Comparatives and Superlatives

Transcription

1 Comparatives and Superlatives Forming regular comparatives and superlatives 1. We use comparatives to compare two things or two people. (e.g She is taller than her husband.) 2. Superlatives are used, however, to compare to show the difference between more than two things or more than two people. (e.g Paris is the biggest city in France) 3. To form comparatives and superlatives you need to know the number of syllables in the adjective. Syllables are like "sound beats". For instance: "find" contains one syllable, but "finding" contains two find and ing. The rules to form comparatives and superlatives: 1. One syllable adjective ending in a silent 'e' nice Comparative add 'r' nicer Superlative add 'st' nicest 2. One syllable adjective ending in one vowel and one consonant big Comparative the consonant is doubled and 'er' is added bigger Superlative the consonant is doubled and 'est' is added biggest 3. One syllable adjective ending in more than one consonant or more than a vowel high, cheap Comparative 'er' is added higher, cheaper Superlative 'est is added highest, cheapest 4. A two syllable adjective ending in 'y' happy Comparative 'y' becomes 'i' and 'er' is added happier Superlative 'y' becomes 'i' and 'est' is added happiest 5. Tow syllable or more adjectives without 'y' at the end exciting Examples: Comparative more + the adjective + than more exciting than Superlative more + the adjective + than the most exciting The Nile River is longer and more famous than the Thames. Egypt is much hotter than Sweden. Everest is the highest mountain in the world. This is one of the most exciting films I have ever seen. Peter (6 years old) Charley (5 months old) Peter is older than Charley. Charley is younger than Peter. Irregular comparatives and superlatives

2 Adjectives Comparatives Superlatives bad worse worst far(distance) farther farthest far(extent) further furthest good better best little less least many more most much more most How to use comparatives and superlatives Comparatives Comparatives are used to compare two things or two people: Alan is taller than John. Superlatives Superlatives are used to compare more than two things or two people. Superlative sentences usually use 'the': Alan is the most intelligent. Similarities To express similarities use the following structure:... as + adjective + as... Examples: Mike is as intelligent as Nancy. Larry is as popular as Oprah.

3 English grammar - comparative and superlative adjectives Form 1. One syllable adjectives o Comparative: add er (cheaper) o Superlative: add est (the cheapest) 2. One syllable adjectives ending in 'e' o Comparative: add r (nicer) o Superlative: add st (the nicest) 3. One syllable adjectives ending in consonant - vowel - consonant o Comparative: add consonant + er (hotter) o Superlative: add consonant + est (the hottest) 4. Two syllable adjectives ending in 'y' o Comparative: replace 'y' with ier (happier) o Superlative: replace 'y' with iest (the happiest) 5. Two or more syllable adjectives o Comparative: add more / less (more / less beautiful) o Superlative: add the most / the least (the most / least beautiful) 6. Irregular adjectives o good - better - the best o bad - worse - the worst o far - further - the furthest 7. Equality and inequality o as + adjective + as o not as + adjective + as 8. Modifying comparatives o much / a lot / far / a little / a bit / slightly + comparative adjective 9. Modifying superlatives o by far / easily / nearly + superlative adjective Meaning 1. We use comparative adjectives to compare two things. o John is thinner than Bob. o It's more expensive to travel by train than by bus. o My house is smaller than my friend's house. 2. We use superlative adjectives to compare one thing with the rest of the group it belongs to. o John is the tallest in the class. o He's the best football player in the team. o This is the most expensive hotel I've ever stayed in. 3. We use as + adjective + as to say that two things are equal in some way. o He's as tall as me. o Jim's car is as fast as mine. 4. We use not as + adjective + as to say that two things are not equal in some way. o Jim's car is not as fast as mine. 5. We can repeat comparatives to say that something is changing. o These exams are getting worse and worse every year. o She gets more and more beautiful every time I see her. Additional points 1. We can modify comparatives with much, a lot, far, a little, a bit, slightly. o Bob is much richer than I am. o My mother's hair is slightly longer than mine. 2. We can modify superlatives with by far, easily and nearly. o Mario's is by far the best restaurant in town. o I'm nearly the oldest in the class. 3. We do not use the with the superlative if there is a possessive. o His strongest point is his ambition. 4. If the second part of a comparative or superlative sentence is clear from what comes before or from the context, we can omit it. o Going by bus is very fast, but the train is more comfortable.

4 Comparative and Superlative Adjectives Comparative adjectives compare two things. Superlative adjectives compare more than two things Commonly, adjectives that contain only one syllable or end in 'y' use 'er' to form comparatives and 'est' to form superlatives. For adjectives ending in y, change the 'y' to 'i' before adding the 'er' or 'est'. old older oldest young younger youngest pretty prettier prettiest long longer longest short shorter shortest bright brighter brightest close closer closest happy happier - happiest Adjectives with two or more syllables do not change but instead add more to form comparatives and most to form superlatives. respectable more respectable most respectable beautiful more beautiful most beautiful preferable more preferable most preferable hardworking more hardworking most hardworking Some adjectives have different forms of comparatives and superlatives. good better best bad worse worst little less least much (many) more most far further - furthest The word than typically appears in comparative sentences. Amy is smarter than Betty. Chad is stronger than Dan. Greg is more diligent than his brother. I have more apples than he. She likes him more than me. Superlatives are typically accompanied by the word the. Tom is the oldest man in town. Paul is the tallest boy in the neighborhood. That shade of blue is the most beautiful color. This is the longest song that I have ever heard. Write the appropriate comparative or superlative form of the word cold in each blank. Yesterday was a cold day. Today is the day yet. than yesterday. Tomorrow will be Which of the following sentences is incorrect? 1) Mary is shorter than Jane. 2) The moon is more closer to the earth than the sun.

5 3) I have the best score on the exam. Fill in the blanks. 1) My friend has a pretty purse, but I have a one. 2) The weather is yet to come! 3) Today's sunshine is beautiful than yesterday's.