Quite and Rather

​QUITE                                                                                                           
Means less than 'very' but more than 'a little' :             
  • The film was quite good but the book was much better.
  • She is quite attractive, but not what I'd call gorgeous.
  • She lives quite near me, so we can see each other quite often.
  • I quite like reading but it is not my favourite pastime.

            Quite a :  goes before  a  /  an 
He is quite a good soccer player ( not  a quite  good soccer player)
 RATHER
is similar to quite. We use rather mainly with negative words and negative ideas :
  • He is limping rather badly
  • 'What was the examination like ? ''Rather difficult , I am afraid.'
  • I was quite pleased with the hotel but she was rather disappointed.
When we use rather with positive words it means 'unusually' or 'surprisingly' :
These pears are rather nice ( nicer than expected ) where did you buy them ?
QUITE also means 'completely' and NOT QUITE not completely :               
He  has quite recovered from his illness     -  They have not quite finished their lunch yet
Especially with a number of adjectives : 
sure, certain, right, wrong, true, safe, clear,different, incredible, 
extraordinary, amazing,  impossible,  unnecessary, obvious
  • I am sorry .It is quite impossible, I can't come !
  • Are you sure ? Yes, quite sure
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​​​As the world becomes additional world and integrated community, English language plays a vital role in connecting people and their ideas to at least one another. www.engforu.com is created by Maung Maung One. My goal is, the people of Myanmar need to develop English Language must be supported as much as I can. Its purpose was to help expand learner access to the Basic English. I would like to give our special thanks to BBC, VOA for graciously allowing us to use their news stories as a basis of our learning activities. Their stories, photos and videos have made learning interesting and appropriate for adults.