Quite = less than 'very' but more than 'a little':
* I'm surprised you haven't heard of her. She's quite famous. (= less than 'very famous' but more than 'a little famous')
* It's quite cold. You'd better wear your coat.
* Lucy lives quite near me, so we see each other quite often.
Quite goes before a/an:
quite a nice day (not 'a quite nice day'), quite an old house, quite a long way
Sometimes we use quite + noun (without an adjective):
* I didn't expect to see them. It was quite a surprise.
We also use quite with some verbs, especially like and enjoy:
* I quite like tennis but it's not my favourite sport.
Quite sometimes means 'completely'.
Rather is similar to quite. We use rather mainly with negative words and negative ideas:
* It's rather cold. You'd better wear your coat.
* 'What was the examination like?' 'Rather difficult, I'm afraid.'
* Let's get a taxi. It's rather a long way to walk.
Quite is also possible in these examples.
Often we use quite with a positive idea and rather with a negative idea:
* She's quite intelligent but rather lazy.
When we use rather with positive words (nice/interesting etc.), it means 'unusually' or
'surprisingly'. For example, rather nice = unusually nice/surprisingly nice/nicer than expected:
* These oranges are rather nice. Where did you get them?
* Ann didn't like the book but I thought it was rather interesting. (=more interesting than expected)
Rather can go before or after a/an. So you can say:
a rather interesting book or rather an interesting book
Quite also means 'completely'. For example:
* 'Are you sure?' 'Yes, quite sure.' (= completely sure)
Quite means 'completely' with a number of adjectives, especially:
[sure, right, true, clear, different, incredible, amazing, certain, wrong, safe, obvious, unnecessary, extraordinary, impossible]
* She was quite different from what I expected. (= completely different)
* Everything they said was quite true. (= completely true)
We also use quite (='completely') with some verbs. For example:
* I quite agree with you. (= I completely agree) Not quite = 'not completely':
* They haven't quite finished their dinner yet.
* I don't quite understand what you mean.
* 'Are you ready yet?' 'Not quite.' (= not completely)
EXERCISES
103.1 Complete the sentences using quite + one of the following:
a busy day a good voice a nice time a lot of mistakes a nice day a long way a strong wind a frightening experience
1. The weather was better than we had expected. It was _quite a nice day._
2. Tom often sings. He's got ---.
3. The bus stop wasn't very near the hotel. We had to walk ---.
4. I'm tired. I've had ---.
5. Our holiday was OK. We had ---.
6. It's warm today but there's ---.
7. 1 hope that never happens again. It was ---.
8. She speaks English fluently but she makes ---.
103.2 Complete these sentences using the words in brackets. Each time use quite with the positive word and rather with the negative word.
1. She's _quite intelligent_ but _rather lazy._ (intelligent/lazy)
2. The car goes --- but it's ---. (well/noisy)
3. The programme was --- but ---. (long/interesting)
4. George is --- but he's ---. (a hard worker/slow)
5. I was --- with the hotel but Jim was ---. (disappointed/pleased)
6. It's --- job but it's --- work. (a well-paid/hard)
7. Sarah lives --- us but it's --- to get to her house. (near/difficult)
103.3 What does quite mean in these sentences? Tick (V) the right meaning.
(more than a little, less than very)
1. It's _quite cold._ You'd better wear your coat.
2. 'Are you sure?' 'Yes, _quite sure._'
3. Maria's English is _quite good._ ( ), ( )
4. I couldn't believe it. It was _quite incredible._
5. The people I work with are _quite friendly._
6. My bedroom is _quite big._
7. You're _quite right._
103.4 Complete these sentences using quite with one of the following:
amazing different impossible right safe sure unnecessary true
1. I didn't believe her at first, but in fact what she said was _quite true._
2. You won't fall. The ladder is ---.
3. I'm afraid I can't do what you ask. It's ---.
4. I couldn't agree with you more. You are ---.
5. You can't compare the two things. They are ---.
6. You needn't have done that. It was ---.
7. 1 think I saw them go out but I'm not ---.
8. I couldn't believe what had happened. It was ---.
103.1
2 quite a good voice.
3 quite a long way.
4 quite a busy day.
5 quite a nice time.
6 quite a strong wind.
7 quite a frightening experience.
8 quite a lot of mistakes.
103.2
2 quite well but it's rather noisy
3 rather long but quite interesting
4 quite a hard worker but he's rather slow
5 rather disappointed ... quite pleased
6 Quite a well-paid job but it's Might hard work
7 quite near us but it's rather difficult.
103.3
3 more than a little ...
4 completely
5 more than a little ...
6 more than a little ...
7 completely
103.4
2 quite safe.
3 quite impossible.
4 quite right.
5 quite different.
6 quite unnecessary.
7 quite sure.
8 quite amazing.
