Meaning
An emphatic expression of shock and sympathy when hearing bad news.
Primary Function
Expressing strong empathy or disgust toward unfortunate events.
Communicative Purpose
To convey that the speaker is deeply affected by tragic or terrible information.
Pattern
How awful!
Core Structure
How awful!
Função primária
Expressing strong empathy or disgust toward unfortunate events.
Propósito comunicativo
To convey that the speaker is deeply affected by tragic or terrible information.
Situações de gatilho
Reports of accidents, natural disasters, serious injustices, or personal tragedies.
Contextos
Casual everyday conversation; informal social interactions where emotional reaction is appropriate.
Padrão
How awful!
Estrutura central
How awful!
Slots de substituição
awful → terrible, dreadful, horrible
Colocados típicos
- Oh
- how awful! I can't believe it.
Substituições comuns
- That's awful
- How dreadful
- How terrible
Erros comuns
Weakening the intensity by adding qualifiers like "somewhat"; e.g., "How somewhat awful" is incorrect.
Similar / contraste
That's terrible, Oh my God, That's shocking (which are less emotionally charged alternatives).
Interferências
The phrase sounds very informal and should not be used in formal or professional contexts where a more neutral statement might be preferred.
Família do chunk
- Horror expressions: How dreadful
- That's appalling
- I can't imagine
Nuance
Conveys genuine personal emotional impact rather than detached appraisal of severity.
Efeito pragmático
Validates the seriousness of the reported event for both speaker and listener, emphasizing shared sorrow or disbelief.
Dica de memória
shocking news
Nota
The sentence "how awful" is used to express strong feelings of shock and sympathy towards unfortunate events or bad news. It is a common phrase in everyday conversations, often used in informal social interactions.
Upgrade path
That's bad → That's awful → How awful! → I'm horrified
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