Means less than ‘very’ but more than ‘a little’ :
- The film was quite good but the book was much better.
- She is quite attractive, but not what I’d call gorgeous.
Quite goes before a / an
- He is quite a good soccer player ( not a quite good soccer player)
RATHER
It is similar to quite. We use rather mainly with negative words and negative ideas :
- He is limping rather badly
- ‘What was the examination like ? ”Rather difficult , I am afraid.’
When we use rather with positive words it means ‘unusually’ or ‘surprisingly’ :
- These pears are rather nice ( nicer than expected ) where did you buy them ?
QUITE also means ‘completely’ and NOT QUITE not completely :
- He has quite recovered from his illness
- They have not quite finished their lunch yet
Especially with a number of adjectives :
sure, certain, right, wrong, true, safe, clear,different, incredible, extraordinary, amazing, impossible, unnecessary, obvious
