Adverbs of Degree ESL Games, Worksheets & Activities
Very Elementary Adverbs
ESL Adverbs of Degree Worksheet - Reading, Vocabulary and Writing Exercises: Matching, Binary Choice, Gap-fill, Guided Writing - Speaking Activity - Pair Work
In this productive adverbs of degree worksheet, students learn how to use 'very', 'really', 'quite' and 'too' correctly and build confidence using them in...
Very True or Very False?
ESL Adverbs of Degree Game - Vocabulary: True or False, Guessing - Pair Work
In this insightful adverbs of degree game, students test how well they know their partner by deciding if sentences about them are true or false, practicing the adverbs of degree: very, so, really and quite. Working alone, students read sentences...
What's the Adverb of Degree?
ESL Adverbs of Degree Game - Vocabulary: Matching, Gap-fill - Group Work
In this fast-paced adverbs of degree game, students race to complete everyday sentences using three common adverbs of degree: very, too and quite. In groups, the reader picks up a card and reads the sentences aloud to the...
Adverbs of Degree in Action
ESL Adverbs of Degree Worksheet - Reading, Vocabulary and Writing Exercises: Identifying, Matching, Gap-fill - Speaking: Asking and Answering Questions - Pair Work
In this adverbs of degree worksheet, students explore how eight essential adverbs of degree work, from reading a relatable email to practicing the language in...
That's a Really Good Question!
ESL Adverbs of Degree Activity - Vocabulary and Speaking: Gap-fill, Asking and Answering Questions - Group and Pair Work
In this enjoyable adverbs of degree speaking activity, students practice using adverbs of degree with adjectives and verbs by completing, asking and answering conversation questions...
Adverbs of Degree Dominoes
ESL Adverbs of Degree Game - Vocabulary and Grammar: Matching, Sentence Completion - Group Work
In this creative adverbs of degree game, students play dominoes by making sentences with adjectives modified by adverbs of degree. The first player places one of their dominoes at either end...
Adverbs of Degree Practice
ESL Adverbs of Degree Worksheet - Grammar and Vocabulary Exercises: Matching, Categorising, Gap-fill - Speaking Game: True or False - Pair Work
This free adverbs of degree worksheet helps students practice modifying adverbs, adjectives, and verbs with adverbs of degree. To begin, students read...
How cool are you?
ESL Adverbs of Degree Activity - Grammar, Vocabulary and Speaking: Writing, Asking and Answering Questions, Freer Practice - Pair Work
In this engaging adverbs of degree speaking activity, students practice responding to How questions with adverbs of degree. First, students write a set of...
Where does the adverb go?
ESL Adverbs of Degree Worksheet - Grammar and Vocabulary Exercise: Rewriting Sentences
In this useful adverbs of degree word order worksheet, students practice the position of degree adverbs in a sentence. First, students rewrite sentences, putting adverbs of degree in brackets in their correct...
Say the Sentence
ESL Adverbs of Degree Game - Vocabulary and Speaking: Giving Clues, Describing, Guessing - Pair Work
In this fun adverbs of degree game, students describe and guess sentences that contain adverbs of degree and adjectives. One student begins by choosing a sentence from their worksheet and giving...
To What Degree?
ESL Adverbs of Degree Game - Vocabulary: Sentence Completion - Pair Work
In this entertaining adverbs of degree game, pairs of students race against each other to complete sentences with adverbs of degree. Students take it in turns to read out sentences to their partner who chooses a suitable adverb of degree from the...
Understanding Adverbs of Degree
Adverbs of degree are words that modify adjectives, verbs, or other adverbs to show how much or how little something applies, such as 'very,' 'quite,' 'almost,' 'barely,' and 'extremely.' When students leave out adverbs of degree or swap one for another incorrectly, they lose the ability to express important shades of meaning, and a sentence like 'I finished the work' tells a listener far less than 'I almost finished the work' or 'I barely finished the work.'
This page covers adverbs of degree from A1 to B2, with eleven resources spanning games, worksheets, and speaking activities totaling 275 minutes of practice, including one free download.
