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Softening 1

Posted on June 26, 2012 by admin
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Sometimes you want to soften the impact of what you are saying and give it less importance. Here are some ways to do that:

Little

The quality could have been a little better.
The speaker should have spoken a little louder.

Slight

There is a slight problem we need to deal with.
I have a slight doubt about John’s suitability for the job.

Minor

I have a minor reservation about this plan.
There are a few minor problems still to be dealt with.

Fairly

There are some fairly important changes still to be made.
I think that I have a fairly good understanding of your problems.

Quite

I quite like it but no more than that.
This is quite a good way to do this.

Not quite

He isn’t quite as good as he thinks he is.
I’m not quite sure that we are on the right lines.

Partially

He has been partially successful with his demands but he didn’t get everything he wanted.
It is partially finished but there is still a lot to do.

Occasional

There are occasional errors in his work.
Everybody makes occasional mistakes.

Rather

He is rather aggressive.
This is rather too complicated. It is difficult to understand.

More or less

The report is more or less finished. I just need to read through it again.
He is more or less useless. Cannot get anything right.

exercise 1

exercise 2

exercise 3

exercise 4

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16 thoughts on “Softening 1”

  1. sarah says:
    June 26, 2012 at 9:33 am

    please write against each word what it really means

    1. admin says:
      June 26, 2012 at 9:56 am

      I am not a dictionary ;-). But this is

      http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slight

      1. José E. Simone says:
        June 26, 2012 at 1:53 pm

        I always say that to my students… I’m not a dictionary… Haha

        1. admin says:
          June 26, 2012 at 5:24 pm

          It is so easy to find things on Google. I don’t understand why people use the Internet to ask me word definitions 😉

          1. Felipe Betancourt says:
            June 26, 2012 at 9:12 pm

            I completely agree with you, LOL

  2. changeling says:
    June 26, 2012 at 10:27 am

    Very useful stuff….thanks:)

  3. Student says:
    June 26, 2012 at 5:22 pm

    You are really helping me a lot.. Thank you 🙂

  4. mahipal says:
    June 27, 2012 at 4:15 am

    thanks .for such a good stuff.
    mahipal.india

  5. haltar says:
    June 27, 2012 at 8:35 am

    thank you

  6. Chalani says:
    June 27, 2012 at 11:30 am

    thx 🙂

  7. Natasha says:
    June 27, 2012 at 8:19 pm

    Famous English Underestimation! 🙂

  8. Sonia S Tsuha says:
    June 28, 2012 at 1:08 pm

    Dear Pearson,

    Your lessons are quite refreshing. When it’s too hot think about your son’s surfing. Many thanks for all the help and your dedication. With gratitude, Sonia.

  9. tomas rafael says:
    July 17, 2012 at 7:18 am

    thank you for the lesson. i want more

  10. thushani says:
    September 5, 2012 at 2:10 pm

    Dear Parson,
    Thank you very much for the lesson.

  11. Paul saw thang says:
    May 25, 2013 at 7:46 am

    thank you for the lesson

  12. Jonida says:
    June 19, 2013 at 10:28 am

    Thank you for the lessons, I’ts a big help for me 🙂

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