程度の副詞

程度の副詞は、行動、形容詞や他の副詞の強度や程度を表し、下に記述するような例外もありますが、一般には、それらが修飾する形容詞、副詞や動詞の前に置かれます。

程度の副詞	修飾するもの	例
extremely	形容詞	The water was extremely cold.
quite	形容詞	The movie is quite interesting.
just	動詞	He was just leaving.
almost	動詞	She has almost finished.
very	副詞	She is running very fast.
too	副詞	You are walking too slowly.
enough	副詞	You are running fast enough.

"Enough"の使い方

Enough は、副詞と限定詞の両方に使うことができます。

副詞としてのEnough

「必要な程度に」を意味する副詞としてのEnoughは、他の副詞のように、それが修飾する形容詞や副詞の前ではなく、後に置かれ、肯定文と否定文のどちらにも使えます。

例

Is your coffee hot enough?
This box isn't big enough.
He didn't work hard enough.
I got here early enough.

Enoughの後には、しばしは "to" + 不定詞が続きます。

例

He didn't work hard enough to pass the exam.
Is your coffee hot enough to drink?
She's not old enough to get married.
I got here early enough to sign up.

Enough の後には、 "for someone" や"for something"が続く場合もあります。

例

The dress was big enough for me.
She's not experienced enough for this job.
Is the coffee hot enough for you?
He didn't work hard enough for a promotion.

限定詞としてのEnough

「必要なだけ多くの」を意味する限定詞としてのEnoughは、それが修飾する名詞の前に置かれ、複数形の可算名詞や不可算名詞と一緒に使われます。

例

We have enough bread.
You have enough children.
They don't have enough food.
I don't have enough apples.

"Too"の使い方

"Too" は、常に副詞ですが、二つの特別な意味を持ち、それぞれ独自の使用パターンがあります。

「もまた」を意味するToo

「もまた」を意味する副詞としてのToo は、それが修飾する句の終わりに来ます。

例

I would like to go swimming too, if you will let me come.
Can I go to the zoo too?
Is this gift for me too?
I'm not going to clean your room too!

「過度に」を意味するToo

「過度に」を意味する副詞としてのTooは、それが修飾する形容詞や副詞の前に来、肯定文と否定文の両方に使うことができます。

例

This coffee is too hot.
He works too hard.
Isn't she too young?
I am not too short!

Tooの後には、しばしば "to" + 不定詞が続きます。

例

The coffee was too hot to drink.
You're too young to have grandchildren!
I am not too tired to go out tonight.
Don't you work too hard to have any free time?

Tooの後に、 "for someone" や "for something"が続くこともあります。

例

The coffee was too hot for me.
The dress was too small for her.
He's not too old for this job.
Sally's not too slow for our team.

"Very"の使い方

Very は、副詞や形容詞の前に来て、それを強調します。

例

The girl was very beautiful.
The house is very expensive.
He worked very quickly.
She runs very fast.

形容詞や副詞の否定的な形を作りたい場合は、動詞に"not"をつけたり、反対の意味を持つ形容詞や副詞をつけたり、原型の形容詞や副詞に "not very" を使うことができます。その句の意味は同じではなく、 "not very"を使った句はそれほど単刀直入ではないので、他の句より上品です。

例

原型の句	"Not"を使った反対の意味	"Not very"を使った反対の意味	反対語を使った反対の意味
The girl was beautiful.	The girl was not beautiful.	The girl was not very beautiful.	The girl was ugly.
He worked quickly.	He did not work quickly.	He did not work very quickly.	He worked slowly.

"Very" と "too"の意味の違い

"Too" と "very"には、大きな意味の違いがあります。 "Very" が事実を表すのに対し、"too"は問題があることを示唆します。

例

He speaks very quickly.
He speaks too quickly for me to understand.
It is very hot outside.
It is too hot outside to go for a walk.

"Very"のように使われる他の副詞

一般的な副詞の中には、形容詞や副詞の程度を高めるために"very" と同じように使われるものもあります。

非常に強い感情を表現	強い感情を表現	やや疑わしい感情を表現
extremely, terribly, amazingly, wonderfully, insanely	especially, particularly, uncommonly, unusually, remarkably, quite	pretty, rather, fairly, not especially, not particularly
The movie was amazingly interesting.	The movie was particularly interesting.	The movie was fairly interesting.
She sang wonderfully well.	She sang unusually well.	She sang pretty well.
The lecture was terribly boring.	The lecture was quite boring.	The lecture was rather boring.

否定的な副詞を使う場合の倒置

通常、主語は動詞の前に来ますが、否定的な副詞がその節の最初に置かれた時、その位置が逆転し、動詞が主語の前に来ます。この倒置は文書でのみ使われ、話し言葉では使われません。

副詞	標準的な言葉の順序	倒置
Never	I have never seen such courage.	Never have I seen such courage.
Rarely	She rarely left the house.	Rarely did she leave the house.
Not only	She did not only the cooking but the cleaning as well.	Not only did she do the cooking, but the cleaning as well.
Scarcely	I scarcely closed the door before he started talking.	Scarcely did I close the door before he started talking.
Seldom	We seldom cross the river after sunset.	Seldom do we cross the river sunset.