Help to understand “You'll be teased something dreadful,”?

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"You'll be teased something dreadful," said Myrtle happily.




I think the sentence means You'll be teased dreadfully. However, I don't quite understand the grammar of the sentence. I've seen "tease sb about sth.". Is it also ok to say "tease sb. sth."? What's the correct way to understand that sentence?



-- From Harry Potter.










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    "You'll be teased something dreadful," said Myrtle happily.




    I think the sentence means You'll be teased dreadfully. However, I don't quite understand the grammar of the sentence. I've seen "tease sb about sth.". Is it also ok to say "tease sb. sth."? What's the correct way to understand that sentence?



    -- From Harry Potter.










    share|improve this question























      up vote
      2
      down vote

      favorite









      up vote
      2
      down vote

      favorite












      "You'll be teased something dreadful," said Myrtle happily.




      I think the sentence means You'll be teased dreadfully. However, I don't quite understand the grammar of the sentence. I've seen "tease sb about sth.". Is it also ok to say "tease sb. sth."? What's the correct way to understand that sentence?



      -- From Harry Potter.










      share|improve this question














      "You'll be teased something dreadful," said Myrtle happily.




      I think the sentence means You'll be teased dreadfully. However, I don't quite understand the grammar of the sentence. I've seen "tease sb about sth.". Is it also ok to say "tease sb. sth."? What's the correct way to understand that sentence?



      -- From Harry Potter.







      word-usage phrase-meaning phrase-usage






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      asked 2 hours ago









      dan

      2,94621951




      2,94621951




















          2 Answers
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          up vote
          1
          down vote













          It's British slang, and doesn't really make grammatical sense outside of that context. Off the top of my head you can use it with awful as well (something awful).



          It turns the adjective into an adverb, so it's the same as saying, "You'll be teased dreadfully".



          It's rather old British slang, so I'd avoid using it unless you've picked up all the other nuances of a dialect that uses it.






          share|improve this answer




















          • Interesting to know it. Is it common in English that "something +adjective" = adverb? E.g. He has done it gracefully. VS He has done it something graceful.
            – dan
            12 mins ago










          • No, it doesn't work in the general case. As far as I can remember, it only applies to dreadful and awful, but maybe someone can come up with another example.
            – Omegastick
            3 mins ago










          • Actually, I think in American English they use something fierce sometimes. That means to a great extent or very.
            – Omegastick
            1 min ago


















          up vote
          1
          down vote













          "Tease sb. sth." doesn't work. Actually, "tease" really has nothing to do with what you're seeing here.



          What you're seeing in your quote is a very specific, informal sense of "something" where "something" is an adverb which must be followed by an adjective. It is mostly used with only a handful of (essentially synonymous in this context) adjectives: terrible, awful, fierce, good.



          As you said, the expression "something adj" essentially treats the adjective as an adverb. You can't however, just substitute in the adverb directly in all cases. For example, it may need to be moved:




          I’m hungry something terrible. [= "I'm terribly hungry."]
          Amanda, Bibliomaniac (blog), Mar. 21,
          2003




          The reason why "something adj" is used instead of the adverb is because it adds emphasis. In this context, it might also be used because it sounds a little dated (Myrtle is old, after all.)



          Also, there's a superficially similar form that doesn't have the same meaning:




          I shook something fast. [= I shook something quickly.]




          Compare with "I begun to shake something terrible". There's no magic formula to decide which meaning is intended, so you have to decide which meaning makes the most sense pragmatically. (It's also relevant to note that according to my Google searches, "something" is rarely used as an adverb.)




          See also the examples numbered 18 in this tangentially related PDF.






          share|improve this answer




















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            2 Answers
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            2 Answers
            2






            active

            oldest

            votes









            active

            oldest

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            active

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            up vote
            1
            down vote













            It's British slang, and doesn't really make grammatical sense outside of that context. Off the top of my head you can use it with awful as well (something awful).



            It turns the adjective into an adverb, so it's the same as saying, "You'll be teased dreadfully".



            It's rather old British slang, so I'd avoid using it unless you've picked up all the other nuances of a dialect that uses it.






            share|improve this answer




















            • Interesting to know it. Is it common in English that "something +adjective" = adverb? E.g. He has done it gracefully. VS He has done it something graceful.
              – dan
              12 mins ago










            • No, it doesn't work in the general case. As far as I can remember, it only applies to dreadful and awful, but maybe someone can come up with another example.
              – Omegastick
              3 mins ago










            • Actually, I think in American English they use something fierce sometimes. That means to a great extent or very.
              – Omegastick
              1 min ago















            up vote
            1
            down vote













            It's British slang, and doesn't really make grammatical sense outside of that context. Off the top of my head you can use it with awful as well (something awful).



