfully, insanely | especially, particularly, uncommonly, unusually, remarkably, quite | pretty, rather, fairly, not especially, not particularly |
| The movie was amazingly interesting. | The movie was particularly interesting. | The movie was fairly interesting. |
| She sang wonderfully well. | She sang unusually well. | She sang pretty well. |
| The lecture was terribly boring. | The lecture was quite boring. | The lecture was rather boring. |
帶有否定副詞的倒裝句
一般主詞都會在動詞之前，但有些否定副詞放在句首時，就會造成倒裝。在此情況下字序會相反，且動詞會出現在主詞前。倒裝句一般用在書面上，口語上不太會這樣用。
| 副詞 | 一般字序 | 倒裝 |
|---|---|---|
| Never | I have never seen such courage. | Never have I seen such courage. |
| Rarely | She rarely left the house. | Rarely did she leave the house. |
| Not only | She did not only the cooking but the cleaning as well. | Not only did she do the cooking, but the cleaning as well. |
| Scarcely | I scarcely closed the door before he started talking. | Scarcely did I close the door before he started talking. |
| Seldom | We seldom cross the river after sunset. | Seldom do we cross the river sunset. |