I agree with Dawn and Lynne. In British English, �quite� has 2 meanings.
1)
It means: �To a certain or fairly
significant extent or degree�. (Oxford English Dictionary).
Synonyms
are:
Moderately; rather; somewhat; reasonably;
fairly; relatively; comparatively; to some extent; to some degree.
�It�s quite good! (but I�m
sad it�s not BETTER!�)
The Speaker makes a positive
comment, but does not wish the positive comment to be TOO BIG.
�It�s quite bad! (but I�m
glad it�s not WORSE!�)
The Speaker makes a negative
comment, but does not wish the negative comment to be TOO BIG.
Oxford English Dictionary examples: �It�s
quite warm outside.� �He�s quite an attractive man.�
2)
It means: �To the utmost or most absolute extent or degree�. (Oxford English
Dictionary).
Synonyms
are:
Utterly;
absolutely; totally; completely; entirely; wholly; fully; perfectly; exactly;
precisely.
Oxford English Dictionary examples: �It�s
quite out of the question.� �Are you quite certain about this?� �This is quite
a different problem.� �I quite agree.� �Quite frankly, I don�t blame you.�
There are many other phrases
using �Quite�, but these would confuse your Intermediate Students.
Even these 2 explanations are �quite difficult� to understand.
As a Teacher, if I gave only one
explanation, it would be the first, and I would probably use the adverb �moderately� as a synonym for �quite�.
I hope this helps you.
Les Douglas
