「很」的錯誤升級 *very* 換錯字反而扣分

所有 IELTS 老師都會說：「不要用 very，升級你的形容詞。」於是台灣考生把 very tired 改成 exhausted——很好。但接下來他們會寫 very exhausted——馬上扣兩科。

兩種形容詞的區別

| 類型 | 例子 | 修飾副詞 | |------|------|----------| | gradable (普通形容詞) | tired, hungry, big, cold, interesting, important | very, quite, fairly | | strong / extreme (極端形容詞) | exhausted, starving, huge, freezing, fascinating, crucial | absolutely, completely, utterly |

規則：

• very + gradable ✓: very tired
• very + extreme ❌: very exhausted (冗詞)
• absolutely + extreme ✓: absolutely exhausted
• absolutely + gradable ❌: absolutely tired

為什麼是 Taiwanese 特有錯誤

中文「很」可以加在任何形容詞前面：「很疲倦」、「很精疲力盡」——都通。但英文 very 只能加在 gradable 形容詞前。

常見「升級對應表」

| Gradable (用 very) | Extreme (用 absolutely) | |---------------------|--------------------------| | very tired | absolutely exhausted | | very hungry | absolutely starving | | very big | absolutely enormous / huge | | very small | absolutely tiny | | very cold | absolutely freezing | | very hot | absolutely boiling | | very good | absolutely brilliant / fantastic | | very bad | absolutely awful / terrible | | very interesting | absolutely fascinating | | very surprised | absolutely amazed / astonished | | very important | absolutely crucial / vital | | very angry | absolutely furious | | very dirty | absolutely filthy | | very funny | absolutely hilarious | | very afraid | absolutely terrified |

6 個 ❌ vs ✅ 對比

| ❌ Wrong | ✅ Correct | |---------|-----------| | The food was very delicious. | The food was absolutely delicious. (delicious 是 strong) | | I am very exhausted. | I am exhausted. / I am absolutely exhausted. | | The exam was absolutely difficult. | The exam was very difficult. (difficult 是 gradable) | | She was very furious. | She was absolutely furious. (furious 是 strong) | | The problem is very crucial. | The problem is absolutely crucial. / The problem is very important. | | His speech was completely interesting. | His speech was very interesting. / fascinating. |

額外陷阱：用了 strong adjective 後就不要再加形容詞修飾

Quick Drill — 找出錯誤

1. I was very exhausted after the marathon.
2. The mountain view was absolutely beautiful.
3. The soup is absolutely hot — be careful.
4. Her presentation was very fantastic.
5. The room was absolutely tiny.
6. The film was completely interesting.
7. I am very hungry; let’s eat.
8. The water is absolutely freezing!
9. His joke was very hilarious.
10. She was completely angry about the delay.

Answer Key

| # | 判斷 | 修正 | |---|------|------| | 1 | ❌ | exhausted 是 strong → I was exhausted 或 absolutely exhausted | | 2 | ✓ | beautiful 偏 strong，absolutely 合法 | | 3 | ❌ | hot 是 gradable → very hot 或 absolutely boiling | | 4 | ❌ | fantastic 是 strong → absolutely fantastic | | 5 | ✓ | tiny 是 strong + absolutely 合法 | | 6 | ❌ | interesting 是 gradable → very interesting 或 absolutely fascinating | | 7 | ✓ | hungry 是 gradable + very 合法 | | 8 | ✓ | freezing 是 strong + absolutely 合法 | | 9 | ❌ | hilarious 是 strong → absolutely hilarious | | 10 | ❌ | angry 是 gradable → very angry 或 absolutely furious |

記住這一條

很 → 用什麼？ 看後面的形容詞。普通形容詞 → very。極端形容詞 → absolutely。記住 8 對最常用的（tired/exhausted、hungry/starving、cold/freezing、good/brilliant、bad/awful、surprised/amazed、important/crucial、interesting/fascinating），Speaking 跟 Writing 都用得上。

相關閱讀：

• Speaking 高頻替換詞
• Idioms 與口語片語
• 可數不可數