We can use adverbs like really and so before a positive adjective.
Example:
- She's really outgoing.
- He was so creative.
We can use the same adverbs before a negative adjective, but we normally do this only
if we do not like the person or are angry with them.
Example:
- She 's so nosy
If we say something negative about someone, e.g. She is impatient, or He is unreliable,
it can sound rude or too direct. We often 'soften ' negative comments for this reason.
Here are two ways of doing this:
• with can be a bit
Example:
- She can be a bit impatient.
• with not very + a positive adjective
Example:
- He's not very reliable.
If you use a character adjective to describe someone, you should expand on it or explain it.
Examples:
- She 's really outgoing and sociable - she's always going out with friends and colleagues.
- He 's not very reliable, so, for example, if I email him, he won 't respond.
- She 's terribly blunt, which means she quite often upsets us with the things she says.
