# Quite touching



## Lorena1970

Hi all,

Just a quick confirmation.
"Quite" may be tricky.
I assume the meaning of "quite" in the following sentence is "molto/davvero molto" but just to prevent misunderstandings, I ask your opinion.
" I found this quite touching" =  " Mi ha colpito  molto" ( L'ho trovato molto toccante). Correct? Thank you.


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## Paulfromitaly

Come puoi aspettarti un'interpretazione precisa su un termine così ambiguo se non inserisci quella frase in un contesto?
Senza contesto qualsiasi sfumatura di quite è possibile, ovviamente.


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## Lorena1970

Hai ragione ma, diciamo, non c'e contesto (a meno che io non riporti il testo critico e non posso farlo, e riassumerlo non è possibile) :è la risposta nuda e cruda ricevuta in seguito a un articolo critico riguardante le opere di un artista, scritta dall'artista stesso all autore. Ma credo che un madrelingua possa interpretare il senso in base al fatto che "quite" qui precede un verbo e quindi, di regola, dovrebbe, comunque, significare "molto" . Nonostante ciò io ho il dubbio, ma se qualcuno conferma questa regola ( quite + verbo = molto) il dubbio è sciolto.


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## Mary49

È vero che deriva dal verbo "to touch", ma "touching" è un aggettivo.


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## Lorena1970

Mary49 said:


> È vero che deriva dal verbo "to touch", ma "touching" è un aggettivo.


E quindi....?
Secondo questo dovrebbe essere  come io ho proposto, indipendentemente dal contesto. Però se non avessi dubbi non avrei chiesto. Diciamo che lo scambio di corrispondenza fa pesare il significato dalla parte di "molto", perché se no non avrebbe molto senso una risposta denigratoria a un articolo critico complesso (nel senso che non è una sbrodolata elogiativa tout court) ma certamente di encomio.Perché rispondere "Mi ha colpito il giusto / E' leggermente toccante (in senso diminutivo) ? Boh...Interpretazioni criptiche.


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## joanvillafane

Yes, "touching" in this sentence is an adjective - just as you translated it in Italian ('molto toccante").  Am I correct that in Italian you are more likely to say "mi ha colpito molto" - maybe that's why you think of it as a verb.


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## Lorena1970

joanvillafane said:


> Yes, "touching" in this sentence is an adjective - just as you translated it in Italian ('molto toccante").  Am I correct that in Italian you are more likely to say "mi ha colpito molto" - maybe that's why you think of it as a verb.


I have edited because I realized that, yes, it was an adjective. But it is a verb with adjective function, and not a proper adjective. So the rules explained in the link seems not to apply to it. Or do they? "Quite good" means "buonino" according to those rules. At same time I often hear this sentence "quite good" pronounced with a voice that aims to express "very good". Complicate in written communications..........

*EDIT*: thinking over it, in BE I almost always hear it used as "molto", i.e. to increase the meaning of the adjective: "quite bad" = "piuttosto brutto"; "quite exciting" = "piuttosto/molto divertente/eccitante" etc.


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## joanvillafane

Well according to the link you posted which differentiates between "gradable" and "non-gradable" adjectives - a distinction I never learned and do not understand except perhaps intuitively as a native speaker - there is a difference in meaning of "quite." 
I think you are safe in assuming it means "very touching."


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## Lorena1970

joanvillafane said:


> I think you are safe in assuming it means "very touching."



Thank you!


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## Odysseus54

In Italian, however, you could 


joanvillafane said:


> Yes, "touching" in this sentence is an adjective - just as you translated it in Italian ('molto toccante").  Am I correct that in Italian you are more likely to say "mi ha colpito molto" - maybe that's why you think of it as a verb.



You could also have "mi ha colpito parecchio/non poco/abbastanza/alquanto"


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## london calling

Without further context 'quite' could mean either _molto_ or _piuttosto_ (I use it to mean both): we have no way of telling.


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## chipulukusu

Definitely _very  very touching _ for a  normally understating British person...  Otherwise it would have been _somehow touching.  _I may be wrong, but I think British people don't like using _very + adj, _on account of the fact that every adjective should have its proper accrescitive (very big = huge, very beautiful = wonderful, etc). In this context _quite _seems to be an elegant solution...


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## Lorena1970

london calling said:


> Without further context 'quite' could mean either _molto_ or _piuttosto_ (I use it to mean both): we have no way of telling.