            It turns the adjective into an adverb, so it's the same as saying, "You'll be teased dreadfully".



            It's rather old British slang, so I'd avoid using it unless you've picked up all the other nuances of a dialect that uses it.






            share|improve this answer




















            • Interesting to know it. Is it common in English that "something +adjective" = adverb? E.g. He has done it gracefully. VS He has done it something graceful.
              – dan
              12 mins ago










            • No, it doesn't work in the general case. As far as I can remember, it only applies to dreadful and awful, but maybe someone can come up with another example.
              – Omegastick
              3 mins ago










            • Actually, I think in American English they use something fierce sometimes. That means to a great extent or very.
              – Omegastick
              1 min ago













            up vote
            1
            down vote










            up vote
            1
            down vote









            It's British slang, and doesn't really make grammatical sense outside of that context. Off the top of my head you can use it with awful as well (something awful).



            It turns the adjective into an adverb, so it's the same as saying, "You'll be teased dreadfully".



            It's rather old British slang, so I'd avoid using it unless you've picked up all the other nuances of a dialect that uses it.






            share|improve this answer












            It's British slang, and doesn't really make grammatical sense outside of that context. Off the top of my head you can use it with awful as well (something awful).



            It turns the adjective into an adverb, so it's the same as saying, "You'll be teased dreadfully".



            It's rather old British slang, so I'd avoid using it unless you've picked up all the other nuances of a dialect that uses it.







            share|improve this answer












            share|improve this answer



            share|improve this answer










            answered 29 mins ago









            Omegastick

            602111




            602111











            • Interesting to know it. Is it common in English that "something +adjective" = adverb? E.g. He has done it gracefully. VS He has done it something graceful.
              – dan
              12 mins ago










            • No, it doesn't work in the general case. As far as I can remember, it only applies to dreadful and awful, but maybe someone can come up with another example.
              – Omegastick
              3 mins ago










            • Actually, I think in American English they use something fierce sometimes. That means to a great extent or very.
              – Omegastick
              1 min ago

















            • Interesting to know it. Is it common in English that "something +adjective" = adverb? E.g. He has done it gracefully. VS He has done it something graceful.
              – dan
              12 mins ago










            • No, it doesn't work in the general case. As far as I can remember, it only applies to dreadful and awful, but maybe someone can come up with another example.
              – Omegastick
              3 mins ago










            • Actually, I think in American English they use something fierce sometimes. That means to a great extent or very.
              – Omegastick
              1 min ago
















            Interesting to know it. Is it common in English that "something +adjective" = adverb? E.g. He has done it gracefully. VS He has done it something graceful.
            – dan
            12 mins ago




            Interesting to know it. Is it common in English that "something +adjective" = adverb? E.g. He has done it gracefully. VS He has done it something graceful.
            – dan
            12 mins ago












            No, it doesn't work in the general case. As far as I can remember, it only applies to dreadful and awful, but maybe someone can come up with another example.
            – Omegastick
            3 mins ago




            No, it doesn't work in the general case. As far as I can remember, it only applies to dreadful and awful, but maybe someone can come up with another example.
            – Omegastick
            3 mins ago












            Actually, I think in American English they use something fierce sometimes. That means to a great extent or very.
            – Omegastick
            1 min ago





            Actually, I think in American English they use something fierce sometimes. That means to a great extent or very.
            – Omegastick
            1 min ago













            up vote
            1
            down vote













            "Tease sb. sth." doesn't work. Actually, "tease" really has nothing to do with what you're seeing here.



            What you're seeing in your quote is a very specific, informal sense of "something" where "something" is an adverb which must be followed by an adjective. It is mostly used with only a handful of (essentially synonymous in this context) adjectives: terrible, awful, fierce, good.



            As you said, the expression "something adj" essentially treats the adjective as an adverb. You can't however, just substitute in the adverb directly in all cases. For example, it may need to be moved:




            I’m hungry something terrible. [= "I'm terribly hungry."]
            Amanda, Bibliomaniac (blog), Mar. 21,
            2003




            The reason why "something adj" is used instead of the adverb is because it adds emphasis. In this context, it might also be used because it sounds a little dated (Myrtle is old, after all.)



