Stop saying “very”: 12 strong words.

What you learned

“I’m very tired” is OK. But “I’m exhausted” sounds strong and natural. Say one strong word, not very + a weak word. Here are the 12 words from the video, in three sets.

1. 1

   Set 1: Feelings

   • very tired → exhausted
   • very hungry → starving
   • very happy → thrilled
   • very angry → furious

   How do you feel? Use one strong word. “I’m starving!”

   ▶ exhausted
2. 2

   Set 2: Things

   • very good → brilliant
   • very bad → terrible
   • very big → huge
   • very small → tiny

   Use these for things, places and ideas. “The film was brilliant.”

   ▶ terrible
3. 3

   Set 3: Weather and more

   • very cold → freezing
   • very hot → boiling
   • very funny → hilarious
   • very tasty → delicious

   In the UK we talk about the weather a lot. “It’s freezing today!”

   ▶ freezing
4. 4

   Say it well

   • huge /hjuːdʒ/
   • exhausted /ɪɡˈzɔːstɪd/
   • delicious /dɪˈlɪʃəs/

   Say the H in huge, like “hyooj”. But in exhausted, the H is silent. In delicious, the C sounds like SH.

   ▶ huge
5. 5

   Never “very huge”

   • ✗ very huge
   • ✓ huge
   • ✓ so tired

   A strong word already means “very”. So don’t put very in front of it. Bonus: in relaxed, everyday talk, we often say so: “I’m so tired!”

   ▶ The Atlantic Ocean is huge.

Homework from the video: write one “very” sentence. Then make it strong! For example: “My room is very small.” → “My room is tiny.”