LC: it was the reply of an artist to a critic piece sent to this artist where the critic expressed admiration through a narrative complicate mix of personal experiences and examples taken from the art world. The artist replayed  with that sentence.

Anyway both "molto" or "piuttosto" in this context would mean "profondamente", I assume. "Mi ha molto colpito" / "Mi ha piuttosto colpito"(British understatement, I guess)= mi ha profondamente colpito (Italian not-understatement )

It seems to me also that the sentence "*I found this quite touching*" contains both formal and emotional hints, as to express something impossible to be retained, hiding at same time sort of a shyness of one's emotions. (Maybe I am getting lost in "interpretation theory" ...!!!!!) As to say "Trovo tutto questo piuttosto/molto toccante" instead of saying "Mi hai davvero commosso/emozionato" (I feel quite touched), but in the end the meaning behind the formal style doesn't change so much....


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## TimLA

I'm wondering if "davero/piutosto/molto commovente" would be a bit strong?

In AE "quite touching" would not be colloquial at all.


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## Lorena1970

TimLA said:


> I'm wondering if "davero/piutosto/molto commovente" would be a bit strong?
> 
> In AE "quite touching" would not be colloquial at all.



A formal way can be "*alquanto commovente*". In fact what I was pointing out was how formal was this sentence. But anyway I needed to know the degree of that touch, which I think is "molto" although not clearly expressed.


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## TimLA

Lorena1970 said:


> A formal way can be "*alquanto commovente*". In fact what I was pointing out was how formal was this sentence.



Excellent. Thank you.

To me the 'tone' of this phrase is important - "I found this quite touching" to me is very formal (found, quite, touching all not that common in colloquial AE, more common in BE)
A colloquial and common way in AE would be "Awww....isn't that cute".

A Boston or London cardinal, visiting Mother Teresa for the first time, might say "I found this quite touching".
How would they express that in Italian?


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## chipulukusu

TimLA said:


> A Boston or London cardinal, visiting Mother Teresa for the first time, might say "I found this quite touching".
> How would they express that in Italian?



According to my theory:

_Questo incontro è stato veramente toccante;
Questo incontro è stato  molto commovente.
_
But I also have to give way to:

_Questo incontro è stato alquanto toccante;
Questo incontro è stato piuttosto commovente. _


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## TimLA

chipulukusu said:


> According to my theory:
> 
> _Questo incontro è stato veramente toccante;
> Questo incontro è stato  molto commovente.
> _
> But I also have to give way to:
> 
> _Questo incontro è stato alquanto toccante;
> Questo incontro è stato piuttosto commovente. _


Another VERY nice list, in which, I'll bet, an answer resides.
How touching that would be...


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## sorry66

I would say 'piuttosto toccante'. Maybe 'quite' is a word that Brits hide behind, because, Lord help us, we must never be over-expressive!
I don't find the word 'touching' particularly formal.
I think there is a difference between saying 'very touching' and 'quite touching'. You are expressing some reservation with the latter, even if what you feel is the same.


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## Lorena1970

sorry66 said:


> Maybe 'quite' is a word that Brits hide behind, because, Lord help us, we must never be over-expressive!
> 
> I think there is a difference between saying 'very touching' and 'quite touching'. You are expressing some reservation with the latter, even if what you feel is the same.



YOU GENIUS! That's what I wanted to understand! Thank you!!!


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## AlabamaBoy

A look at Merriam-Webster should make it clear that the word is used quite  differently in AE. If something is quite good in AE, it is very good. In BE it means not awfully bad.


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## sorry66

Well, I've had a look at this link, alabama
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/quite
and I don't see what you mean.
I don't have a problem with the examples they give.


AlabamaBoy said:


> In BE it means not awfully bad.


- I don't think so - that's too negative.

Thanks, Lorena, for the vote of confidence!


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## AlabamaBoy

@sorry that is exactly the page I was referring to. To me it is a world of difference from the Oxford entry which has sentences like he was quite good at architecture at university - meaning not good enough to become a professional. Thanks for the clarification about not being so negative. Not sure we can explain difference in usage in a few words. I am fairly certain that Brits and I misunderstand each other when we use the word "quite".


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## sorry66

Can you give me the link? I don't see anything like that in the Oxford dictionary I'm looking at.