            Also, there's a superficially similar form that doesn't have the same meaning:




            I shook something fast. [= I shook something quickly.]




            Compare with "I begun to shake something terrible". There's no magic formula to decide which meaning is intended, so you have to decide which meaning makes the most sense pragmatically. (It's also relevant to note that according to my Google searches, "something" is rarely used as an adverb.)




            See also the examples numbered 18 in this tangentially related PDF.






            share|improve this answer
























              up vote
              1
              down vote













              "Tease sb. sth." doesn't work. Actually, "tease" really has nothing to do with what you're seeing here.



              What you're seeing in your quote is a very specific, informal sense of "something" where "something" is an adverb which must be followed by an adjective. It is mostly used with only a handful of (essentially synonymous in this context) adjectives: terrible, awful, fierce, good.



              As you said, the expression "something adj" essentially treats the adjective as an adverb. You can't however, just substitute in the adverb directly in all cases. For example, it may need to be moved:




              I’m hungry something terrible. [= "I'm terribly hungry."]
              Amanda, Bibliomaniac (blog), Mar. 21,
              2003




              The reason why "something adj" is used instead of the adverb is because it adds emphasis. In this context, it might also be used because it sounds a little dated (Myrtle is old, after all.)



              Also, there's a superficially similar form that doesn't have the same meaning:




              I shook something fast. [= I shook something quickly.]




              Compare with "I begun to shake something terrible". There's no magic formula to decide which meaning is intended, so you have to decide which meaning makes the most sense pragmatically. (It's also relevant to note that according to my Google searches, "something" is rarely used as an adverb.)




              See also the examples numbered 18 in this tangentially related PDF.






              share|improve this answer






















                up vote
                1
                down vote










                up vote
                1
                down vote









                "Tease sb. sth." doesn't work. Actually, "tease" really has nothing to do with what you're seeing here.



                What you're seeing in your quote is a very specific, informal sense of "something" where "something" is an adverb which must be followed by an adjective. It is mostly used with only a handful of (essentially synonymous in this context) adjectives: terrible, awful, fierce, good.



                As you said, the expression "something adj" essentially treats the adjective as an adverb. You can't however, just substitute in the adverb directly in all cases. For example, it may need to be moved:




                I’m hungry something terrible. [= "I'm terribly hungry."]
                Amanda, Bibliomaniac (blog), Mar. 21,
                2003




                The reason why "something adj" is used instead of the adverb is because it adds emphasis. In this context, it might also be used because it sounds a little dated (Myrtle is old, after all.)



                Also, there's a superficially similar form that doesn't have the same meaning:




                I shook something fast. [= I shook something quickly.]




                Compare with "I begun to shake something terrible". There's no magic formula to decide which meaning is intended, so you have to decide which meaning makes the most sense pragmatically. (It's also relevant to note that according to my Google searches, "something" is rarely used as an adverb.)




                See also the examples numbered 18 in this tangentially related PDF.






                share|improve this answer












                "Tease sb. sth." doesn't work. Actually, "tease" really has nothing to do with what you're seeing here.



                What you're seeing in your quote is a very specific, informal sense of "something" where "something" is an adverb which must be followed by an adjective. It is mostly used with only a handful of (essentially synonymous in this context) adjectives: terrible, awful, fierce, good.



                As you said, the expression "something adj" essentially treats the adjective as an adverb. You can't however, just substitute in the adverb directly in all cases. For example, it may need to be moved:




                I’m hungry something terrible. [= "I'm terribly hungry."]
                Amanda, Bibliomaniac (blog), Mar. 21,
                2003




                The reason why "something adj" is used instead of the adverb is because it adds emphasis. In this context, it might also be used because it sounds a little dated (Myrtle is old, after all.)



                Also, there's a superficially similar form that doesn't have the same meaning:




                I shook something fast. [= I shook something quickly.]




                Compare with "I begun to shake something terrible". There's no magic formula to decide which meaning is intended, so you have to decide which meaning makes the most sense pragmatically. (It's also relevant to note that according to my Google searches, "something" is rarely used as an adverb.)




                See also the examples numbered 18 in this tangentially related PDF.







                share|improve this answer












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                answered 17 mins ago









                Laurel

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