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Movie night in your car: gradable and extreme adjectives with very and absolutely

This B1 ESL lesson plan teaches extreme adjectives such as terrifying, hilarious and freezing, set against very scary and a bit cold, with the first drive-in movie theater.

Grammar
Normal adjectives with very, a bit and extremely (a bit cold), extreme ones with absolutely and totally (absolutely freezing), and really with both, in eight pairs.
Topic
The first drive-in movie theater, opened in New Jersey in 1933, and movie genres, with words such as double feature, concession stand and thriller.
Activities
Episode notes to read, a night at a drive-in and a listener's question to hear, self-checking drills, a chat about which movie to see and open-box questions.

What's inside

  1. Chapter 1Lights, camera, popcorn!

    • PictureUnlock
    • Spin the wheel and answerSpin the wheelUnlock
    • Study the words: movie nightVocabularyTry it
    • Look at the pictures and chooseChoose by pictureUnlock

  2. Chapter 2Reading: your car is your seat

    • Look at the photo: a drive-in in the 1930sPictureUnlock
    • Read the episode notes: the first drive-inArticleUnlock
    • Read and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock
    • Read again and choose the correct answerQuizUnlock

  3. Chapter 3Listening: absolutely freezing!

    • Listen to Jade and Darius at a drive-inListeningTry it
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and choose the correct answerQuizUnlock
    • Listen to the Listener's TakeListeningUnlock
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock

  4. Chapter 4Grammar: very scary, absolutely terrifying

    • Study the scheme: very scary or absolutely terrifying?Grammar schemeTry it
    • Choose the correct optionChoose the optionUnlock
    • Fill in the table: normal and extreme adjectivesFill in the tableTry it
    • Fill in the gaps: the right word before the adjectiveFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps with an extreme adjectiveFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Choose the correct answer: which sentence is right?QuizUnlock

  5. Chapter 5Speaking: what are we watching?

    • Choose the right replies: pick a movieChatTry it
    • Open a box and answer: movies and feelingsOpen the boxUnlock

  6. Chapter 6Homework

    • Match the words and the meaningsMatchUnlock
    • Unscramble the wordsAnagramUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps with the lesson's wordsFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Choose the correct answer: what is it?QuizUnlock
    • Sort the words into the correct columnsSort into columnsUnlock
    • Choose the correct wordChoose the optionUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps with a normal adjectiveFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Put the words in the correct orderUnjumbleUnlock
    • Choose the correct option: Darius's reviewChoose the optionUnlock
    • Drag the words into the gaps: Jade's answerDrag and dropUnlock

32 exercises in 6 chapters. Start a 7-day free trial to open all of them, copy any part into your own lessons, and teach the lesson live.

Vocabulary

12 words and phrases from the lesson, each with a picture and audio in edio.

+9 more with pictures and audio in the lessonMore words

  • drive-in
  • double feature
  • horror movie
  • comedy
  • thriller
  • sci-fi
  • animated movie
  • concession stand
  • genre

Grammar: gradable and extreme adjectives

An extreme adjective already means very + adjective: terrifying is very scary, and enormous is very big. On a cold night at a drive-in, learners pair each normal adjective with its extreme partner, pick the word that can go before it and keep really for the moments when they aren't sure.

Very scary or absolutely terrifying?

Normal adjectives go with very, a bit and extremely. Extreme adjectives already mean “very”, so they go with absolutely or totally. Really goes with both.

Eight pairs: normal and extreme

Each normal adjective has a stronger partner: scary and terrifying, funny and hilarious, cold and freezing, tired and exhausted. Some have two partners: good takes brilliant or fantastic, bad takes awful or terrible, big takes enormous or huge.

Normal adjectiveExtreme adjective (= very + normal)
very scaryabsolutely terrifying
very funnyabsolutely hilarious
very goodabsolutely brilliant / fantastic
very badabsolutely awful / terrible
very bigabsolutely enormous / huge
very smallabsolutely tiny
very coldabsolutely freezing
very tiredabsolutely exhausted

Very or absolutely?

Very, a bit and extremely go with normal adjectives: The movie was extremely good. Absolutely and totally go with extreme ones: absolutely freezing, totally exhausted. That rules out very enormous as well as absolutely funny.

