At this point I believe the whole English-speaking world is well aware that the United States of America have a president whose vocabulary rarely ventures beyond the basic level of competence. His battleships are big, very big, the biggest you've ever seen and the bills he wants Congress to pass are, well... big and beautiful. Literally. The thing is... even if you state that a warship is huge, colossal, gargantuan or gigantic you'll be using A1-level grammar (i.e. it is). Are those adjectives "advanced"? Absolutely. Does the whole sentence sound advanced? Not really. Not to a discerning English teacher, anyway.
When it comes to descriptions, one of the obvious advanced skills consists in choosing the right synonym for the right term. So, a majority can be vast, a distance astronomical, the universe immense, an appetite gargantuan, a struggle titanic, a dose massive, and so on and so forth. It would be weird to say that your appetite is vast and your weight is astronomical. How do you know which collocations work and which don't? At first, you just don't, but after stumbling across one adjective a number of times a pattern typically emerges and oft-repeated combinations become recognizable. That is what conventions are all about. If you want to be a writer you'll have to steer clear of those phrases, but an English learner should not attempt to "go creative". If your ultimate goal is the C2 certificate, then you're only expected to master the conventions. I am well aware that the process is quite time-consuming, but, trust me, there is no other way to learn lexical conventions. You just bump into them and then start using them.
Today, though, I'd like to point out something a lot easier than getting exposed to thousands of lexical combinations. I only want to show you how you can turn a simple phrase into a truly advanced expression just by adding a couple of words. Don't believe me? Check out the examples below. The sentence in bold is basic (A2), but the text in brackets elevates it to C2 heaven.
He fought (tooth and nail)
He lied (through his teeth)
She passed the exam (with flying colors)
She is the best (hands down)
I'm waiting (with bated breath)
They fell for it (hook, line and sinker)
Do you see how simple it can be? The words in brackets add spice, vividness and, of course, meaning. Think about the first one. "He fought" is a neutral statement. "He fought tooth and nails", however, gives a completely different vibe. It forces you to picture the desperation and intensity of a visceral struggle. You've got no other weapons but your teeth and fingernails. That's a "back against the wall" situation. In Spanish we have an idiom that comes close to conveying that very idea: "defenderse como gato panza arriba". I believe that phrase evokes a similar vibe. Don't you think?
I hope my point is clear. So, now you know... The next time you come across a sentence with a similar "add-on", remember that those extra words truly make the difference between A2 and C2.
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