Run this 12-minute session to guide students through natural academic collocations and gradability rules.
Check the answers together as a class or let students compare their work in pairs using the feedback notes.

First, study the four rule rows to see which adverbs naturally match different types of adjectives.
Next, complete the twelve practice items below from top to bottom to build your confidence and accuracy.

1

Fixed Academic Collocations: deeply vs. highly

Example 1: Parents are deeply worried about unwanted changes to their child's genes.

Example 2: Altering the human genome to select a cosmetic trait remains highly contentious among researchers.

2

Gradable Adjectives: very, quite, fairly, extremely

Example 1: Several experts are quite sceptical about the promised cures.

Example 2: The cost of carrying out clinical gene therapy trials remains extremely high for healthcare systems.

3

Ungradable Adjectives: absolutely, completely, totally, utterly

Example 1: Some campaigners call the idea completely unthinkable.

Example 2: Reviving ideas linked to historical eugenics through embryo selection is utterly unacceptable to the public.

4

Completeness & Rightness: wholly, entirely, fully

Example 1: The scientist felt entirely justified in publishing the results.

Example 2: Modifying a germline variant is not wholly therapeutic if the primary goal is genetic enhancement.

Practice Challenges

Work through twelve items from easy to hard. Read the clue in brackets to pick the right pattern.

1. Which sentence uses the natural adverb with a gradable adjective?

(degree)

____ Genetic screening for this hereditary trait is extremely controversial among doctors ____ Genetic screening for this hereditary trait is utterly controversial among doctors ____ Genetic screening for this hereditary trait is fully controversial among doctors

2. Which sentence correctly modifies an ungradable adjective?

(limit)

____ Correcting every mutation in the human genome is very impossible right now ____ Correcting every mutation in the human genome is utterly impossible right now ____ Correcting every mutation in the human genome is fairly unthinkable right now

3. Which sentence naturally expresses complete justification?

(rightness)

____ The ethics committee felt deeply justified in stopping the clinical trial ____ The ethics committee felt extremely justified in stopping the clinical trial ____ The ethics committee felt wholly justified in stopping the clinical trial

4. Fill in the natural adverb for likelihood.

(probability)

It is ____ unlikely that a single gene variant determines complex human behaviour.

5. Fill in an adverb of degree for a scale adjective.

(degree)

Early lab data on embryo screening looked ____ promising before the final phase began.

6. Fill in an adverb that fits an extreme adjective.

(limit)

Creating human enhancement clones without international oversight is ____ unacceptable.

7. Rewrite with an advanced adverb + adjective pair.

(probability)

Original sentence:

"It is very likely that international rules on germline editing will change soon."

It is ____ that international rules on germline editing will change soon.

8. Rewrite with an adverb + adjective pair showing total defense.

(rightness)

Original sentence:

"The research panel was completely convinced that their therapeutic trial was right."

The research panel felt ____ in running their therapeutic trial.

9. Rewrite with an adverb + adjective pair for disagreement.

(division)

Original sentence:

"Bioethicists are strongly split over whether trait selection counts as modern eugenics."

Bioethicists remain ____ over whether trait selection counts as modern eugenics.

10. Correct the underlined adverb in Maya's chat message.

(limit)

💬

Replace "very" with: ____

11. Correct the underlined adverb in Liam's chat message.

(degree)

💬

Replace "absolutely" with: ____

12. Correct the underlined adverb in Maya's chat message.

(rightness)

💬

Replace "extremely" with: ____