1.He is the very image of sophistication( he has all the qualities of sophistication)( extracted from the inside reading book 3)
2.This is the very much the story of a story
I am wondering if the concept or meaning of the bold parts are the same.
Any help would be appreciated
Best Answer
No. These sentences use two different senses of the word very.
This sentence uses an older sense of the word very. It means true or definitive.
His image defines sophistication, or he defines the image of sophistication.
This sense of very is always used with the definite article. This makes sense because there is nothing more definite than the definitive. This special sense of true always modifies a noun.
This sentence uses the common sense of the word very. Here, the word very intensifies the word much. It does not make sense to substitute "true" or "definitive" in this sentence:
True modifies the word image in the first sentence. Image is a noun. In the second sentence, very modifies much. The word much is not a noun. This works because the common sense of very does not modify nouns. When the common sense is used, it is not always combined with the definitive article, and the article is not always placed before the word very. For example:
In short, you're looking at two different meanings for the word very, and each meaning has its own grammar.