Question 1

Can I replace довольно with гораздо or намного in this sentence to mean 'much well'?

Accepted Answer

No, you cannot. Гораздо and намного (meaning 'much' or 'by a lot') are used specifically to intensify comparative words, like лучше (better). Because хорошо is in its basic, non-comparative form ('well'), you must use words like довольно (quite) or очень (very) instead.

Question 2

Why do we use по-русски here instead of just русский?

Accepted Answer

The verb говорить (to speak) requires an adverb to describe how an action is done. The prefix по- and the ending -и turn the word into an adverb, meaning 'in a Russian way'. If you wanted to use русский, you would need the full noun phrase as a direct object: Он знает русский язык (He knows the Russian language).

Question 3

I have seen довольно used to mean 'enough'. How do I know when it means 'quite'?

Accepted Answer

It depends on where it is placed. When used directly before an adjective or adverb (like хорошо here), it acts as a degree modifier meaning 'quite' or 'rather'. When used on its own, especially as an exclamation (Довольно!), it means 'Enough!'.

Он говорит по-русски довольно хорошо.

Breakdown of Он говорит по-русски довольно хорошо.

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