https://www.vexplode.com/en/english_lessons/dead-the-english-we-speak/
00:00:08Neil: Hello and welcome to The English We Speak
00:00:11– I’m Neil and this is Feifei. Feifei?
00:00:14Feifei!
00:00:16Feifei: Huh? Oh sorry, Neil!
00:00:24I had a really late night last night so I’m
00:00:27dead tired today!
00:00:29Neil: You’re dead tired, Feifei? Are you dying?
00:00:34That’s awful! What have you got? Is it
00:00:37contagious?
00:00:38Feifei: Oh Neil, don’t be silly! I’m not sick
00:00:42or contagious or dying! I’m just really
00:00:45tired!
00:00:45Neil: That’s a relief! But, you said you were
00:00:49‘dead’ tired. But you’re not dying?
00:00:51Feifei: Oh really, Neil – I think you’re more
00:00:55tired than I am! I said ‘dead’ tired because
00:00:58I’m really tired.
00:01:00Neil: So we can use ‘dead’ to mean ‘really’
00:01:04or ‘very’?
00:01:05Feifei: That’s right – if you want to
00:01:07emphasise an adjective, you can use
00:01:09dead to make it stronger.
00:01:10Neil: Well that’s dead confusing –
00:01:12perhaps we should take a look at some examples.
00:01:17Is it lunch time yet? I’m dead hungry!
00:01:21The man sat next to me on the train this
00:01:24morning kept falling asleep on my
00:01:26shoulder – it was dead annoying!
00:01:29I was dead happy when I passed my
00:01:32driving test!
00:01:37Feifei: This is The English We Speak from
00:01:39BBC Learning English and we’re talking
00:01:41about a different use of the word ‘dead’.
00:01:45Normally it means the opposite of the
00:01:46adjective ‘alive’, but native English-
00:01:50speakers, particularly people in the north
00:01:53of England, often use it before an
00:01:55adjective to emphasise what they
00:01:57are saying. Could you tell us a time when
00:02:00you were dead happy, Neil?
00:02:02Neil: Well, when I woke up this morning
00:02:04and found I had another hour until my
00:02:06alarm went off! I was dead thrilled!
00:02:08Feifei: Not quite, Neil! You were dead
00:02:12happy, but not dead thrilled! You can’t use
00:02:15‘dead’ with extreme adjectives.
00:02:18Neil: Oh OK, so you can say ‘dead cold’
00:02:21but not ‘dead freezing’ Or ‘dead good’
00:02:24but not ‘dead fantastic’.
00:02:25Feifei: That was a dead good explanation,
00:02:28Neil! I see you have woken up a bit now,
00:02:30but I’m still dead tired.
00:02:32Neil: Well how about you make us both a
00:02:34coffee while I finish the programme – it’s
00:02:36your turn to make the coffees!
00:02:37Feifei: Err, no, Neil – I always make the
00:02:40coffee!
00:02:41I’ll go make a coffee for me, not you, while
00:02:44you finish the programme!
00:02:45Neil: Uh oh. I’d best go and make the
00:02:48coffees – she’s dead sensitive when she
00:02:50hasn’t had enough sleep! Well, bye everyone,
00:02:52see you next time!
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