Last week, one of my students asked me about the adjective “desperate”, so I thought it would make a good blog entry for today. We use this word to talk about a person’s feeling when they choose something they normally wouldn’t choose. They do this because they feel they have no other choice. For example:
I didn’t want to take this job, but I was desperate! There were no other jobs available.
I know this apartment isn’t good, but we were desperate. There are so few apartments available in this city right now.
I made a mistake when I started dating Laura. I didn’t love her but I was desperate for a girlfriend, so when she asked me out, I said yes.
I’m so bored right now! I’m desperate for something to do. I’ll even help you clean the house, and I hate cleaning!
We can also use this word to talk about something that a person really, really wants. For example:
I’m desperate for a really good meal in a nice restaurant! It’s been such a long time since I’ve done that.
My friend is desperate to get married and start a family. It’s what she has always wanted.
I’m desperate to find out what happens on that TV show! It’s so interesting right now!
As I mentioned a little while ago in my blog about the adjective “affectionate”, all adjectives ending in -ate are pronounced /it/. Therefore, the pronunciation of this word is /DES prit/; it only has two syllables.
English Help Online's Blog 