For me 'he was quite good at architecture at university' doesn't obviously suggest to me that he wasn't good enough to become a professional of note. It depends on how you say it.
If you emphasise the 'quite' and hesitate before the 'good', it suggests that maybe you think he wasn't quite as good as he should have been.
If you say it normally, I think it's a positive comment.

This is from the Oxford Dictionary (re: US usage) :
_US_ Very; really (used as an intensifier): _‘You’ve no intention of coming back?’ ‘I’m quite sorry, but no, I have not.’_
I find this example a bit weird.


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## AlabamaBoy

You find it weird? You are beginning to see the difference. I apologize... it was Cambridge. Here is the link

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/it/grammatica/grammatica-britannico/quite


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## Lorena1970

AlabamaBoy said:


> You find it weird? You are beginning to see the difference. I apologize... it was Cambridge. Here is the link
> 
> http://dictionary.cambridge.org/it/grammatica/grammatica-britannico/quite


That's the link I posted Bill....


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## Paulfromitaly

You will find this..quite interesting!

AE/BE "quite" That was quite good.


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## AlabamaBoy

It was indeed a very interesting read and seems to confirm my impression. By the way, in Southern AE, "not awfully bad" does mean "quite good."  We can understate with the best.


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## Paulfromitaly

AlabamaBoy said:


> By the way, in Southern AE, "not awfully bad" does mean "quite good."


I've also heard "not half bad" with the same meaning.


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## AlabamaBoy

To the point, Lorena, I found this quite touching in AE means mi ha colpito molto. It could be ambiguous in BE, and you would need some tone of voice clues to be sure.


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## sorry66

The context is that an artist is thanking a critic (in writing) for a good review. There's no ambiguity here - the comment is a positive one. I stick by what I said in post#19.


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## chipulukusu

Personally I don't see a big difference in the stance of each of us about _quite. _If we start from the original meaning of _quite_ as _rather_, then:

a) if it is my own personal feelings I can have the strongest reaction to something, but I am a respectable and controlled person (am I?) so I won't find it excruciatingly moving but I will find it _quite touching. _If I arrive home totally knackered, I will be _quite tired_. The other day I said to a customer rep that I was _quite disappointed_ that my order couldn't be delivered to an address in the UK were I to pay with my Italian credit card. The message was clearly understood that I was really upset and ready to cancel the order;

b) if I have to praise someone, I won't probably say _that's quite good_, nor _that's very good_. I'd probably say _that's absolutely impressive, that's excellent, that's great _or _that rocks_, according to my age and upbringing;

c) if I'm presented with something very bad, like a person singing in a terrible way, I can say, under the same hypothesis as per point a), something like _oh... that's ...um... quite impressive..._

d) when enthusiasm/exasperation are mixed with controlled understatement we can have apparently self-contradicting expression like _quite excellent_ or _quite disgusting;

e_) last but not least... why would the expression "_well' I'm not quite sure_" be so common if _quite_ weren't used as _very_ when talking about something that regards ourselves? _I'm quite sure _can well mean _I'm almost sure but not a hundred per cent sure_, but very often means _I'm sure like hell...
_
This is only a non native perspective, of course, but I hope at least can show how this can be seen from outside...


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## sorry66

Interesting comments, chip. You've demonstrated the fluidity of 'quite' (when spoken (but it's also true for the written 'quite')); its capacity to hide a variety of emotions or muffle the degree of certainty. The key, here, seems to be 'reservation', which is what I indicated earlier.


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## chipulukusu

sorry66 said:


> The key, here, seems to be 'reservation', which is what I indicated earlier.



Sure Sorry, I just wanted to add my non-native perspective.


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## Lorena1970

AlabamaBoy said:


> To the point, Lorena, I found this quite touching in AE means mi ha colpito molto. It could be ambiguous in BE, and you would need some tone of voice clues to be sure.


Having read the whole thread I am now sure this (mi ha colpito molto) is the meaning! Thanks!


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## Tellure

Io direi che, in tema di riservatezza, "alquanto" è sufficientemente ambiguo da poter rendere il molto discusso  "quite":
alquanto
avv.

 Un poco; parecchio: è a. lontano; mi parvero a. cambiati
http://dizionari.repubblica.it/Italiano/A/alquanto.php

Sono alquanto commosso.
L'ho trovato alquanto commovente.

Questa è la mia (modesta) idea.


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