Degree Modifiers of Adjectives in Spoken British English

Investigating a set of degree modifiers of adjectives in common spoken British English, including: absolutely, awfully, very, quite, rather, a bit, this text pursues questions concerning the intonation of degree modifiers and the relationship between degree modifiers and adjectives.;Why is it totally impossible to say "very impossible", and why is it all right to say "absolutely amazing" and "terribly nice", but not "terribly amazing" and "absolutely nice"?;The study explores the semantic constraints that govern the relationship between degree modifiers and adjectives in terms of their conceptualization. It is argued that the gradable features of adjectives must harmonize with the grading function of degree modifiers for a successful match. The selection of degree modifiers by adjectives is predictable as to the type of gradibility that the adjective represents.;The text also looks at the constraints that govern the intonation of degree modifiers. The interplay between intonational meaning, discoursal meaning, attitudinal meaning, and the lexical meaning of degree modifiers is shown to be governed by a principle of harmony.