Softening 1

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