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Topic: Adjectives

 

Day 2 Comparatives and Superlatives

 

Formation:

1. One-syllable adjectives form the cComparative and sSuperlative by adding er and est to the pPositive (basic) form:

                      sSmall                     smaller                              smallest

 

Adjectives already ending in e just need to add r and st:  

                      bBrave                     braver                               bravest

 

Adjectives ending in er usually add er and est:

 

cClever                     cleverer                             cleverest

 

 Adjectives ending in y change this y to i and then add er and est:

 

                    

                     pPretty                      prettier                               prettiest

                     sSilly                        sillier                                  silliest

 

Sometimes it is necessary to repeat the last letter of an aAdjective when forming the cComparative and sSuperlative:

                     bBig                         bigger                                    biggest

 

2. If the aAdjective consists of two or more than two syllables, the cComparative and sSuperlative are formed by using “more” and “most” before the pPositive.

e.g.:          Positive                 Comparative                    Superlative

                     afraid                      more  afraid                     most afraid

                     agreeable                more agreeable                most agreeable

                     beautiful                 more beautiful                 most beautiful

careful                    more careful                    most careful

careless                  more careless                   most careless

changeable             more changeable              most changeable

 

3. Some aAdjectives have completely irregular cComparative and sSuperlative forms:

Adjective              Comparative                Superlative

good                         better                             best

bad                           worse                             worst

little                          less                                least

much                        more                              most

far                            further / farther              furthest / farthest

 

Usage:

1. The phrase as + adjective + as is used to describe two things/ people which are of the same quality as each other.

          e.g.: Joseph is as handsome as Steve.

A tiger is as dangerous as a lion.

 

2. Difference can be shown by using not as + adjective + as:

e.g.: Mont Blanc is not as high as Mount Everest.

Norway is not as sunny as Thailand.

A bicycle is not as expensive as a car.

Arthur is not as intelligent as Albert.

 

3. The phrases as much as, as many as, as few as, as little as are used to describe the same quantity of things /people.

as many as / as few as + countable nouns

as much as / as little as + uncountable nouns

e.g.: They have as many children as us.

Tom has as few books as Jane.

There are as few houses in his village as in mine.

Jim has as little food as Sam.

He's had as much success as his brother has.

 

4. The cComparative form + “than” is used to compare two people, things or events.

e.g.: Thailand is sunnier than Norway.

A car is more expensive than a bicycle.

 

5. The sSuperlative is used to compare three, or more than three, things.

“the” is placed before the Superlative:

e.g.: He is the richest man in the world.

That is the biggest crocodile I have ever seen.

She is the tallest girl in her class. Let’s do some exercises to see how much you have learned.

 

Exercise 1: Choose the correct answer to fill in the blanks.  : You haven’t underlined any adjectives, nor provided answers, so I have deleted this part of the question.

 

1. Mary is as ____ as Jane.

clever a  girl

a clever girl

cleverer a girl

cleverer

Ans.: a

 

  There is no comparative form of the word ‘favourite’.  Trying to do so is bad English.  This is because it already has a superlative built in.  I have had to delete this question I’m afraid.

 

2. The boys first made a little bit of noise, but then they became ____.

a.   more and more noisily

b    noisier and noisier

c.   noisy and noisier

d.   more and more quiet

Ans.: b

 

3.Can you believe that in ___ a rich country there could be ____ many poor people.

a.   such, such

b.   so, so

c.   so, such

d.   such, so

Ans.: d

 

4.There are ____ more books in our library than in theirs.

a.    much

b.    too much

c.    many

d.    little

Ans.: c

 

5.This house is ____ as that one.

a.    two times bigger

b.    twice as big

c.    twice bigger

d.    less bigger

Ans.: b

 

7.I’m spending ____ more time on English than before.

a.    a lot of

b.    many

c.    little

d.    a great deal

Ans.: d

 

8.The Christmas tree is almost as ____ as the room is  ______.

a.    high … tall

b.    higher  … taller

c.    tall … high

d.    taller…. highest

Ans.: c

 

9.The sun is ____ to the earth of all the stars.

a.    nearer

b.    farther

c.    the nearest

d.    the farthest

Ans.: c

 

10.India is a ____ country than America.

a.    developed

b.    more developed

c.    less developed

d.    develop

Ans.: c

 

Exercise 2: Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the adjective:

Is he as ___________ (busy) as before?

The __________(old) he becomes, the more knowledge he gets.

Tom plays tennis __________(often) than all the others.

My mother was angry when I came home late, and my excuse only made matters even __________( bad).

Of all the students in Class One John is _____  in preparing his lessons (careful).

No other car goes as __________ as his car does. (fast)

Do you want any __________(far) explanation?

Of the two TV sets, this one is __________(expensive).

It’s the world’s second __________(long) river.

The bear thought the old man was __________(dead) and went away.

 

ANS.:

 

busy

older

more often

worse

the most careful (this was  originally an adverb)

fast

further

the more expensive

longest

dead

 

Exercise 3: Proof reading: There may be one mistake in each of the following sentences; please cross out the wrong adjective and write the correct one in the box,  if there is an error; if there isn’t, put a tick in the box.

 

London is more bigger than Birmingham.                           __________

Silver isn’t as more expensive as gold.                                __________

The telephone is one of the usefulest inventions ever.         __________

I feel many better now, thank you.                                       __________

Indian food is the nicer than Chinese, I think.                      __________

The longer you wait, so the harder it’ll be.                           __________

This is the most quick way to the hotel.                               __________

The piano is more heavy than the sofa.                                __________

You’re more tall than he is.                                                  __________

Who is the cleverest student in of the class?                        __________

 

I found this layout confusing.  If the words are underlined it is too easy for the students; if the words aren’t underlined, there is no clue to which words need to be deleted.  It is clearer when you mark in the answers which words change into which others, as you have done on other topics.

 

   ANS:

bigger

expensive

most useful

much

nicer

nothing – delete so

quickest

heavier

taller

of or in are equally good, but not both