How very interesting!

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1

Could anyone help me to analyse the exclamatory sentence?

How very interesting!

interesting: adjective
very: adverb

And how about “how”? Is it an adverb?
I feel difficult to understand the grammar rules in this kind of sentences.

2

Yes, it can only be an adverb or intensifier, in my view.

3

***** NOT A TEACHER *****

Hello, Screen:

I checked my books, and they agree 100% with Anglophile:

  1. “How” is an adverb in your sentence.
  2. Its official name is an EXCLAMATORY ADVERB.
  3. Only “how” and “what” can be used in this way.
  4. Such a phrase (How very interesting!) or sentence (How very interesting your question is!) expresses strong feeling or emotion.

George: Do you know a guy named James M?

Mona: I certainly do! WHAT an idiot he is!

4

Well, thanks a lot.

I would like to ask some questions.

Do “how”, “what” have any meaning in those sentence or they are only used to emphasize feelings but don’t have a particular meaning?

Is #2 an ellipsis version of #1? I think it is not. We can use a phrase to express our feelings or emotions, right?

George: Do you know a guy named James M?

Mona: I certainly do! WHAT a very knowledgeable person he is!

I am interested in analyse the sentence.

I will rewrite it as follows.

He is WHAT a very knowledgeable person.

He: subject
is: linking verb
WHAT: a determiner (not sure, maybe it is pronoun)
a very knowledgeable person: subjective complement

Could you help me check that?

5

***** NOT A TEACHER *****

Hello, Screen:

Congratulations! I have checked my books, and it appears that you are 100% correct.

  1. A very famous grammar book says: “Exclamatives are very frequently indeed reduced by ellipsis …”

a. It gives this example: “What a terrible wind!”
i. [Only my opinion: This could be an ellipsis for something like “What a terrible wind we have been having all day!” Of course, only the speaker knows what the actual sentence is.]

  1. Yes, one scholarly book calls “what” an exclamatory determiner, and another scholarly book calls it a predeterminer.

a. I used the word “scholarly” because people ( like me) who are accustomed to the traditional 8 parts of speech would label it an adjective.

THUS:

Screen = subject.
is = linking verb.
what = predeterminer / determiner / adjective.
a great student = subjective complement / predicate nominative.

James

6

Thank you, James, for your very informative answer.

7

My pleasure, Screen.