Is the word really an adjective or adverb

Welcome back English learners! This blog is going to discuss the difference between real and really. The word real refers to something that is considered true.

Most of the time, this word is an adjective. Meaning, it describes a noun.

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Here are some helpful examples:

• The YouTube video was not fake, it was real. (It was a truthful, non-edited video.)
• The following story was based on real life events. (These events happened in someone’s life.)
• There is a real gorilla outside right now. (This is NOT someone in a gorilla suit.)

The word real could also be used as an adverb. An adverb describes a verb or an adjective. When real is used as an adverb, the definition means extremely.

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For example:

• She did a real nice job fixing the car. (I am extremely pleased with the work on the car).
• The word really is an adverb and an interjection.

When you use the word really as an adverb (describing the verb or adjective) then it doesn’t matter if you use real or really. It comes down to personal choice.

Really has the definition of meaning actually, truly, without a doubt or even in reality.

It might be easier to know some synonyms of the word really to help remember when to use it. (Synonym are words that have the same definition.)

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The following are synonyms of really

Absolutely, actually, certainly, easily, genuinely, honestly, indeed, legitimately, literally, surely, truly, undoubtedly, unquestionably and well.

Here are some examples of the word really used in sentences:

• Bob is so much in love that he can’t see that she really doesn’t like him. (I used an adverb that means truly.)
• I really can’t tell the difference between Mom’s cake and my sister’s cake. They taste identical.

If you are able to replace the word really with most of the synonyms; then you are using the word correctly.

There are some sentences where both real and really can be used.

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For example:

• The ice cream in Italy is really good.
• The word good is an adjective and I need a word that describes this adjective. I can only use an adverb. Really works here.

BUT, I could also say:

• The ice cream in Italy is real good. The word good is a friend of everyone and allows both real and really to describe it.

The word really can also be used as in interjection. An interjection is a part of speech that expresses emotion.

Really expresses surprise or doubt.

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For example:

You won’t believe this, but Mary just had her baby!

Really?

You must be careful with how you say really when using it as an interjection.

If you say really and you use an intonation that goes from low to high, native English speakers will understand that you believe them.

Intonation is the way you sing and change the pitch in your voice. Like when you sing words, the notes change.

When you start with lower notes (or a lower pitch) and end with a higher note (higher pitch) when saying the word “really” it means you believe the person or the thing that was said.

On the other hand, if you end with a lower pitch when saying really it means that you do NOT believe the person or what was said.

An easier way to remember this is the following:

Really = high notes = I believe you

Really = low notes = I do NOT believe you (you need to convince me!)

Great job! Keep practicing to master the difference between real and really.

It will take some time before you can remember these rules. So come back to this post to help refresh your memory!

Check your Grammar ››

Really is an adverb because it qualifies verbs, adjectives and other adverbs.

Infact, one of the key identification of adverbs is that a lot of them end in -ly.

Let us look at some of the usage examples of the adverb ‘really’.

i) Qualifying a verb:
a) He really stays up all night. (qualifies verb ‘stays’)
b) Did Sudhir really say that? (qualifies verb ‘say’)
c) I can never really forget that day. (Qualifies verb forget).
d) You don’t really learn from your mistakes. (qualifies the verb learn).

Now, let us look at examples where the adverb ‘really’ is qualifying adjectives:

Ex1: He is really fat (qualifies adjective ‘fat’).
Ex2: It was really scary in the jungle (qualifies adjective ‘scary’)
Ex3: This place is really beautiful (qualifies adjective beautiful).
Ex4: Bullet train journey is really amazing (adjective amazing)

And then, the third set of usage where ‘really’ is sued to modify other adverbs:

i) Sudhir runs really fast.
ii) Mahesh works really hard.
iii) I didn’t really work hard enough.
iv) Why don’t they never really tire of complaining?

• “What is the difference between really and very?”
• “Can I use really and very anytime I want?”
• “How can I remember when to use each?”

These are questions we frequently get from our learners and, the truth is, we get it, we understand that it can get a bit confusing. These two words have a lot in common: both are adverbs, have similar definitions, and we use them to emphasize, to intensify what we are saying.

So, if they have so much in common, can we always exchange them? Unfortunately, not really. In this article, you’ll learn the difference between really and very, get some tips on how to remember the rules, and some extra exercises that you can download to practice.

A. Really And Very As Adverbs

Really: (adv.) is used to describe adjectives, verbs or other adverbs.

• She thought the project was really interesting. > adjective ✔︎
• He was driving really slowly. > adverb ✔︎
• I really enjoy my job. > verb ✔︎

Very: (adv.) is used to describe adjectives and adverbs (but not verbs!)

• She thought the project was very interesting. > adjective ✔︎
• He was driving very slowly. > adverb ✔︎
• I very enjoy my job. > verb ✗

TIP 1: If you’re talking about an action, avoid very!

TIP 2: After “I”, “we”, “they” and any other subject, we cannot use very, we needreally. (I really like it; They really want to finish early; Tony really enjoys his job.)

