Downtoning

Sometimes we need to express our thoughts in such a manner which lowers the effect of the verb. In other words, sometimes we need to lower the force of the meaning of a verb. For this purpose we use some words/phrases which are called downtoners.

These downtoners, however, can again be sub-classified as the following.

Compromisers
Diminishers
Minimizers
Approximators

Compromizers have only a slight lowering effect. Some compromizers are shown below.

kind of / sort of (in informal American English)

I kind of like it.

(= I like it, but not very much ).

What did you tell him?

- I sort of gave him some advice. (Maybe it can't be called good advice.)

quite/rather (especially in British English)

He's the best player, isn't he?

-Yes, he quite played and amused the audience, but I think there are others who play better.

(I don't think he's the BEST player.) 

We quite enjoyed the party, but I've been in better ones.

(I didn't enjoy it very much.)

It's rather a good idea, but try to create something more interesting.

I rather like tea in the morning, but I enjoy it most in the afternoon.

Likewise, "more" and "less" are also compromizers. Diminishers throw the meaning of a verb downward considerably Some examples are:

Partly, somewhat, in part to some extent, slightly, a little.

Your advice somewhat changed her belief. (= didn't change completely)

When she arrived the situation somewhat improved.

Rabindranath has somewhat influenced her poetry.

I know her slightly.

Your parents' behavior has influenced you to some extent.

The result of the experiment varied to some extent when the method was changed.

The flood partly affected the region. His condition has improved a little.

He talks a little more than you do.

Diminishers diminish the thrust of the activity represented by a verb so much that it almost gives a negative meaning. Some examples are:
a bit 
barely 
hardly
little
scarcely
in the least 
at all
in the slightest.

Now compare each sentence of each pair of sentences with the other.

1.

(a) He knows about it.

(b) He knows little about it.

(= He knows almost nothing about it.)

2.

(a) She turned pale.

(b) She turned pale a bit.

3.

(a) Wait please.

(b) Wait a bit (= just for a moment) please.

4.

(a) She arrived again and had to leave again.

(b) She had barely arrived when she had to leave again.

5.

(a) I have no money to last the weekend. 

(b) I have barely enough money to last the weekend. [= only just]

6. 

(a) Further improvement is not noticeable. 

(b) Further improvement is barely (= almost not) noticeable.

7.

(a) I don't go there.

(b) I hardly ever/seldom go there.

(= I don't go there frequently.)

8.

(a) She could not speak for tears. 

(b) She could hardly speak for tears.

9.

(a) He doesn't know the people he works with.

(b) He hardly knows I knows very little] the people he works with.

10. 

(a) When he arrived at the station the train left.

(b) Hardly/Scarcely/Barely had he arrived at the station when the train left. 

(=As soon as he arrived at the station. the train left.) 

= No sooner had he arrived at the station than [not 'when'] the train left.

11. 

(a) As soon as we reached home, it started raining. 

(b) No sooner had we reached home than it started raining.

(c) Hardly/Scarcely/Barely had we reached home when it started raining.

12. 

(a) I'm not hungry. 

(b) I'm not in the least hungry.

13. 

(a) I don't love her.

(b) I don't love her at all. 

14. 

(a) I believe that it won't happen.

(b) I doubt/suspect whether it will happen at all.

The approximators are the following:
almost 
barely
all but 
as good as

The work is all but (= almost) finished.

This plan is as good as that plan.

I nearly died.

She nearly (= all but/almost) killed me.

He comes here almost always.

He almost fainted. (But he actually didn't faint.) 

I can scarcely agree to his proposal; in fact, I don't agree to his proposal.