Very

This page explains the difficulty of the word very for English language learners.

Very is another of those English words that seem to be easy, but which in fact can cause the learner difficulties. Certainly, there is no problem in understanding and using the word in sentences such as: It's very hot! She's a very clever student. I feel very happy.

But there are many circumstances where very is not possible, and this is what makes the word tricky to use for the non-native speaker.

Quiz 1

Look at the following pairs of sentences and in each case, decide which one, if either, is problematic.  At the end of the exercise, you may find you have changed your mind about the simplicity of the common English word very.

  • I feel very tired.
  • I feel very awake.
  • She lives in a very large house.
  • She lives in a very enormous house.
  • I am very certain she will come.
  • I am very sure she will come.
  • She was very injured in the accident.
  • She was very hurt by what you said.
  • Tom is a very quick runner.
  • Tom is a very quicker runner than me.
  • Tom is very behind the leader of the race.
  • Tom is very far behind the leader of the race.
  • Those were his very words.
  • Those were his very last words.
  • He was very in love with her.
  • He loved her very much.
  • I am very against your suggestion.
  • I am very opposed to your suggestion.
  • The actress was very worried by the telephone call.
  • The actress was very admired by her fans.
  • I feel very tired. - Correct
  • I feel very awake. - The usual word combination is wide awake, not very awake. But in the negative I'm not very awake at the moment is more usual than I'm not wide awake at the moment .
  • She lives in a very large house. - Correct.
  • She lives in a very enormous house. - Unusual. Enormous is a strong enough word on its own, and to my ears at least it sounds odd to qualify it with very.
  • I am very certain she will come. - Unusual. But you could say I am 100% certain she will come .
  • I am very sure she will come. - Correct.
  • She was very injured in the accident. - Unusual. It should be seriously or badly injured.
  • She was very hurt by what you said. - Correct.
  • Tom is a very quick runner. - Correct.
  • Tom is a very quicker runner than me. - Incorrect. It should be much quicker.
  • Tom is very behind the leader of the race. - Very unusual. It has to be far behind.
  • Tom is very far behind the leader of the race. - Correct.
  • Those were his very words. - Correct. (= Those were his exact words . )
  • Those were his very last words. - Correct.
  • He was very in love with her. - Ok, but be very much in love sounds better to me.
  • He loved her very much. - Correct.
  • I am very against your suggestion. - Unusual, but you could say I am very much against your suggestion.  
  • I am very opposed to your suggestion. - OK, better is strongly opposed.
  • The actor was very worried by the telephone call. - Correct.
  • The actor was very admired by her fans. - Unusual, much better is much admired.

Quiz 2

What is the meaning of very in the following sentences?

  • My friend called at the very moment when I had stepped into the bath.
  • Elvis Presley slept in this very bed!
  • Can you wake me at 6.30? - Very good, sir.
  • Can you help me fix my bike? - Very well, but I haven't got much time.

In these sentences very does not have its usual meaning of extremely.

  • My friend called at the very moment when I had stepped into the bath.

    Very is to used here to convey, in a single word, the speaker's desire to say something like: Of all the inconvenient times to call, my friend had to call at the exactly the moment when I had just got myself wet.

  • Elvis Presley slept in this very bed!

    In using very here the speaker is expressing pleasure or excitement at being in or in the presence of the bed which once hosted the famous pop star.

  • Can you wake me at 6.30? - Very good, sir.

    The expression very good in this type of situation means Yes, I'll be happy to do as you wish.

  • Can you help me fix my bike? - Very well, but I haven't got much time!

    The expression very well expresses reluctant agreement to do something; i.e. Ok, I'll help you, but I don't really want to.