Improve your Vocabulary: Stop saying VERY!

Using the same word again and again is boring, which is why native English speakers use a wide variety of vocabulary to express their thoughts and feelings. In this vocabulary lesson, I will teach you how to express yourself more effectively by replacing the word "very" with more precise and interesting adjectives. For example, you can replace "very cold" with "freezing". This illustrates your point more precisely. You will sound more natural and intelligent. Using these adjectives on the speaking section of IELTS and TOEFL exams will impress your examiner and improve your score. Watch the video to discover many more examples of this kind of vocabulary substitution. Variety is the spice of life!

TRANSCRIPT

"Getting from here to there, it's been a long while." Oh, hi. My time is finally here. James from engVid. I can't believe this, this is like the Mirror Universe. If you watch Star Trek, you'll understand; if not, go watch Mirror Universe with Star Trek. I have two, look at them, I have two Mr. Es. In the first one Mr. E is hot, and the first one Mr. E is cold. Let's go to the board.

E, what's up? "It's very hot. 35 degrees centigrade." You're right. I see you're wearing your Bermuda shorts. And the second E is saying he's very cold: "It's minus 30 degrees centigrade." Ow, this isn't good. I feel for you. But don't you think there are better ways to say it's very hot or it's very cold? I think so, and in today's lesson I'm going to teach some of you... Not some of you. I'm going to teach all of you how to get rid of the word "very" to describe everything, and use other words which give more information, which will make you sound more like a native speaker and make your writing phenomenal. Oh, "phenomenal"? That's a word for "very good". Are you ready? Let's go to the board.

So, today's lesson is on "very". "Very" is a very good word, that's why we use it, but when you're writing, to hear somebody say: "Very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very" is what we call monotonous, it means "mono" as one, "tonous", one tone, one sound - very boring. So let's change that from you being... You know, using "very" because I teach and I notice a lot of students saying things, like: "Teacher, today it's very cold outside." I'm like: -"Yeah, it is." -"And I'm very tired and very hungry." I'm like: "Okay, okay." It's like being punched in the face again and again, and I just want to say: "Stop with the 'very'. Use a different word." But it's not fair because "very" is a very good word-there, I did it again-we just need to find other words to make your language sound richer to improve it so you sound more like a native English speaker, and to make it more interesting for you because it will express more of who you are and your ideas in a better way. It makes you unique. You ready? Let's go to the board.

You'll notice I put "very" in red because this is something we don't want to do, we don't want to keep saying: "very". We want to change that up. And I'm going to give you a list of words that people or students usually say when they say "very" that I've heard many, many times. And maybe you've done this. And today I'm going to give you singular words to use instead. I'll explain them, just in case they're difficult.

Let's start with the first one. People say: "Very rude", instead of saying that, you can say: "vulgar". "Vulgar" means very rude, and if somebody says to me: "Your language is vulgar", I'll probably stop talking because it means it's not right, it's inappropriate, it's very bad. Vulgar. "I don't like your vulgar tone", your rude tone. It's strong. "Very short", another word we say is "brief", which means small. We had a very brief... We had a very brief conversation, a very short conversation. Cool?

"Boring". When you say: "Class was very boring today", you can say: "dull". "Dull" means very boring. It also means... See? Here's a bonus when you use these words, stupid. If you say someone is dull, you can say they're very boring, or dull meaning they're stupid. Don't use it like that too often; people don't like being called stupid. And if you say: "He's rather dull, isn't he?" I have to listen for context to mean stupid or boring. Next one, everybody's favourite: "Very good". "Teacher, the food is very good. The lesson is very good. I like this, it's very good." Why don't we change that to the word "superb"? Look carefully at the word "superb", you have the word "super" written inside it. "Super" means what? Above average, excellent, or superb, very good. "The food was superb." People don't usually use this word, so if you tell me when I cook for you that it's superb, I'm telling you right now I will take that as such an amazing compliment. Gentlemen, if you tell a woman she looks superb, she'll be like: "Thank you. Really?" Because no one says it. All right? […]

[whatculo]

“How’s the weed?”

“It’s absolutely superb. In fact it is making me a bit sluggish and exhausted and rather ravenous. I can feel my heart beating rapidly. My drug habit is making me destitute”

“What?”

I’m very high...

[brrr]

Cant believe Im listening to such quality lecture for free while sitting on the toilet. What a world.