Which word goes with which?

very, a bit, extremely + normal

  • The comedy was very funny.
  • It was a bit cold tonight.
  • The movie was extremely good.

absolutely, totally + extreme

  • The comedy was absolutely hilarious.
  • It was absolutely freezing tonight.
  • After two movies, we were totally exhausted.

Why not “very terrifying”?

An extreme adjective already means “very + adjective”: terrifying = very scary, enormous = very big. So don't put very, a bit or extremely before it. Not: very enormous, a bit hilarious. And absolutely goes only with extreme adjectives. Not: absolutely funny.

Really goes with both

Really fits either kind of adjective: really scary and really terrifying, really funny and really hilarious. Not sure which kind it is? Say really.

really goes with both

Really works with normal and extreme adjectives: really scary, really terrifying, really funny, really hilarious. Not sure? Say really!

A bit for small problems

A bit means a little, and it usually goes with words for small problems: a bit scary, a bit cold, a bit tired. It never comes before an extreme adjective, so it's absolutely hilarious, never a bit hilarious.

a bit = a little

We usually use a bit with words for small problems: a bit scary, a bit cold, a bit tired, a bit small.

Common mistakes

  • The movie was very terrifying.

    The movie was absolutely terrifying.

    extreme adjective: absolutely, not very

  • The comedy was absolutely funny.

    The comedy was very funny.

    normal adjective: very, not absolutely

  • It was a bit hilarious.

    It was absolutely hilarious.

    a bit goes only with normal adjectives

  • The ending was extremely brilliant.

    The ending was absolutely brilliant.

    extremely goes only with normal adjectives

At the drive-in

  • The screen was absolutely enormous.
  • For Jade, the night was absolutely freezing.
  • For Darius, it was only a bit cold.
  • The horror movie was absolutely terrifying. He screamed three times!
  • The comedy was really funny. No, it was absolutely hilarious!
  • The popcorn was really good.

More lessons on this grammar: Adjectives and adverbs lessons and exercises

Try the extreme adjectives exercises

Try them yourself: these are the same exercises your students do in edio.

More exercises

What's in the lesson

  • 19 auto-checked exercises
  • 4 games
  • 1 article
  • 1 grammar scheme
  • 1 set of word cards
  • 2 audio clips
  • 2 pictures
  • 2 transcripts

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

  • use very, a bit and extremely with normal adjectives: The comedy was very funny. It was a bit cold tonight.
  • use absolutely or totally with extreme adjectives: The horror movie was absolutely terrifying. We were totally exhausted.
  • make a description stronger with the extreme partner: The screen wasn't just big. It was absolutely enormous.
  • say really with both kinds (really funny, really hilarious) and avoid very terrifying and absolutely funny
  • name movie genres, rate a movie and plan a double feature

Lesson 18 is the second lesson of Screen and page, the fifth unit of English B1.1 · Stories That Travel. After lesson 17's -ed and -ing adjectives, it asks how strong an adjective is, one step on from A2.1 lesson 16, which set too against very; lesson 19 then tells a plot in the present. A cold night in a car with a horror movie and a comedy gives every pair a real use: a bit cold or absolutely freezing?

Students spin a wheel of questions about movies and snacks, then learn twelve words, from scream and tilt to genre, with pictures and audio. They read the show's episode notes on Richard Hollingshead's drive-in of 1933, then hear Jade and Darius at a double feature where he screams and loses a bet, and Xander from Pennsylvania ask which genre the hosts would pick, all AI-voiced. The grammar chapter pairs the scheme with five self-checking drills, including a table of normal and extreme pairs. In the speaking chapter, Kara invites the student to a drive-in in a chat, and open boxes ask about hilarious and terrifying movies.

All ten homework tasks check themselves: a word match, an anagram, a gap-fill and a quiz on genres for the words, then a column sort of the two kinds of adjective, a choice of the right word, gaps for normal adjectives, word order, Darius's review with choices and Jade's answer to Xander with words to drag in.

