These are all quite nice she means that they are ‘medium-nice’ – not very nice, but nice enough. But when she then asks the shop assistant: | 164 Be careful We can use a and the before very but not before quite and too This shirt is small - it s a small shirt This shirt is very small - it s a very small shirt This shirt is quite small - it s a quite small shirt but we can say - it s quite a small shirt This shirt is too small - it s a too small shirt Quite has two different meanings. When Helen says These are all quite nice she means that they are medium-nice - not very nice but nice enough. But when she then asks the shop assistant Are you quite sure she means Are you completely sure . quite medium degree quite completely But not quite always means not completely I m not quite sure where to go The food isn t quite ready I m not quite convinced that this is the right thing to do You will come across other degree words in colloquial English. Here they are in approximate order High degree completely quite absolutely completely extremely really awfully terribly very Medium degree pretty quite fairly 165 Medium to low degree rather usually with bad or negative meanings Low degree not very a bit slightly Here are some examples of these This book is really boring John s absolutely certain he left his wallet on the table I m fairly sure that s our bus This film is pretty good isn t it - Yes it s quite entertaining This house is rather ugly This food s not very nice is it My watch is slightly slow I felt a bit sick on the way home after the party Exercise 4 In Jim Kate s Coffee Shop they only sell one type of coffee but at different temperatures. Can you put them in order starting with the coldest and finishing with the hottest Here s the menu. 166 Language point 63 - some and one Some and any can be used with both uncountable nouns and plural countable nouns - review Language point 23 in Unit 4 if you need to remind yourself of these. UNCOUNTABLE Have you got any money - Yes I think I ve got some in my pocket PLURAL COUNTABLE Have you got any pens - Yes I think I ve got some in my desk You can see from these .
