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Comparatives and Superlatives Guide

comparison of adjectives for A1 students

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68 views4 pages

Comparatives and Superlatives Guide

comparison of adjectives for A1 students

Uploaded by

Ellen_26
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Grammar: adjectives

,
smaller than more expensive than

I’m older than my sister Lisa. Lisa’s bigger than me. She’s prettier than me.
She’s more intelligent than me. But her spelling’s worse than mine!

• We use comparative adjectives to compare two people or things.


• For short adjectives, we add -er (than). Be careful of the spelling:
old -> older (than) big -> bigg er (than) pretty -> prettier (than)
• For long adjectives, we use more (than):
careful -> more careful (than) intelligent -> more intelligent (than)
• These comparative adjectives are irregular:
good -> better (than) bad -> worse (than) far -> farther/further (than)

See Appendix 2: Spelling rules for comparative and superlative adjectives,


page 169.

P R A C T I C E

24a Complete the sentences. Use the comparative.


0 My brother’s ....... ff?//.?£.... than me. (tall)
1 Is Sarah ............... ...... than you? (young)
2 Pink’s a ................ colour for a bedroom than orange, (pretty)

3 My sister’s g o t.... ................. hair than me. (dark)


4 Languages a re .... ..................than Science, (easy)
5 Their house i s ..... .................than our house, (big)
6 Don’t worry about flying. Planes a re ...................... than cars, (safe)
7 Simon’s story’s .... .................. than yours, (funny)
8 Your idea’s .......... ............than mine, (good)

These old buildings are than the modern ones, (attractive)


Mountain climbing’s .......................... than skiing, (exciting)
2 M y trainers a re .......................... than these shoes, (comfortable)
The red dress i s .......................... than the black one. (expensive)
4 Are com puters.......................... than people? (intelligent)
5 This story’s ............................... than that one. (interesting)
6 The second exercise i s .......................... than the first one. (difficult)
7 Sharks a r e .......................... than dolphins, (dangerous)
8 Volleyball’s ............... than basketball at my school, (popular)
Grammar: adjectives

24c Read about the two swimming pools and complete the sentences. Use the
comparative.

Parkway Pool Victoria Pool

• open since 1970 • open since 1922


• 25m pool • 36m pool
• water always heated • water never heated
small pool for children • chairs for sunbathing
• cafe with 50 seats • cafe with 20 seats
• 1,000 visitors a day in • 1,500 visitors a day in
the summer the summer
• swimming lessons: • swimming lessons:
£40.00 for 10 £35.00 for 10

0 ...[Link]..... Pool is Pool, (old)


1 ..................... Pool i s ......................................... Pool, (long)
2 .....................Pool i s ......................................... Pool! (cold)
3 .....................Pool i s ........................ for children, (good)
4 The cafe a t.....................Pool i s .......................................... the cafe at
..................... Pool, (big)
5 ..................... Pool i s ......................................... Pool in the summer, (crowded)
6 The lessons a t.....................Pool a re .......................................... the lessons at
..................... Pool, (expensive)

25 the smallest, the most expensive

This is the smallest TV in the shop. That’s the biggest - and the most expensive.
This is the best DVD player.

• We use superlative adjectives to compare a person or thing with a number of other


people or things.
• For short adjectives, we add the + -est. Be careful of the spelling:
small -> the smallest big -> the biggest happy -> the happiest
• For long adjectives, we use the most:
expensive -> the most expensive popular -> the most popular
• These superlative adjectives are irregular:
good -> the best bad -> the worst far -> the farthest/furthest

See Appendix 2: Spelling rules for comparative and superlative adjectives,


page 169.
Grammar: adjectives

P R A C T I C E

25a Complete the conversations. Use the superlative.


0 A: Have you got a water bottle for the walking trip next week?
B: Yes - this one. It isn’t very big, but it’s ..... ......(light)

1 A: I’m looking for some cheap sunglasses.


B: These a re ................................sunglasses. They’re £14.99. (cheap)
2 A: Is that puzzle good?
B: Yes. It’s ................................puzzle in the book! (difficult)
3 Do you like these T-shirts?
Yes..................................one is that blue one. (pretty)
4 Have you got any books about the Star Wars films?
Yes, we’ve got these three. That’s ................................one - A Guide to Star
Wars, (interesting)
5 Where can 1get some good pencils for my art class?
................................art shop is Smith’s in Green Street, (good)
What’s your favourite programme?
The Simpsons. It’s ................................ programme on TV. (funny)
7 Do you want to get an ice cream?
Yes, OK. This Italian shop s e lls ................. ..............o n e s-a n d they’re
fantastic! (big)
8 A: 1 love that dress!
B: Yes, it’s beautiful. But it’s .......................... ..... dress in the shop! (expensive)

