Which term describes adjectives that cannot be intensified with very?

Which term describes adjectives that cannot be intensified with very?

• A. Non-gradable adjectives
• B. Gradable adjectives
• C. Intensifiable adjectives
• D. Descriptive adjectives

Answer: (A)

The main idea is that adjectives can be on a scale or be absolute in meaning. Degree words like very naturally heighten gradable adjectives, which have a range of intensity you can measure (tall, expensive, happy). Non-gradable adjectives, on the other hand, express states that don’t come in degrees, so words like very don’t fit neatly with them. You wouldn’t say very dead or very unique in standard usage because these qualities are treated as absolute. When you want to intensify them, you’d use alternatives such as completely or utterly (completely dead, utterly unique), or treat them as absolute without a gradable modification. That’s why the term describing adjectives that cannot be intensified with very is non-gradable adjectives.