Lo que enriquece un idioma son las expresiones y el vocabulario que describen todo lo que nos engloba. Seguramente algún profesor de inglés te ha dicho que evites la palabra “very”, y tiene toda la razón, ya que es una palabra que, aunque nos facilite describir algo, sustituye a otras palabras que pueden darle más fuerza de significado y precisión a lo que queremos decir.
Algunos escritores también nos lo recuerdan:
- So avoid using the word ‘very’ because it’s lazy. A man is not very tired, he is exhausted. Don’t use very sad, use morose. Language was invented for one reason, boys – to woo women – and, in that endeavor, laziness will not do. It also won’t do in your essays. (N.H. Kleinbaum).
- ‘Very’ is the most useless word in the English language and can always come out. More than useless, it is treacherous because it invariably weakens what it is intended to strengthen. (Florence King).
- Substitute ‘damn’ every time you’re inclined to write ‘very;’ your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be. (Mark Twain).
Por ello, estas son algunas de las palabras que puedes utilizar cuando vayas a usar “very”, para enriquecer tu inglés y tu forma de describir lo que ves y lo que sientes.
| Very noisy | deafening |
| Very often | frequently |
| Very old | ancient |
| Very old-fashioned | archaic |
| Very open | transparent |
| Very painful | excruciating |
| Very pale | ashen |
| Very perfect | flawless |
| Very poor | destitute |
| Very powerful | compelling |
| Very pretty | beautiful |
| Very quick | rapid |
| Very quiet | hushed |
| Very rainy | pouring |
| Very rich | wealthy |
| Very sad | sorrowful |
| Very scared | petrified |
| Very scary | chilling |
| Very serious | grave |
| Very sharp | keen |
| Very shiny | gleaming |
| Very short | brief |
| Very shy | timid |
| Very simple | basic |