25b Complete the sentences. Use the superlative.


dangerous deep expensive far high tefge long old sunny

0 The Sahara i s ................................desert in the world.


1 ................................pyramid in the world is over 4,500 years old.
2 Mount Everest i s ................................ mountain in the world.
3 Yuma in Arizona i s ................................city in the world. It has about 4,000 hours
of sunshine every year.
4 Lake Baikal in Siberia i s ................................ lake in the world. It is about 1600
metres deep.
5 The Nile i s ................................ river. It reaches the sea after a journey of 6,695
kilometres.
6 Mauritius i s ................................country for road accidents.
7 Neptune i s ............................... planet from the sun.
8 Tokyo i s ................................city in Japan. You need a lot of money to live there.
Grammar: adjectives

26 smaller than, the smallest


Comparative Superlative
Your mobile’s smaller than mine. This mobile is the smallest in the shop.
Your camera’s more expensive This camera is the most expensive in
than mine. the shop.

See Units 24-25.

P RA C T I C E
26a Look at the pictures and complete the sentences. Use the comparative or
superlative.

(short, tall)
a Lucy i s .... .f a r t e r than _ Beth.
b Beth is ..... fhe tallest........
c Rachel i s .... Qf. .....

Rachel
(cold, warm)
a Monday will b e .............................
Tuesday.
b Tuesday will b e ............................. day.
c Friday will b e ............................. day.

(boring, interesting)
a The first book i s .............................
the second book.
b The second book i s ...............................
c The third book i s ...............................

26b Complete the conversation. Use the comparative or superlative.


A: Where do you go to the cinema?
B: I usually go to CineLand. It’s (0 ) ..... ......................... (near) cinema to my house.
A: Is it (1 )............................... (cheap) MovieWorld?
B: No, but it’s (2 )............................... (nice). The seats are ( 3 ) .................................
(comfortable).
A: Do you sometimes go to City Cinema?
B: No, never! That’s (4 )............................... (bad) in town! Do you go there?
A: No, I go to MovieWorld. It has ( 5 )............................... (good) films, I think. They
aren’t always (6 )............................... (popular), but they’re interesting.
40

Common questions

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Understanding these forms is crucial because they enable non-native speakers to express differences between objects and concepts clearly, enhancing both written and spoken communication. Mastery of these forms also aids in more precise language usage, critical for academic and professional success .

Understanding comparatives and superlatives enables a more nuanced evaluation of product features. For example, a consumer might determine the most cost-effective choice by identifying 'the cheapest' option, or find 'the most durable' based on product reviews that use these comparative forms, facilitating informed purchasing decisions .

To compare the sizes and amenities between 'Parkway Pool' and 'Victoria Pool', you could say the 'Victoria Pool' is older and has a longer pool length (36m vs. 25m). However, 'Parkway Pool' might be preferable for younger swimmers as it provides a heated pool, which is 'good' for children .

One might choose 'the farther' over 'the farthest' when referencing a greater physical distance in a more formal context, particularly when precision is important in academic or descriptive writing. However, 'farthest' is more universally applicable as a superlative for distance .

The irregular comparative forms are: 'good' becomes 'better,' 'bad' becomes 'worse,' and 'far' can become either 'farther' or 'further' .

For long adjectives, we form the comparative by using 'more' before the adjective, as in 'intelligent' becoming 'more intelligent,' and 'careful' becoming 'more careful' .

For short adjectives, we form the comparative by adding the suffix '-er' (e.g., 'old' becomes 'older'). We must be careful with the spelling when adjectives end in consonants, vowels, or are in specific forms, such as 'big' becoming 'bigger' .

For short adjectives, we form the superlative by adding 'the' and the suffix '-est' (e.g., 'small' becomes 'the smallest'). For long adjectives, we use 'the most' before the adjective (e.g., 'expensive' becomes 'the most expensive').

Irregular adjectives do not follow the typical rules of adding '-est' or 'most'. For example, 'good' becomes 'the best', 'bad' becomes 'the worst', and 'far' becomes 'the farthest' or 'furthest'. Regular adjectives simply add '-est' or 'most' .

While 'farther' is often used for physical distances, 'further' can be used for both physical and metaphorical distances. However, both 'farther' and 'further' are generally acceptable as comparatives of 'far' .

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