The table below shows common adverbs of degree grouped by their function and intensity, with an example sentence for each.
| Function | Adverbs of Degree | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Amplifiers (maximum intensity) | absolutely, completely, utterly, totally | 'She was absolutely exhausted.' |
| Strong intensifiers | very, extremely, incredibly, terribly | 'The exam was extremely difficult.' |
| Mid-range intensifiers | quite, fairly, rather, pretty | 'The film was quite interesting.' |
| Diminishers | slightly, a little, a little bit, somewhat | 'I was slightly confused by the instructions.' |
| Approximators | almost, nearly, barely, hardly | 'He almost missed the bus.' |
| Multipliers and comparators | much, far, a lot, even | 'She runs much faster than before.' |
When to Use Adverbs of Degree
Qualifying a Strong Claim: A writer uses a diminishing adverb of degree when they want to show that something is partially rather than fully true, which makes their writing more precise and credible, as in 'The results were almost identical to last year's figures.'
Adding Emotional Intensity in Conversation: Speakers use intensifying adverbs of degree to show how strongly they feel about something, because a bare adjective often undersells the emotion, as when someone says 'I was absolutely exhausted after the meeting' rather than just 'I was tired.'
Signaling Caution in Academic Writing: Academic writers reach for adverbs of degree to avoid overstating findings, since labeling a result as 'extremely significant' or only 'slightly above average' gives readers a far more accurate picture than an unmodified adjective alone, as in 'The difference was marginally significant.'
3-Step Framework for Teaching Adverbs of Degree
1. Build the Foundation with Controlled Writing: Start with a worksheet that takes students from reading and identifying adverbs of degree through to writing their own sentences. The core construction task is deliberately constrained: students use words from a box to make six sentences, and each sentence must contain exactly one adjective or verb and one adverb of degree. That rule keeps students focused on the form rather than simply filling blanks.
2. Put the Grammar Under Peer Pressure: Move to a dominoes game where students pair an adverb of degree with an adjective and then earn the right to place their domino by saying a grammatically correct sentence aloud to the group. The group judges every sentence: if it makes sense, the domino stays; if not, the player takes it back. A running constraint adds vocabulary pressure throughout, because the same subject cannot be repeated in subsequent sentences across the whole game.
3. Push into Freer Production: Finish with a speaking activity built around 'How...?' questions. Students write their own questions using a set of given adjectives, then ask them in pairs. The productive challenge sits in the answers: partners must respond in full sentences using an adverb of degree, and when the degree is minimal, they must modify the adverb with 'not' to express that, which keeps the grammar active rather than formulaic.
Common Mistakes with Adverbs of Degree
Using 'Very' with Extreme Adjectives: Students often place 'very' before extreme adjectives like 'exhausted,' 'furious,' or 'freezing,' not realizing these adjectives already carry maximum intensity and pair with amplifiers like 'absolutely' or 'utterly' instead. Wrong: 'I was very exhausted after the hike.' Correct: 'I was absolutely exhausted after the hike.'
Placing the Adverb After the Adjective: Students often put an adverb of degree after the adjective it modifies rather than before it, following word order patterns from their first language. Wrong: 'The test was difficult very.' Correct: 'The test was very difficult.'
Common Questions About Teaching Adverbs of Degree
What is a fun game for practicing adverbs of degree?
The game What's the Adverb of Degree? is a fast card-grabbing race. The reader reads a sentence aloud, saying 'blank' for the missing adverb of degree. Players race to grab the correct adverb card and say it aloud. The first to grab the right card wins the sentence card and keeps it.
What is a good worksheet for teaching adverbs of degree?
The free worksheet Adverbs of Degree Practice covers matching, categorizing, gap-fill, and sentence unscrambling, all focused on how adverbs of degree modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. It closes with a speaking task where students write four true and four false sentences, then read them to a partner who guesses which are which.
What is an engaging speaking activity for practicing adverbs of degree?
The activity That's a Really Good Question! gets students asking and answering conversation questions using adverbs of degree. Students first complete each question with a suitable adjective or verb, then take turns asking their partner, who responds using the matching adverb of degree in a full sentence. They then share what they learned about their partner with the class.
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