B. Really As An Exclamation

You can also use really to express interest, surprise, or doubt:

• ‘I’ve worked so hard on this project.’ — ‘Really?’
• ‘I applied for a job at Google and they accepted me.’ — ‘Really?

It can also mean ‘actually’, ‘truly’ or ‘indeed.’

• Really, it’s too much work.
• It was an incredible performance, really.

C. Very As An Adjective

When very is combined with nouns, it means ‘actual,’ ‘precise’ or  ‘exact.’

• Those were his very words.
• He might be flying at this very moment.
• From the very beginning of the book.

In A Nutshell

Basically, you have to remember four things:

• Really (adverb) can modify adjectives (really interesting), adverbs (really slowly), and verbs (I really love)
• Very (adverb) can modify adjectives (very interesting) and adverbs (very slowly), but not verbs (I very love)
• Really (exclamation) expresses surprise (Really?!)
• Very (adjective) is combined with other nouns (at the very end)

Practice The Difference Between Really and Very

Complete the following sentences with really, very or both. You can then check the answers📄.

• 1. I …… enjoy learning about different selling techniques.
• 2. How beneficial is it to have a  ……  strict manager?
• 3. She is  ……  good at coding.
• 4. He had to wait until the  ……  end to bring up the topic.
• 5. We  ……  want this company to thrive.
• 6. I  ……  enjoy networking events.
• 7. I don’t  ……  like meetings so much.
• 8. I find some tasks  ……  boring.
• 9. They sat at the  ……  back of the truck.
• 10. I am  ……  sorry. It won’t happen again.
• 11. I’m super involved in distance learning at the moment.  ……?
• 12. She  ……  makes her work seem easy.
• 13. They made me feel at home from the  ……  beginning.
• 14. I  ……  love my job!
• 15. They  ……  put a lot of effort into their projects.
• 16. They might actually be arriving at this  ……  moment.
• 17. The production cost was  ……  high.
• 18. The salaries in the IT industry are currently  ……  high.
• 19. We still do not have enough women at the  ……  top.
• 20. Make sure employees understand their goals from the  ……  beginning.

And Now That You Know Them, Why Not Get Rid Of Them?

Wait, what?

Well, we thought that now that you know the difference between really and very, we’d advise you not to use them.

This is not fully true, though. Our recommendation is that you use them in moderation. English is such a rich language, and it has hundreds of words that you can use to replace these adverbs. Use thrilling instead of very exciting or gifted, instead of very talented.

Click here or on the image above to get a comprehensive list of words you can use instead of very.

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—   Hello, boys and girls! My name is Martin.

—   And my name is Nathaniel.

—   James is not with us today, because he
doesn’t feel well.

—   Welcome to our grammar lesson!

—   Yesterday I went to the barbershop. Before
I continue my story, I would like to remind you the meaning of this word.

A barbershop is a
place where men and boys get their hair cut.

—   Let’s continue. When I got there, I saw a
boy and a barber. The barber was cutting the boy’s hair. When he finished, they
started talking.

Listen to their
conversation and you’ll find out the topic of our lesson.

—   Oh, Mr. Donovan! You are a very wonderful
master.

—   Thank you, Larry. It’s a great pleasure
for me to hear that.

—   Now my hair looks very great! Thank you so
much!

—   You’re welcome!

—   See you soon, Mr. Donovan.

—   See you, Larry.

When I heard the
boy saying: “very wonderful” and “very great”, I decided to come to the boy and
talk to him.

—   Hello, Larry.

—   Hello, sir! I’m sorry… Do I know you?

—   No, you don’t. My name is Nathaniel. My
friends and I make lessons for different pupils.

—   Really? I haven’t heard about you. But…
why did you come to me?

—   Well… I’ve just heard your conversation
with the barber. And you made two mistakes in your speech.

—   No way!

—   Unfortunately, it’s true. We cannot say
“very wonderful” and “very great”.

—   Why? I always say that.

—   Well… we can’t use the word “very” with
the adjectives “wonderful” and “great”! Do you want me to explain the rule to
you?

—   Of course, if it’s no bother.

—   No, not at all!

As you can
understand, today in the lesson we will:

·       
talk about the adverbs
“very”, “really”, “truly”, “absolutely”;

·       
learn how to use
them;

And

·       
put the knowledge
into practice.

—   First of all, I’ll tell you what the words
“very”, “really”, “truly” and “absolutely” have in common.

—   In my opinion, they are all the same.

—   You’re wrong, Larry! Well… they have a lot
in common, but they are not exactly the same!

The words “very”,
“really”, “truly” and “absolutely” are placed directly in
front of adjectives or adverbs. They make the meaning of the adverb or adjective
stronger, or more intense. For this reason, these words are called
intensifiers.

For example:

Madison did very
well on the test.

(The girl didn’t
simply do well, she did extremely well).

The water in the
Atlantic Ocean is really cold.

(The water isn’t
just cold, it’s extremely cold).

—   Now, Larry, I’ll tell you about the
difference between the words “very”, “really”, “truly” and “absolutely”.

—   Great, because I can’t wait to hear that!

—   Before we talk about the difference, we
need to mention the fact that adjectives in English can be divided into two
groups: base and strong.

