In grammar, an intensive word form is one which denotes stronger, more forceful, or more concentrated action relative to the root on which the intensive is built. Intensives are usually lexical formations, but there may be a regular process for forming intensives from a root. Intensive formations, for example, existed in Proto-Indo-European, and in many of the Semitic languages.
Grammatical categories
Intensives are generally used as adverbs. In general, they are placed before the verb that they modify, usually a form of the "be" verb. An example of common usage in American English today is "the heck"; as in "What the heck is going on here?"."The heck" can be left out of the sentence without changing the meaning; however, the sentence is less intense without it. There are many varieties that are equivalent to "the heck" that are generally considered vulgar or otherwise inappropriate in polite conversation, such as in modern usage with "the hell" or "the fuck". In the mid-19th century, "in tarnation" was in common usage. In Great Britain, "bloody well" is an intensive adverb in common usage, for example, "I will bloody well do it."
Examples of intensifiers across languages
In American English, the usage of "this/that" has become common in intensive form. The usage of "this/that" as intensifiers can be compared to the intensifier "so", since they all belong in the booster category of intensifiers, that is, intensifiers used to describe a high claim of intensity. An example sentence of this would be, "I shouldn't be this tired." which carries similar intensity as the sentence, "I am so tired.". Hebrew uses intensifiers to show distinction between the pi`el and hiph`il binyans. Latin had verbal prefixes e- and per- that could be more or less freely added onto any verb and variously added such meanings as "To put a great deal of effort into doing something". For example, "ructa" compared to "eructa". When the same prefixes, especially per, were added to adjectives, the resulting meaning was very X or extremely X.
Intensive form in media
The use of intensive word form has been studied in regards to how it is used in popular television shows, movies, music, and online. In British English, the word"well" can be used as an adjective intensifier when used to describe a noun, such as in the sentence, "It's well good." The study done by James Stratton showed that intensive word form used in media closely resembles the usage in conversational British English. To study this, Stratton analyzed the variety of intensifiers used in the British sitcomThe Inbetweeners. The study found that "well" was the sixth most used intensifier of the twenty-two listed. Studies have also been conducted to examine the use of intensifiers in internet culture. The 2010 study conducted by Sali A. Tagliamonte focused on how youth participants used language in email, instant messaging, and in text messages. The study found that the word "so" is used frequently in online messaging as an intensifier, but at the time had not been integrated as heavily into everyday verbal communication. The study also found that, "Different intensifiers are variably associated with nonstandard and colloquial varieties of the language, which makes this an ideal linguistic site for the investigation of variation." which can explain the differences in intensifier usage based on demographic.
