Very

The word 'very', as we all know, is an adverb. And as we also know adverbs are words which modify adjectives. They are, if you will, adjectival modifiers. An easy way to spot adverbs is to look for words that end -ly, as in 'I found the writer's tone hugely patronising' or 'if he doesn't get to the point soon I'll be leaving this site quickly.'

Very is a useful word because it gives extra meaning to a word - 'very hot' adds to the hotness just as 'very quick' adds to the quickness. I know, I'm labouring this but I do have a point to make. Have a look at this photo.



I don't know about you but to me some words just don't lend themselves to adjectival modifiers, such as very. 'Unique' is one of these words and to a certain extent I think 'local' is too. Local is defined as belonging to one's neighbourhood. Now clearly a neighbourhood is not a specific area but very local? When I saw the sign I actually looked around me to see if I could see a field of sheep (I couldn't). Not only that, but I couldn't even see the butcher's so they can't have been that local.

But the real point is how much meaning the 'very' is adding to the 'local' here. If I wanted to buy some lamb and be carbon neutral about it, for example, locally produced lamb would be enough for me. If the baby sheep was raised in the garden round the back of the butcher's, I'm really not sure I would be extra tempted to buy it on that basis. In fact, I'd probably be a bit worried.

So there we have it, a lesson for us all. Adverbs can be overused. But not very overused.