Unit 11 :Degree-->Grammar Focus

1. Comparative Adjectives

To make the comparative adjective form of the most one-syllable adjectives, add -er e.g. fast-> faster.
For one-syllable adjectives that end in one consonants preceded by one vowel, double the consonant and add -er e.g. big->bigger.

For most multi-syllable adjectives and adverbs, the comparative is formed by putting the word more or less before the adjective or adverb e.g. more difficult.

Many adverbs end in ly so you just need to use more to form the comparative e.g. more lonely.

You use the word than before the second member in a comparative sentence e.g. John is happier than Mary.

Number of syllables       Comparative         Superlative

one syllable               + -er              + -est

tall                       taller            tallest

two syllables              + -ier             + -iest
(ending in 'y')
noisy                       noisier           noisiest
happy                       happier           happiest

OR                          more             most
modern                     more modern       most modern
famous                     more famous       most famous

three syllables or more     more            most

important                 more important       most important
expensive                 more expensive       most expensive

Adjective	Comparative	Superlative
cheap	cheaper than	the cheapest
hot	hotter than	the hottest
friendly	friendlier than	the friendliest
beautiful	more beautiful than	the most/ least beautiful

Irregular

Adjective	Comparative	Superlative
good	better than	the best
bad	worse than	the worst

2. Making comparative sentences with Adverbs

Comparative sentences show that there is a difference between two people or two things with regard to one aspect or quality. You can indicate how great the difference is by adding an adverb before the comparative word.

Large Difference                 =====>                  Small Difference
Considerably/
much/a lot        quite a bit   somewhat    a little/a bit        slightly

Examples:
Dan is considerably taller than Nick.
Dan is slightly taller than Adam.

3. Using as...as to Express Equality

You can use as + adjective/adverb ...as to express equality.. For example:
Boxing is as dangerous sport as Football is.
She likes Novels as much as short stories.
Math is as hard course as literature.

Using not as ...as to express Inequality

In the following sentence, which girl is taller? answer: Emily
Susan is not as tall as Emily.
You may use the adverbs considerably, much, quite a bit to express inequality more precisely. For example:
Susan is not nearly as as tall as Emily.

Other types of comparative sentences can use three times, twice, a third, half. For example:
A Honda Accord is almost twice as expensive as a Chevrolet.
A Nissan Sentra costs about half as much as a Honda Accord.
A Corvette costs over five times more than a Nissan Sentra.

You can also use Less to express inequality. For example:
Emily is less athletic than Misty.
I like Michael Jordan less than I like Shaquille= I like Shaquille more than I like Michael.

4. Comparing Quantities

Comparative sentences can focus on nouns as well as verbs.. We can also compare the quantities of people or things. For example:
Brian has more friends than Bob
Bob has fewer friends than Brian.
Claudia has more money than Adriana, but Robert doesn't have as much money as Peter.
Bob has the fewest friends of all the people I know.
My dad has the least money of all his friends.

5. Expressing Cause and Effect with So/such and that

So/such gives extra emphasis to an idea.

So is used before adjectives (without nouns).

She is so kind.

Such is used before nouns (with or without adjectives).

She is such a kind person.

So and such can be followed by a clause of result or consequence beginning with that. Sometimes that is omitted.

It was so hot (that) I went swimming.
It was such a hot day (that) I went swimming.

6. Too and Enough with Nouns

Too + adjective expresses a problem.

I can't drink this coffee. It's too hot.

Adjective + enough expresses as much as is necessary.

Now it's cool enough to drink.

NetGrammar

ToC | Introduction | Support | Units | Tasks

	ToC	Introduction \| Support \| Units \| Tasks
	NetGrammar