Base adjectives are normal adjectives that don’t have the
idea of “very”.

Strong adjectives, however, are extreme adjectives that
have the idea of “very”.

Let’s look at some
examples of base and strong adjectives.

Beautiful, good,
angry, big, cold, hungry – these adjectives are base.

If we add
intensifier “very” to all of them, we’ll get: “very beautiful”, “very
good”, “very angry”, “very big”, “very cold” and “very hungry”.

The synonyms of
these words are the strong adjectives: gorgeous, great, furious, huge,
freezing, starving.

From these
examples it’s clear that we can add intensifier “very” to base adjectives, but…

Remember! We
cannot add “very” to strong adjectives.

It’s not correct
to say that something or someone is “very gorgeous”, “very great”, “very
furious”, “very huge”, “very freezing”, “very starving”.

With strong
adjectives, we normally use intensifiers: “really”, “truly” and “absolutely”.

The words “really”
and “truly” are translated as “действительно, по-настоящему, поистине”.

And the word
“absolutely” can be translated as “абсолютно, совершенно, чрезвычайно, категорически, безусловно”.

For instance:

The cartoon was
absolutely awful.

My aunt Grace was
really furious.

Kevin, it’s truly
great to see you!

Now look at the
table, please.

We’ve already said
that we can use the words “really”, “truly” and “absolutely”
with strong adjectives. You also need to know that we can use the words
“really” and “truly” with base adjectives but remember we don’t use the word
“absolutely” with them.

Pay attention! The
word “very” can also be an adjective. In this case, we can translate
this word as: “те”, “тот самый”, “этот самый”. We also need to put the word “very” in
front of nouns.

Look at the
following examples:

Nick is probably
lying on some beach in Italy at this very moment.

(Ник, возможно, лежит на каком-нибудь пляже в Италии в этот самый
момент).

Or

These are the very
flowers my mother planted.

(Это те самые цветы, которые посадила моя мама).

—   Well, Larry, did you understand
everything?

—   Yes, sir! I understood everything. And I’m
shocked and surprised!

—   Really? Why?

—   Oh, I just didn’t hear anything about this
rule. Thank you so much! Now, thanks to you, I know when I can use the word
“very”.

—   You’re welcome, Larry. But if you don’t
mind, I would like to check your knowledge now.

—   Oh, okay!

—   First of all, I would like to know if you
understand the difference between base and strong adjectives.

Put the adjectives
into the correct groups.

Check yourselves.

Base adjectives
are:

Ugly, happy,
tired, funny, small, hot, tasty, old, interesting, clever, loud, scary.

Strong adjectives
are:

Ancient, boiling,
delighted, exhausted, fascinating, terrifying, tiny, hilarious, awful,
delicious, brilliant, deafening.

Now choose the
correct intensifier for each sentence.

One.

The variants are:
absolutely and really.

Let’s check.

Oh, Gabriel, I’m
so tired. The exam was really difficult.

Two.

The intensifiers
are: absolutely and very.

Check yourselves.

No, Robert, I’m
not just hungry! I’m absolutely starving.

Three.

The words are:
really and very.

Let’s check.

Oh my God,
Jennifer, my trip to the United Arab Emirates was really fantastic!

Four.

The variants are:
absolutely and very.

Check yourselves.

Justin, I really
like politics! I find it very interesting.

Five.

The intensifiers
are: very and truly.

Let’s check.

Ladies and
Gentlemen, you are witnesses of this terrible and truly
terrifying disaster.

Six.

The words are:
absolutely and really.

Check yourselves.

I’m very surprised
that your new house is really small. I though that you wanted to buy a big one.

Seven.

The variants are:
very and truly.

Let’s check.

Megan was truly
delighted when she found out about Mike and Loren’s wedding.

Eight.

The intensifiers
are: really and very.

Check yourselves.

The food that we
ordered at the restaurant smelled really disgusting.

Nine.

The words are:
absolutely and very.

Let’s check.

Katherine, we are
just absolutely thrilled to get to know your wonderful kids.

Ten.

The variants are:
really and very.

Check yourselves.

Paige, you’re
funny, kind-hearted, patient and really gorgeous. I adore you!

Eleven.

The intensifiers
are: truly and very.

Let’s check.

We found the boy
yesterday. He was truly exhausted, but now he’s fine and really happy.

Twelve.

The words are:
absolutely and very.

Check yourselves.

Harry, I can’t say
that it was a very nice place, but the pie was absolutely delicious.

—   Wow, it was so interesting!

—   I’m so happy to hear that, Larry.

—   Now I understand the difference between
the intensifiers “very”, “really”, “truly” and “absolutely” and what they have
in common.

—   Great! I hope you won’t use the word
“very” with strong adjectives in the future.

—   Oh, don’t worry, I won’t do that anymore.

—   I hope so.

—   Thank you very much! The lesson was VERY
interesting and REALLY great!!!

—   Ha-ha! You’re welcome!

—   Nathaniel, I also think that you did
great!

—   Thank you, Martin.

—   That’s all for today, boys and girls.

—   See you soon.