You can use
quite/
pretty/
rather/
fairly + adjectives or adverbs. So you can say:
- It's quite cold.
- It's pretty cold.
- It's rather cold.
- It's fairly cold.
Quite/pretty/rather/fairly = less than 'very' but more than 'a little'.
Quite and
pretty are similar in meaning:
- I'm surprised you haven't heard of her. She's quite famous / pretty famous. (= less than 'very famous', but more than 'a little famous')
- Anna lives quite near me, so we see each other pretty often.
Pretty is an informal word and is used mainly in spoken English.
Quite goes before
a/
an:
- We live in quite an old house. (not a quite old house)
Compare:
- Sarah has quite a good job.
Sarah has a pretty good job.
You can also use
quite (but not
pretty) in the following ways:
quite a/
an +
noun (without an adjective):
- I didn't expect to see them. It was quite a surprise. (= quite a big surprise)
quite a lot (
of ... ):
- There were quite a lot of people at the meeting.
quite + verb, especially
like and
enjoy:
- I quite like tennis, but it's not my favourite sport.
Rather is similar to
quite and
pretty. We often use
rather for negative ideas (things we think are not good):
- The weather isn't so good. It's rather cloudy.
- Paul is rather shy. He doesn't talk very much.
Quite and pretty are also possible in these examples.
When we use
rather for positive ideas (
good/
nice etc.), it means 'unusually' or 'surprisingly':
- These oranges are rather good. Where did you get them?
Fairly is weaker than
quite/
rather/
pretty. For example, if something is
fairly good, it is not very good and it could be better:
- My room is fairly big, but I'd prefer a bigger one.
- We see each other fairly often, but not as often as we used to.
Quite also means 'completely'. For example:
- 'Are you sure?' 'Yes, quite sure.' (= completely sure)
Quite means 'completely' with a number of adjectives, especially:
- sure
- certain
- right
- wrong
- true
- safe
- clear
- obvious
- different
- unnecessary
- incredible
- amazing
- extraordinary
- impossible
- She was quite different from what I expected. (= completely different)
- Everything t hey said was quite true. (= completely true)
We also use
quite (= completely) with some verbs. For example:
- I quite agree with you. (= I completely agree)
Not quite = not completely:
- They haven't quite finished eating yet.
- I don't quite understand what you mean.
- 'Are you ready yet?' 'Not quite.' (= not completely)
