Is there any logic to this or just decision?
I would use the following combinations:
- quite amazing
- rather large
- pretty good
I would not use the following combinations:
- pretty amazing
- quite large
- rather good
There’re also the words pretty and fairly and of course we say “pretty good” instead of quite good/rather good. Is there any grammar rule that states which word to select to give strength to an adjective without depending on the adjective for no appearant reason?
Answer
I think “quite amazing” is an oxymoron; something can’t be “mildly greatly surprising.”
There is another issue here: Quite can mean both totally and mildly. So in your example “quite amazing” would be better expressed as “mildly surprising” or awesome.
For example:
My aunt is quite mad. [Is she a little bit eccentric or totally insane?]
Either way in the case of “quite amazing” both meanings: “totally greatly surprising” and “mildly greatly surprising” make no sense.
Attribution
Source : Link , Question Author : Niklas Rosencrantz , Answer Author : Fraser
