SEKOLAH SUKAN BUKIT JALIL, PANITIA ENGLISH: 2012

Comparison of Adjectives

Positive Degree

We use the Positive Degree to compare two equal persons or things. ‘As’ is used before and after the adjective (as … as).
Examples: ‘as big as’, ‘as small as’, ‘as tall as’, ‘as short as’, ‘as clever as’, ‘as young as’, etc.
John runs as fast as I.
Your bicycle is as new as Mary’s.
Alan is as naughty as Nicholas.
This job is as easy as that.
Abby’s dictionary is as thick as Dora’s.
Mr. Charles is as wealthy as Mr. Peterson.

Comparative Degree

We use the Comparative Degree to compare two unequal persons or things. The comparative of an adjective is normally formed by adding ‘er’ to the adjective, followed by ‘than’ (…er than).
Examples:
strong - stronger than
weak - weaker than
quiet - quieter than
rich - richer than
poor - poorer than
clean - cleaner than
Pamela is fairer than Patsy.
Steve is taller than James.
My chair is lighter than yours.
Pond A is deeper than Pond B.
Your handwriting is neater than mine.
Mrs. Donovan’s house is cleaner than Mrs. Newman’s.

We form the comparative of some adjectives, especially those that end in ‘ful’ and those with three or more syllables, by adding ‘more’ before the adjectives and ‘than’ after them (more … than).
Examples:
useful – more useful than
beautiful – more beautiful than
forgetful – more forgetful than
interesting – more interesting than
important – more important than
comfortable – more comfortable than
Jonathan’s painting is more beautiful than his brother’s.
I can see that your gadget is more useful than mine.
This story is more interesting than the one I read yesterday.
The new sofa is certainly more comfortable than the old one.

Superlative Degree

We use the Superlative Degree to compare three or more unequal persons or things. The superlative of an adjective is normally formed by adding ‘the’ before the adjective, followed by the adjective with ‘est’ added (the …est).
Examples:
high - the highest
low - the lowest
dark - the darkest
thin - the thinnest
heavy - the heaviest
safe - the safest
Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world.
This is the widest road in this city.
Chloe is the prettiest girl in my class.
The cheetah is the fastest of all animals.
This is the longest zip that I have ever seen.
Pete is the eldest child in his family.

We form the superlative of some adjectives, especially those that end in ‘ful’ and those with three or more syllables, by adding ‘the most’ before the adjectives (the most ...).
Examples:
skillful – the most skillful
wonderful – the most wonderful
careful – the most careful
dangerous – the most dangerous
talkative – the most talkative
difficult – the most difficult
Walter is the most skillful of all the workers here.
You’ve just given me the most wonderful present in the world.
Gold is the most valuable metal on earth.
This medicine is the most effective treatment for your illness.

*The comparative and superlative of some adjectives are irregularly formed.
Examples:

Positive	Comparative	Superlative
good	better than	the best
bad	worse than	the worst
little	less than	the least
much	more than	the most
many	more than	the most

Amy’s command of English is as good as Tracy’s.
Steven speaks better English than Harry.
Benny speaks the best English among the five friends.

Tom’s handwriting is as bad as William’s
Your handwriting is worse than mine.
Edwin’s handwriting is the worst among all of us.

*There are adjectives with two possible forms of comparison.
Examples:

Positive	Comparative	Superlative
common	commoner than / more common than	the commonest / the most common
handsome	handsomer than / more handsome than	the handsomest / the most handsome
likely	likelier than / more likely than	the likeliest / the most likely
pleasant	pleasanter than / more pleasant than	the pleasantest / the most pleasant
polite	politer than / more polite than	the politest / the most polite
simple	simpler than / more simple than	the simplest / the most simple
stupid	stupider than / more stupid than	the stupidest / the most stupid
subtle	subtler than / more subtle than	the subtlest / the most subtle
sure	surer than / more sure than	the surest / the most sure

John is handsomer than Tim. / John is more handsome than Jim.
To me, this the pleasantest place on earth. / To me, this is the most pleasant place on earth.
Ricky’s plan is simpler than Alan’s. / Ricky’s plan is more simple than Alan’s.
Stephanie is the politest lady in the office. / Stephanie is the most polite lady in the office.

Exercises

A. Fill in the blanks in the table.

Positive	Comparative	Superlative
brave	braver	bravest
wonderful	more wonderful	most wonderful
clean	____________	____________
____________	shallower	____________
good	____________	____________
____________	____________	merriest
____________	tidier	____________
____________	____________	most logical
young	____________	____________
____________	more careful	____________
____________	____________	lightest
bad	____________	____________
____________	____________	healthiest
____________	more important	____________
____________	____________	the least
smooth	____________	____________
____________	____________	most beautiful
____________	wilder	____________
____________	____________	most comfortable
____________	more	____________
slim	____________	____________

B. Choose the right answers.
1. Your knife is as ( sharp, sharper ) as mine.
2. My grandfather is ( healthier, healthiest ) than my grandmother.
3. Daniel is the ( tall, tallest ) student in his class.
4. This lake is ( shallowest, shallower ) than the one behind my house.
5. Mrs. Richie’s culinary skills is ( bad, worse ) than Mrs. Carlisle’s.
6. Linda is a ( more popular, most popular ) singer than Janet.
7. Benedict is the ( fatter, fattest ) member in his family.
8. Tina’s necklace is as ( expensive, more expensive ) as mine.
9. A tortoise is ( slower, slowest ) than a snake but ( fast, faster ) than a snail.
10. The Nile River is the ( longer, longest ) river in the world.

C. Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the adjectives in brackets.
1. Light travels (fast) than sound.
2. Leslie is as (intelligent) as Laura.
3. Of the three men, Mr. Parker is the (wealthy).
4. Jupiter is the (large) planet in the solar system.
5. Which suitcase is (suitable) for me – the blue one or the black one?
6. Look! My kite is flying (high) than yours.
7. Miss Angel is (strict) than Miss Belinda in class.
8. My kitten is as (cute) as yours.
9. Among the six of us, Timothy caught the (many) fish yesterday.
10. This movie is (exciting) than the one I saw last week.

D. Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the adjectives in brackets.
1. I think keeping a dog as a pet is (good) than keeping a cat.
2. Which is the (ferocious) beast in the world?
3. The weather today is as (windy) as the weather yesterday.
4. This restaurant serves the (bad) food in town.
5. This is the (exciting) story that I have ever read.
6. Diamond is the (hard) substance on earth.
7. Gold is (valuable) than silver.
8. Marie is the (pretty) lady at the party.
9. The lamp in my room is as (bright) as the lamp in yours.
10. Traveling by air is (expensive) than traveling by land.

Answers

Positive	Comparative	Superlative
brave	braver	bravest
wonderful	more wonderful	most wonderful
clean	cleaner	cleanest
shallow	shallower	shallowest
good	better	best
merry	merrier	merriest
tidy	tidier	tidiest
logical	more logical	most logical
young	younger	youngest
careful	more careful	most careful
light	lighter	lightest
bad	worse	worst
healthy	healthier	healthiest
important	more important	most important
little	less than	the least
smooth	smoother	smoothest
beautiful	more beautiful	most beautiful
wild	wilder	wildest
comfortable	more comfortable	most comfortable
many/much	more	most
slim	slimmer	slimmest

B.
1. sharp
2. healthier
3. tallest
4. shallower
5. worse
6. more popular
7. fattest
8. expensive
9. slower, faster
10. longest

C.
1. faster
2. intelligent
3. wealthiest
4. largest
5. more suitable
6. higher
7. stricter
8. cute
9. most
10. more exciting

D.
1. better
2. most ferocious
3. windy
4. worst
5. most exciting
6. hardest
7. more valuable
8. prettiest
9. bright
10. more expensive

posted by :

Noor Iazian

Here is a list of common verbs with choices of suitable adverbs compiled as examples:-

Study Hard

Verbs	Adverbs
acted	quickly, suddenly, warily
answered	correctly, immediately, tartly
ate	greedily, hungrily, quickly, slowly
bled	freely, profusely, slightly
bowed	humbly, respectfully, stiffly
caressed	fondly, gently, lovingly
charged	bravely, desperately, furiously
chuckled	artfully, gleefully, happily
crept	quietly, silently, softly, stealthily
decided	carefully, eventually, immediately
explained	briefly, clearly, concisely, vaguely
fell	heavily, quickly, suddenly
flogged	brutally, cruelly, unmercifully
fought	bravely, furiously, gamely
frowned	angrily, sulkily, worriedly
injured	accidentally, fatally, seriously, slightly
left	hurriedly, quietly, suddenly
listened	anxiously, attentively, carefully
lost	badly, heavily, sportingly
mumbled	angrily, inaudibly, indistinctly
pondered	deeply, seriously, thoughtfully
pulled	hastily, strongly, vigorously
ran	hurriedly, quickly, rapidly, slowly
remembered	clearly, distinctly, faintly, slightly
sang	loudly, softly, sweetly, tunefully
shone	brightly, brilliantly, clearly, dimly
shouted	frantically, joyfully, jubilantly, loudly, suddenly
slept	fitfully, lightly soundly
smiled	broadly, happily, ruefully, sweetly
sneered	insolently, impudently, tauntingly
spent	foolishly, freely, recklessly, sparingly
spoke	clearly, distinctly, earnestly, loudly plainly, slowly
sprang	hurriedly, lightly, quickly, suddenly
staggered	awkwardly, drunkenly, weakly
strove	bravely, desperately, manfully
stuttered	excitedly, haltingly, painfully
trembled	fearfully, frightfully, visibly
waited	patiently, anxiously
walked	clumsily, haltingly, quickly, slouchingly, slowly, smartly
wept	bitterly, distractedly, sadly, touchingly
whispered	audibly, quietly, softly
yielded	stubbornly, weakly, willingly