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old hand
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OP
old hand
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I overheard a gentleman today exclaiming how he was sehr zufrieden with the contract he'd beaten out of his employers that day. Now, I have never used 'very' with 'satisfied' before; it just doesn't sound right to me. I'd say 'completely', or 'entirely' instead of 'very'. And checking the archives, it turns out that 'very satisfied' has only been used once before on the board. That's no surprise I hear you saying! Anyway, is it wrong?
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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A lot of expressions with "very" don't give exact meaning that including "much" or "little" would give.
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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
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"I am completely satisfied that he is entirely dead," the doctor pronounced.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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I think, BY, very satisfying is much more common than very satisfied. The former I usually say or hear as I'm satisfied or I'm greatly satisfied. But in a future tense, I do tend to use I can be or I could be very satisfied with those results. Which just shows I'm hard to please, which makes this all a moot point, huh?
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veteran
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veteran
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is it wrong?
Yes, I think it is, belligerent one - or at least awkward.
Very happy, maybe, but completely satisfied.
Something to do with the difference between adjectives and verbs, perhaps? Very delighted doesn't really work either, for instance.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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My Websters II has this usage note:
When functioning as an adjective, a form such as encouraged or pleased may be modified by very alone (a very tired child); a very interested audience). When a term functions as a past participle in a verb phrase, the appropriate modifier is very much (has been very much praised by the critics; was very much enlightened by your explanation). Thre are many borderline cases, however, where either modifier may occur, as in was very (much) mistaken.; was very (much) distressed.
Now this doesn't really answer the question, but I'm a pretty good writer and I would not interchange very and completely only for the reason that very satisfied and completely satisfied are not the same thing. Completely is an absolute. Very is comparitive. Very happy leaves room for improvement on the level of happinenss.
TEd
TEd
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Completely is an absolute. Very is comparitive. Very happy leaves room for improvement on the level of happinenssYou're definitely right there, TEd - the meanings are significantly different. However, I still think that very satisfied doesn't work. If you wanted a comparative phrase, "quite satisfied", "fairly satisfied" or "pretty satisfied" would all be fine, but I can't think of an equivalent at the "very" end of the scale. It is the end of a long day, however. A curiosity, this. Nice one, BY
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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I received a B on my final in Physics -- I was very satisfied, considering how little I studied for it. (more than quite, but not completely)
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Then, too, very can be intesified to a greater degree by emphasis when spoken, implying an even greater degree of satisfaction. She was very satisfied with the size of her Christmas bonus.
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<mumble mumble> very <mumble mumble> Ha! <mumble mumble> not at all more like, for me <mumble mumble> just doesn't sound right <mumble mumble> not that I'm crotchety or anything, but <mumble mumble>How about extremely satisfied? Eh? Eh? Oh, alright then. You win.
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