Page 213 - Basic English Usage

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274 quite

1 Quite has two meanings. Compare:
It's quite good. _ It’s quite impossible.
Good is a‘gradable’ adjective: things can be more or less good.
Impossible is not ‘gradable’. Things cannot be more or less impossible;
they are impossible or they are not.
With gradable adjectives, quite means something like ‘fairly’ or ‘rather’.
(See 124.)
‘How’s your steak?’ ‘Quite nice.’
She’s quite pretty. She'd look better if she dressed differently, though.
With non-gradable adjectives, quite means ‘completely’.
His French is quite perfect. The bird was quite dead.
2 We put quite before a/an.
quiteanice day quite an interesting film

3 We can use quite with verbs.
| quite like her. | Have you quite finished?

275 real(ly)

In informal English (especially American English), rea/is often used as
an adverb instead of realiy before adverbs and adjectives.
That was realnice. | She cooks real well.
Some people consider this ‘incorrect’.

276 reflexive pronouns

Reflexive pronouns are myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, oneself,
ourselves, yourselves, themselves.

1 We use reflexive pronouns to talk about actions where the subject and
the object are the same person.
I cut myself shaving this morning. (NOT teutme .. .)
We got out of the river and dried ourselves. (NOT ... dredts-)
Why's she talking to herself?
We do not usually use reflexive pronouns with wash, dress or shave.
Do you shave on Sundays?({(NOT ... shave-yourself .__)
After prepositions, we use personal pronouns instead of reflexives when
itis clear which person we are talking about.
She took her dog with her. (NOT . . . -with-herseif.)