1

a. His house very much was damaged by the storm.

b. His house was very much damaged by the storm.

Could either of these be used to mean

  1. His house was indeed damaged by the storm.

?

The sentence would presumably be uttered in response to: His house was not damaged by the storm.

It would be a somewhat emphatic negation of something that had been said.

Could (b) mean

  1. His house was badly damaged by the storm.

?

Improve this question
2
  • 1
    2. is good: His house was badly damaged by the storm. His house suffered a lot of storm damage.
    – Weather Vane
    Commented May 31, 2023 at 22:36
  • @WeatherVane Based on the OP's guessed meaning, "His house was indeed damaged by the storm", I don't think the OP intends to emphasize the degree of the damage, but emphasize the fact of the damage. Like if someone said to me, "You're not Canadian", I might reply, "I very much am!" There', I'm not emphasizing the degree to which I'm Canadian, but strongly asserting the fact that I am.
    – gotube ♦
    Commented Jun 1, 2023 at 2:19

3 Answers 3

Reset to default
1

In that context, immediately after someone had stated, "His house was not damaged by the storm", sentence (a) has the meaning you intend because "very much" modifies "was" and has the function of giving emphasis.

Sentence (b) in that context would mean that the house was severely damaged because "very much" would modify "damaged", and therefore have the meaning "to a very great degree or extent".

Improve this answer
1

"Very much" normally refers to degree, not to certainty, so using it instead of "indeed" normally changes the meaning.

"His house very much was damaged by the storm" is not good standard English; "very much" does not go before "was" in this situation.

"His house was very much damaged by the storm" is OK but a bit awkward these days. It would normally be understood to mean the house was severely damaged, rather than affirming that the damage was real.

A better synonym for "indeed" would be "certainly", and this could be used either before of after "was". "His house certainly was damaged by the storm" and "His house was certainly damaged by the storm" both affirm that the damage was real.

Improve this answer
0

Neither (a) nor (b) suits what you want to say.

With respect to (a), saying "very much was damaged" sounds like you're contradicting or correcting something previously said or believed, because 'very much' is prefixing the verb 'was' rather than the word 'damaged'.

The issue with (b) is that it isn't idiomatic with respect to gradations of damage. Normally, gradations of damage would be indicated by adverbs such as "severely damaged" or "very heavily damaged". "Very much" can also be used to emphasise the surety of something, like saying "definitely" or "decidedly". Saying "very much damaged" still sounds more like you are removing any doubt over whether it was damaged or not. Even when there are gradations of damage, something 'lightly' damaged may be considered recoverable, and so "definitely damaged" or "very much damaged" could be taken to mean that something is damaged beyond recover.

Improve this answer
3
  • 3
    I have to disagree with you a bit on the "idiomaticity" of (b). It's old-fashioned to my ears, but if you search Google Books you will find examples of it, e.g. "The wheat crop was very much damaged by rust."
    – stangdon
    Commented May 31, 2023 at 22:25
  • 1
    @stangdon I accept that - I don't think I explained it well. I've rewritten the last paragraph. Looking at your examples, I still don't feel that 'very much damaged' is what the OP is trying to say.
    – Astralbee
    Commented Jun 1, 2023 at 7:54
  • Thank you all very much. There is also the possibility that usage has changed over time. And the possibility that usage is different in different regions. I wouldn't use 'very much damaged' instead of 'badly damaged' just to be on the safe side, and if I saw or heard 'very much damaged' I'd keep an open mind as to what it might mean.
    – azz
    Commented Jun 3, 2023 at 20:55

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .