Saturday 21 July 2012

Grammar Notes - Comparison of Adjectives


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 (asas).
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

A.
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

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