[gourishinde]

1)very colorful - Vibrant
2)very bright - luminous
3)very clear - obvious
4)very happy - ecstatic
5)very quiet - hushed
6)very weak - frail
7)very small - petite
8)very big - massive
9)very wicked - villainous
10)very willing - eager
11)very angry - furious
12)very huge - colossal
13)very confused - perplexed
14)very upset - distraught
15)very calm - serene

[sarahflygare]

I am Jubilant, because I found this superb channel 😁 Thanks, teacher James! 🇧🇷🇧🇷

[anoniem]

"very is a very good word"

Gentlemen, we got em

[mick]

Never say “the sun is too hot today”. Instead, say “Our star is emitting molecular friction which is causing my temperature regulation system to falter”.

[evanakalyango]

Very angry -Furious,
Very beautiful - gorgeous
Very noisy - deafening
Very scared _ petrified
very shiny _ gleaming
very bad _ awful
Very confused _ Perplexed
It's the first time to join your lesson thank you so much for teaching us I have learned scalding, scorching _very hot
2.wealthy_ very rich
3. squalid _ very dirty
4. Jubilant _ very happy
5. Parched_ very thirsty
6. Anxious _ very worried. Thank 🙏

[julietellsthetruth]

I'm a native English speaker and a writer of fiction, nonfiction, poetry and music, and I am forever looking for a better way, a more clever way to say something. I have a great love for all language and I absolutely adore these videos! I always learn something new, one little golden nugget that makes my own writing better. Thank you, sir! The world is a better place because of you.

[SrPelo]

Hi everyone
Teacher: Don't use very

[smuggzmug]

*Native speakers increasing their vocabulary to sound more like a native speaker*

[SalsabeelHamdyMohamed]