Grammar:
gradable adjectives · extreme adjectives · very / absolutely / really
Topic:
drive-in movie theaters · movies · movie genres · Richard Hollingshead · New Jersey · movie reviews · Stories That Travel

Teaching tips

  • Make it stronger: call out a normal adjective with very (very big, very tired) and point at a student, who answers with the extreme partner: absolutely enormous, absolutely exhausted.
  • Ask how a car could be a theater seat before the episode notes. Students guess, then read to find the sloping parking places and the patent that called the car a part of the seating.
  • Play the drive-in dialogue twice: first for the weather, the screen and the two movies, then for the adjectives, which students write in a normal column and an extreme column.
  • Hold a class rating round: each student gives a recent movie one to five stars and explains with two adjectives: The plot was very good, and the ending was absolutely brilliant.

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The whole course: English B1.1 · Stories That Travel

32 lessons for adults at B1 in American English, each built around a true story. Riley, Jade and Darius make a podcast in Kansas City about true American stories, and each lesson tells one, from a seaplane airport in Alaska to the Marfa Lights of West Texas. Learners compare the present perfect with the past simple, use future forms, modals and quantifiers, and give their own opinions. The practice exercises check themselves.See the course

  1. Unit 1 Travel smart

    the present perfect vs the past simple, for and since, indirect questions, be used to and get used to

    1. Lesson 1Would you visit an airport just for fun?Present perfect vs past simple
    2. Lesson 2Would you sleep in a 300-year-old inn?For and since with the present perfect
    3. Lesson 3My suitcase has gone to Honolulu!Indirect questions for polite requests
    4. Lesson 4Can you practice a flight?Be used to and get used to

  2. Unit 2 Dream jobs, new jobs

    will have to and won't be allowed to, the present perfect continuous, simple vs continuous, would vs used to

    1. Lesson 5Would you jump off a moving boat for a job?Will have to, will be able to and will be allowed to
    2. Lesson 6Working from anywherePresent perfect continuous
    3. Lesson 7Could you be a camp counselor?Present perfect simple vs continuous
    4. Lesson 8Would you live in a lighthouse?Would vs used to for the past

  3. Unit 3 Space and discovery

    it's + adjective + to, What's it like to…?, future forms compared, future time clauses, too and enough + to

    1. Lesson 9What's it like to work in space?It's + adjective + to and What's it like to…?
    2. Lesson 10Who will walk on the Moon next?Future forms compared by meaning
    3. Lesson 11A message for the starsFuture time clauses
    4. Lesson 12A helicopter on Mars?Too and enough + to-infinitive

  4. Unit 4 Life online

    the more…, the more…, be supposed to, ought to and had better, let, make and allow

    1. Lesson 13The internet's first word was “LO”Comparative and comparative; the more…, the more…
    2. Lesson 14Who sent the first spam?Be supposed to for rules, expectations and plans
    3. Lesson 15Is your password really safe?Ought to and had better for advice and warnings
    4. Lesson 16Who writes Wikipedia?Let, make and allow + someone

  5. Unit 5 Screen and page

    -ed and -ing adjectives, gradable and extreme adjectives, present tenses for a plot, articles for things in general

    1. Lesson 17Why do readers still love Nancy Drew?-ed and -ing adjectives for feelings
    2. Lesson 18 · you're hereMovie night in your carGradable and extreme adjectives
    3. Lesson 19Would you review a book on TV?Present tenses to tell a plot
    4. Lesson 20Where are the books about girls like me?Articles for things in general and specific things

  6. Unit 6 Green living

    few and a few, little and a little, all, most, some and none, each and every, fewer and less

    1. Lesson 21A year's trash in one jar?Few, a few, little and a little
    2. Lesson 22No food in the trash!All, most, some and none (of)
    3. Lesson 23A farm in the middle of DetroitEach and every
    4. Lesson 24A trash collector with googly eyesFewer and less

  7. Unit 7 Sporting moments

    could, was able to and managed to, for, during and while, present tenses for live commentary, question tags

    1. Lesson 25From a leg brace to three goldsCould, was able to and managed to
    2. Lesson 26A doctor and an Olympic champion?For, during and while
    3. Lesson 27Who's that runner coming from behind?Present simple and continuous for live commentary
    4. Lesson 28Why do high jumpers go backward?Question tags

  8. Unit 8 Mysteries and lost worlds

    both… and, either… or and neither… nor, uncountable nouns, how sure we are about the future, unless, as long as and in case

