Grammar
【明報專訊】Intensifiers: exceptionally & absolutely
MoMo has just come back from Beijing after a 10-day study tour with her classmates.
Dr Panda : Welcome back, MoMo! Did you visit the Palace Museum in the Forbidden City during the tour?
MoMo : Of course! The Museum has an exceptionally diverse collection of artefacts from the Ming and Qing dynasties.
Dr Panda : Yes, the Museum's jade and ceramic collection is absolutely stunning. The architecture is amazing as each structure was built in accordance with traditional Chinese architectural concept and designed to reflect imperial power and authority.
Pat : I would like to visit the Museum as well... but travelling to Beijing is costly to me.
Dr Panda : No worries! Actually, you can pay a visit to the Hong Kong Palace Museum in West Kowloon. The Museum presents over 900 priceless treasures from the Palace Museum in Beijing!
MoMo : Yes, I have been there before. The Chinese paintings and calligraphy displayed in the Hong Kong Palace Museum are wonderful and they capture the essence of Chinese civilization.
Pat : That's great! I can't wait to visit the Museum. Thanks for recommending it!
■English highway
Intensifiers are words that make adjectives stronger. For example: It's a very interesting book.
However, for some adjectives such as "awful" and "brilliant", we do not normally use very to make the adjectives stronger. We use other intensifiers such as "absolutely" and "exceptionally".
Absolutely (adverb)
Used with a strong adjective that is not usually used with "very" or a verb expressing strong emotion.
E.g. The film is absolutely awful because of the main actors' poor acting.
Exceptionally (adverb)
In a way that is much greater than usual, especially in skill, intelligence, quality, etc.
E.g. He was an exceptionally brilliant child in the class.
■Gear up
Circle the correct answer. (Answers on next text)
1. The school is for (absolutely / exceptionally) gifted musicians and many of its graduates have become world-class musicians.
2. I am (absolutely / exceptionally) thrilled to start my new job next week!
■Glossary
artefact (n) 手工藝品
architecture (n) 建築
calligraphy (n) 書法藝術
essence (n) 精髓
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[Smarties' Power English 第393期]
