Have you ever felt that your Speaking performance sounds monotonous, lacks vitality, and fails to convey your true feelings? A common reason is not knowing how to emphasize ideas and emotions. This is where "Intensifiers" become an invaluable tool. In this article, we'll explore how to use intensifiers to make your speech more lively, natural, and persuasive than ever before.

What are intensifiers and why are they important in communication?

Simply put, intensifiers are adverbs used to strengthen or emphasize the degree of an adjective, adverb, or verb they modify. They don't change the original meaning of the word but simply make it stronger. Instead of saying "I'm tired," you could say "I'm extremely tired" to better express the degree of your fatigue.

The importance of intensifiers in communication, especially in speaking tests like the IELTS, is undeniable:

• Expressing precise emotions: They help you articulate various shades of emotion, from happiness and surprise to disappointment and anger, with clarity.
• Increasing naturalness: Native speakers frequently use intensifiers in daily conversations. Using them appropriately will make your speech sound more natural and fluent.
• Impressing the examiner: Using a wide range of emphatic adverbs demonstrates a rich vocabulary and good command of the language, which is a significant plus for the Lexical Resource criterion.

What are the most common types of intensifiers you need to know?

Intensifiers can be divided into two main groups based on the type of adjective they accompany: gradable adjectives and ungradable/extreme adjectives.

1. Intensifiers with Gradable Adjectives

These are adjectives that describe qualities that can be measured in different degrees (e.g., good, better, best; hot, hotter, hottest). Common intensifiers for this group include:

• Very: The movie was very interesting.
• Really: I'm really happy to see you.
• Extremely: It's extremely important to arrive on time.
• Incredibly: She is an incredibly talented musician.
• So: I was so tired that I fell asleep immediately.
• Terribly/Awfully: (Often used in informal speech) I'm terribly sorry for the mistake.

These are fundamental emphatic adverbs for Speaking that you should master to enrich your answers.

2. Intensifiers with Ungradable (Extreme) Adjectives

Ungradable adjectives are words that already imply the highest degree of a quality (e.g., exhausted = very tired; freezing = very cold; fantastic = very good). We cannot say "very exhausted." Instead, we use a different set of intensifiers:

• Absolutely: The view from the top was absolutely breathtaking.
• Completely/Totally: I completely forgot about our meeting.
• Utterly: He was utterly devastated by the news.
• Really: (Note: 'really' can be used with both types of adjectives) The food was really delicious.

How to use intensifiers naturally in the IELTS Speaking test?

Knowing the vocabulary is one thing, but using it naturally and effectively is another skill. Here are a few tips to help you master IELTS intensifiers:

• Don't overuse 'very': 'Very' is a good intensifier, but overusing it will make your speech sound repetitive and boring. Try to replace 'very' with stronger synonyms. Instead of 'very big', try 'huge' or 'enormous'. Instead of 'very good', use 'fantastic', 'excellent', or 'outstanding'.
• Learn collocations: Many intensifiers commonly pair with specific adjectives or verbs. Learning them as chunks will help you use them more naturally. For example:
  • deeply concerned
  • highly recommended
  • bitterly disappointed
  • painfully shy
• Pay attention to intonation: When you use an intensifier, stress it in your speech. Your intonation can convey emotion even more powerfully than the words themselves. Try saying the sentence "It was so good!" with emphasis on the word 'so', and you'll notice the difference.

What are common mistakes when using emphatic adverbs and how to fix them?

To avoid losing points unnecessarily, be aware of these common mistakes:

1. Mismatching intensifiers and adjectives: This is a classic mistake, such as saying "I'm very exhausted" or "The film was absolutely good."

   How to fix it: Make a list of common extreme adjectives (exhausted, fantastic, ancient, freezing, hilarious, terrified...) and learn the intensifiers that go with them (absolutely, completely, utterly).

2. Overuse: Using an intensifier in every sentence will make your speech sound unnatural and exaggerated.

   How to fix it: Use them strategically only when you truly want to emphasize an important point or a strong emotion. Save them for impactful moments.

3. Using them in the wrong context: Some intensifiers like 'awfully' and 'terribly' have an informal feel. They may not be appropriate for Part 3 of the IELTS Speaking test, where answers should be more academic and formal.

   How to fix it: For Part 3, prefer words like 'extremely', 'particularly', and 'incredibly' to maintain a professional tone.

Conclusion

Intensifiers are powerful linguistic weapons that help breathe life into your speech. By understanding their function, categories, and correct usage, you can not only convey your emotions and opinions effectively but also impress the examiner with your vocabulary and command of the language. Start practicing today by incorporating these emphatic adverbs into your answers and feel the positive change in your Speaking skills!

Related Posts:

• 10 Essential Adverbs of Frequency for IELTS Speaking Part 1
• How to Use Adverbs of Degree: Extremely, Quite, and Rather Explained
• Using Mat Clark's Opinion Markers to Start Your Answers