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quite

Two meanings​

In British English, quite has two common meanings. Compare:

  • It’s quite good, but it could be better. (= It’s OK, not bad.)
  • It’s quite impossible. (= It’s completely impossible.)

Good is a ‘gradable’ adjective: things can be more or less good. With gradable words, quite usually means something similar to fairly or rather (for the differences, (see here) in affirmative clauses. Impossible is non-gradable: things are either impossible or not; but they cannot be more or less impossible. With non-gradable words, quite means ‘completely’. Compare:

  • I’m quite tired, but I can walk a bit further.
    I’m quite exhausted – I couldn’t walk another step.
  • It’s quite surprising. (similar to fairly surprising)
    It’s quite amazing. (= absolutely amazing)
  • He speaks Portuguese quite well, but he’s got a strong English accent.
    He speaks Portuguese quite perfectly.
  • I quite like her, but she’s not one of my closest friends.
    Have you quite finished? (= Have you completely finished?)

In American English quite with gradable adjectives more often means something like ‘very’, not ‘fairly/rather’.

Word order with nouns​

Quite can be used with a/an + noun. It normally comes before a/an if there is a gradable adjective or no adjective.

  • It’s quite a nice day.
  • We watched quite an interesting film last night.
  • She’s quite a woman!
  • The party was quite a success.

With non-gradable adjectives, quite normally comes after a/an in British English.

  • It was a quite perfect day. (AmE It was quite a perfect day.)

Quite is sometimes used before the to mean ‘exactly’, ‘completely’.

  • He’s going quite the wrong way.
  • quite the opposite

Comparisons​

Quite is not used directly before comparatives.

  • She’s rather / much / a bit older than me. (but not She’s quite older …)

But we use quite better to mean ‘completely recovered’ (from an illness).

Quite similar means ‘fairly/rather similar’; quite different means ‘completely different’.

quite a bit/few/lot, etc​

Quite a bit and quite a few (informal) mean almost the same as quite a lot.

  • We’re having quite a bit of trouble with the kids just now.
  • We thought nobody would be there, but actually quite a few people came.

not quite​

Not quite means ‘not completely’ or ‘not exactly’. It can be used before adjectives, adverbs, verbs and nouns, including nouns with the.

  • I’m not quite ready – won’t be a minute.
  • She didn’t run quite fast enough for a record.
  • I don’t quite agree.
  • That’s not quite the colour I wanted.