Learn English > English lessons and exercises > English test #106116: Quite or Quiet

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Quite or Quiet - English lesson

‘QUITE ? or QUIET ? ’

These two words are often confused by students, or used one for the other !

1) QUIET : (2 syllables) ['kwai/0t] : It may be either - an adjective which means ‘not very active’, ‘calm’.

- a noun = ‘calm', ‘silence’.

ex : After lunch, it’s pleasant to enjoy a moment of quiet rest, (= adjective), reading or playing cardgames, especially in Summer.

ex : We enjoyed the quiet of a walk in the mountains … (= noun)

It's also - a verb, used when requiring calm and silence ! ex : The teacher quieted the students so that the lesson could start.

2) QUITE : (only one syllable) ['kwait] = adverb. In the United Kingdom, it has 2 meanings :

a) = rather. ex : This film is quite good.

When it means ‘rather’, quite is often followed by a/an + + adj. + noun : ex : This is quite an interesting story !

This usage isn't frequent at all in the US where it is often replaced by ‘pretty’ or 'fairly'.( also used in informal British English)

b) = totally, completely, considerably, positively : This meaning is very frequent in American English.

In the US, the speaker’s stress and intonation will show you which is meant : ex : Your essay is quite good (= fairly good — it could be better); Your essay is quite good (= very good, especially when this is unexpected). In the UK, quite ( = totally) precedes adjectives that describe an extreme state ('non-gradable' adjectives).

ex : August was quite cold and rainy (fairly cold and rainy), not quite a perfect Summer month..

ex : Yesterday, he was quite tired (fairly tired), but today, he’s really quite exhausted !

c) Quite can also be used in front of a verb : ex : I quite appreciate your choice …= I totally like the choice you've made !

There are some expressions : Quite right = totally right ; quite a sight (used to stress) = a sight which is really exceptional ; quite a few = a fair number of ; quite a while = during a fairly long moment ; I quite agree = I totally agree !

QUIET :

QUITE :

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1) This is to spell ! I'll have to check in a dictionary ...
2) Would you, please, while your Mom is speaking ? You're disturbing her ...
3) The house they live in is ! They'll have room to put us up ! ...
4) It's for him to for more than ten minutes ... I'll have to watch him closely !
5) I'm sorry I kept you waiting, but I have to make !
6) Are you the result ? I think I have lost much less than what you're saying ...
7) Yes, I know he's at the moment, but he can be very unruly sometimes ...
8) The judge said : ' ! If not, I'll have the courthouse evacuated ! '
9) I know he's , but he's not famous yet !
10) She was playing dolls when I arrived home to take her to school ...
11) I that he doesn't want to contradict you, but is stupid in these circumstances !

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