    1. Lesson 29A calendar made of posts?Both… and, either… or, neither… nor
    2. Lesson 30What was the Great House for?Uncountable abstract nouns
    3. Lesson 31What does Newspaper Rock say?Certainty about the future
    4. Lesson 32What are the Marfa Lights?Unless, as long as and in case

Questions about this lesson

What are extreme adjectives?
Extreme adjectives are adjectives that already mean very + adjective: terrifying means very scary, hilarious very funny, enormous very big and freezing very cold. Because the meaning is already as strong as it gets, they take absolutely, totally or really, not very: The horror movie was absolutely terrifying. The B1 lesson Movie night in your car on edio.ai teaches eight pairs.
What's the difference between gradable and extreme adjectives?
A gradable adjective, such as scary or cold, can be a little or a lot, so very, a bit and extremely can go before it: a bit cold, very scary. An extreme adjective is the top of that scale, so it takes absolutely: absolutely freezing. In Movie night in your car, a B1 lesson on edio.ai, Jade calls the night absolutely freezing, while Darius says it's only a bit cold.
What are some examples of extreme adjectives?
Useful ones are terrifying, hilarious, brilliant, fantastic, awful, terrible, enormous, huge, tiny, freezing and exhausted. Each one is a stronger version of a normal adjective: The screen was absolutely enormous. Their car is absolutely tiny. After two movies, we were totally exhausted. The mosquitoes were absolutely awful!
Is it "very terrifying" or "absolutely terrifying"?
It's absolutely terrifying, because terrifying already means very scary. Adding very says the same thing twice, and a bit terrifying or extremely terrifying don't work either. With the normal adjective, it's the other way around: very scary is right, absolutely scary is wrong. Really fits both: really scary, really terrifying.
Can you use really with extreme adjectives?
Yes, really is the one word that fits both kinds: really funny and really hilarious, really good and really brilliant. That makes it a safe choice when a learner isn't sure whether an adjective is normal or extreme. A scheme tip in Movie night in your car, a B1 lesson on edio.ai, says just that: not sure? Say really.
When did the first drive-in movie theater open?
On Tuesday, June 6, 1933, Richard Hollingshead opened what is known as the first drive-in, in Pennsauken Township, New Jersey, just outside Camden. He had received a patent three weeks earlier: the parking places slope up toward the screen, so each driver sees over the car in front. Earlier one-off shows existed, though: in 1921, Claude Caver showed silent films to people in their cars in Comanche, Texas.
How do I teach extreme adjectives to B1 students?
Teach the adjectives in pairs, never alone: scary and terrifying, cold and freezing. Once students know the pairs, add the words that go before each kind, then the traps, such as very enormous and a bit hilarious. In Movie night in your car on edio.ai, the pairs come up first in a dialogue at a drive-in, then in the scheme and five drills.
What's a good game for practicing extreme adjectives?
Disagree and go one better: one student says That movie was very funny, and a partner answers Very funny? It was absolutely hilarious! Then they swap. The open boxes in Movie night in your car on edio.ai turn the same idea into prompts, such as describing a movie that was absolutely terrifying or making your partner's very big stronger.
What's good homework for extreme adjectives?
Good homework moves from single words to a real text: a column sort of normal and extreme adjectives, then gaps that turn absolutely freezing back into a bit cold, then a movie review with choices. All ten homework tasks in the B1 lesson Movie night in your car on edio.ai check themselves, ending with Darius's review of a double feature and Jade's answer to a listener.
How do you practice extreme adjectives one-to-one?
Review movies and shows together: the teacher names a recent one, the student rates it and gives two adjectives, one normal and one extreme, and then they switch. The chat in Movie night in your car, a B1 lesson on edio.ai, works without a partner: Kara plans a drive-in night, and the right replies avoid very terrifying, very enormous and a bit freezing.
Are there interactive exercises for extreme adjectives?
Yes: tables and chats that check each answer instantly. This page plays three parts of the B1 lesson Movie night in your car on edio.ai, no account needed: Jade and Darius's night at a drive-in, a table where each normal adjective gets its extreme partner, and Kara's chat about which movie to see. The rest of the lesson is locked.
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