1. very accurate exact
2. very afraid terrified
3. very afraid fearful
4. very angry furious
5. very bad atrocious
6. very beautiful exquisite
7. very big immense
8. very boring dull
9. very brave courageous
10. very bright luminous
11. very busy overloaded
12. very calm serene
13. very careful cautious
14. very charmed mesmerized
15. very cheap stingy
16. very clean spotless
17. very clever brilliant
18. very cold freezing
19. very colorful vibrant
20. very compete comprehensive
21. very competitive cutthroat
22. very confused perplexed
23. very conventional conservative
24. very core gist
25. very creative innovative
26. very crowded bustling
27. very cute adorable
28. very dangerous threatening
29. very dark lightless
30. very dear cherished
31. very deep profound
32. very depressed despondent
33. very detailed meticulous
34. very different disparate
35. very difficult challenging
36. very disagreeable obnoxious
37. very distressing dreadful
38. very dry parched
39. very dull tedious
40. very eager keen
41. very easy smooth
42. very empty desolate
43. very empty desolate
44. very evil wicked
45. very excited thrilled
46. very exciting exhilarating
47. very expensive costly
48. very fancy lavish
49. very far away distant
50. very fast quick
51. very fat obese
52. very fierce relentless
53. very fond attached
54. very fortunate blessed
55. very friendly affectionate
56. very funny hilarious
57. very glad overjoyed
58. very good excellent
59. very gracefully lithely
60. very great terrific
61. very greedy impatient
62. very happy ecstatic
63. very hard difficult
64. very hard to find rare
65. very high soaring
66. very huge colossal
67. very humble courteous
68. very hungry starving
69. very hurt battered/crushed
70. very important crucial
71. very inexpensive cheap
72. very interesting fascinating
73. very jolly carefree
74. very kind considerate
75. very large huge
76. very lazy indolent
77. very light luminous
78. very limited finite
79. very little tiny
80. very lively animated
81. very long extensive
82. very long-term enduring
83. very loose slack
84. very loud deafening
85. very loved adored
86. very lovely stunning
87. very mean cruel
88. very messy slovenly
89. very much enough
90. very neat immaculate
91. very necessary essential
92. very nervous apprehensive
93. very nice kind
94. very noisy deafening
95. very numerous diverse
96. very often frequently
97. very old ancient
98. very open transparent
99. very painful excruciating
100. very pale ashen
101. very perfect flawless
102. very pleasant amiable
103. very
104. very powerful compelling
105. very pretty beautiful
106. very protective defensive
107. very proud honored
108. very quick rapid
109. very quiet silent
110. very rainy pouring
111. very rainy drizzly
112. very realistic practical
113. very rich wealthy
114. very risky perilous
115. very roomy spacious
116. very sad sorrowful
117. very scared petrified
118. very serious grave
119. very sharp keen
120. very shiny gleaming
121. very short brief
122. very shy timid
123. very simple basic
124. very skinny skeletal
125. very sleepy lethargic
126. very slow sluggish
127. very smart intelligent
128. very smelly pungent
129. very smooth sleek
130. very soft downy
131. very sorry apologetic
132. very special exceptional
133. very strong unyielding
134. very stupid idiotic
135. very sure certain
136. very talented gifted
137. very tall towering
138. very tasty delicious
139. very thin gaunt
140. very tight constricting
141. very tired exhausted
142. very ugly hideous
143. very unhappy miserable
144. very upset distraught
145. very valuable precious
146. very warm hot
147. very weak frail
148. very well-to-do wealthy
149. very wet soaked
150. very wicked villainous
151. very willing eager
152. very windy blustery
153. very wise sagacious
154. very wise sage
155. very worried distressed
156. very accurate exact
157. very afraid fearful
158. very angry furious
159. very bad awful
160. very beautiful gorgeous
161. very big massive
162. very boring dull
163. very bright luminous
164. very busy swamped
165. very calm serene
166. very careful cautious
167. very cheap stingy
168. very clean spotless
169. very clear obvious
170. very clever intelligent
171. very cold freezing
172. very colorful vibrant
173. very confused perplexed
174. very creative innovative
175. very crowded bustling
176. very cute adorable
177. very dear cherished
178. very deep profound
179. very difficult arduous
180. very dirty filthy
181. very dry arid
182. very dull tedious
183. very eager keen
184. very easy effortless
185. very empty desolate
186. very evil wicked
187. very excited thrilled
188. very exciting exhilarating
189. very expensive costly
190. very fancy lavish
191. very fast quick
192. very fat obese
193. very fierce ferocious
194. very friendly amiable
195. very funny hilarious
196. very glad overjoyed
197. very good excellent
198. very great terrific
199. very happy ecstatic
200. very hard difficult
201. very heavy leaden
202. very huge colossal
203. very hungry starving
204. very hurt battered
205. very large huge
206. very lazy indolent
207. very light luminous
208. very little tiny
209. very lively animated
210. very long extensive
211. very loose slack
212. very lovely adorable
213. very mean cruel
214. very messy slovenly
215. very nice kind
216. very noisy deafening
217. very often frequently
218. very old ancient
219. very open transparent
220. very pale ashen
221. very perfect flawless
222. very poor destitute
223. very powerful compelling
224. very pretty beautiful
225. very quick rapid
226. very quiet hushed
227. very rainy pouring
228. very rich wealthy
229. very sad sorrowful
230. very scared petrified
231. very scary chilling
232. very serious grave
233. very sharp keen
234. very shiny gleaming
235. very short brief
236. very shy timid
237. very simple basic
238. very skinny skeletal
239. very slow sluggish
240. very small petite
241. very smart intelligent
242. very smooth sleek
243. very soft downy
244. very sorry apologetic
245. very special exceptional
246. very strong forceful
247. very stupid idiotic
248. very sure certain
249. very sweet thoughtful
250. very talented gifted
251. very tall towering
252. very tasty delicious
253. very thirsty parched
254. very tight constricting
255. very tiny minuscule
256. very tired exhausted
257. very ugly hideous
258. very upset distraught
259. very warm hot
260. very weak frail
261. very wet soaked
262. very wide expansive
263. very willing eager
264. very windy blustery
265. very wise sage
266. very worried distressed

[Calicat]

I’m a native English speaker who has no idea how she ended up here, but happy I did. It’s always a good idea to improve one’s vocabulary and never stop learning.
I really enjoyed your video. You have such a pleasant voice that makes listening easy and your material is quite helpful. I feel like a thief having watched this for free 🙈 Thank you for what you’re doing!

[meygekon]

Teacher: Stop saying "very"
Me: Thank you much

[AAnimalArk]

Before the video: “This soup taste very salty”
After this video: “Ocean soup”

[cynthiasparkschannel]

I'm two minutes in this video and I LOVE your personality and teaching style so much!! god bless you we need more people like you

[mospusthespider]

“Don’t use ‘very’ in your sentences”
“That was really good advice, thanks”

[habibshah]

Teacher: Dont say very cold, say freezing.
Me: its very freezing.

[Elformatofisico]

As a spanish speaker who works in a resort; this is gold. Superb lesson. I will use these words little by little in my future conversations.
Muchas gracias, maestro.

[ani-cute]

After watching this superb video in freezing room and not being exhausted from this lesson, I can actually say that I'll speak rapidly like native and won't be destitute!

[gnouhp]

"I'm very poor"
"Don't use very"
"I'm flat broke, bruh"