Comparisons of adjectives and adverbs

(John, Mike and Dora playing chess)

John: Yeah! You can’t beat me! I’m the best player!

Mike: I don't know if you are the best, but you are certainly the noisiest!

John: Hey! I’ve got a good technique! I think faster and I have a better memory than you! I plan my moves more carefully and I play more seriously than anyone! What can I do? I’m the smartest person here!

Mike: I’ve finished first! Sorry, mate. I win!

John: That’s not fair!

Dora: You’re the worst looser in the world, John!

To start with, let’s review what John said:

I think faster and I have a better memory than you!

I plan my moves more carefully and I play more seriously than anyone!

These sentences are all called comparatives because they are used to compare the qualities of different objects.

To begin with, we will look at the adjectives in comparative sentences.

There are four different kinds of adjectives:

one-syllable adjectives: smart/mean/strong/cold

two-syllable adjectives: happy/noisy/shallow

adjectives of more than two syllables: wonderful/exciting/intelligent

and finally – irregular adjectives good / bad / much / many

Formation

Adjectives of one-syllable and two-syllable adjectives ending in –y, -ly, -w add

·        -(e)r to the adjective plus than plus clause (object pronoun).

For example:

Mike is smart. John isn’t so smart.

So the comparative sentence would look like this:

Mike is smarter (than John.)

For adjectives of two or more syllables use:

·        more/less plus adjective plus than plus a clause /object pronoun. The object pronouns are me/you/him/her/it/us/them.

For example:

Mike is interested in computer games. John isn’t interested in computer games.

So the comparative sentence would look like this:

Mike is more interested in computer games than John.

Spelling

So it’s time to focus on the spelling of the adjectives.

Here are some more examples of one-syllable adjectives:

Pay attention to the words hot, wet and big. When a word ends with a single vowel and a single consonant, double the consonant when adding –er.

When a word ends with “y”, it changes to an “i” when adding –er: dry – drier.

When a word ends in “e”, it is deleted when adding –er: nice-nicer.

Here are few more examples of two-syllable adjectives ending in –y:

happy – happier

furry – furrier

early – earlier

heavy – heavier

busy – busier

easy – easier

pretty – prettier

ugly – uglier

fancy – fancier, etc.

And finally, here is the list of irregular comparatives:

good – better

bad- worse

much/many/a lot – more

little – less

far – further/farther

farther means longer (in distance), while further is used both to indicate distance and means more/in addition. If you’re not sure about what to choose, use further.

It’s time to practice the rule:

Join the following sentences to create a comparative sentence using:

For example:

The Eiffel Tower is 301 meters tall. Big Ben is 15 meters tall.

First, find the adjective (Step 1)

Then (Step 2) Write the sentence.

The Eiffel Tower is taller than Big Ben (is).

This song isn’t very relaxing. That song is relaxing.

This song is more relaxing than that song. or That song is less relaxing than that song.

So here we have three more questions:

1.     It is 35 degrees in Sochi today.

It’s 10 degrees in Murmansk today.

2.     Jackie is very busy today.

Sam is not very busy today.

3.     Alex is very good at math.

Karen is not very good at math.

Now check yourselves.

It is colder in Murmansk today than in Sochi. or It is hotter in Sochi today than in Murmansk.

Jackie is busier than Sam (is) today.

Sam is not busier than Jackie (is) today.

Alex is better at math than Karen (is).

Karen is not better than Alex (is) at math.

4.     Chapter I is not important.

Chapter II is very important.

5.     Alice’s style is professional.

Julie’s style, however, is not professional.

Now check yourselves.

Chapter II is more important than chapter one (is).

Chapter I is less important than chapter II (is).

Alice’s style is more professional than Julie’s (style is).

Julie’s style is less professional than Alice’s (style is).

Well, that was the comparative form of the adjective. Now it’s time to look at the superlative form.

The superlative is used to talk about someone or something that has more of a quality than everyone/everything else.

Formation

The superlative form adds –est to the adjective.

For example:

Katie is funny. Mike is funnier. John is the funniest.

Always use “the” in front of the adjective.

Two – more syllable adjectives take the most.

For example:

This chair is comfortable.

This armchair is the more comfortable.

This armchair is the most comfortable.

The spelling rules for the comparative form also apply to the superlative form.

tall – taller – the tallest

short – shorter – the shortest

hot – hotter – the hottest

cold – colder – the coldest

warm – warmer – the warmest

low – lower – the lowest

high – higher – the highest

wet – wetter – the wettest

dry – drier – the driest

big – bigger – the biggest

nice – nicer – the nicest

Now let’s look at the most common irregular adjectives:

good – better – the best

bad worse the worst

far – farther – the farthest/the furthest

little – less – the least

much/many – more – the most

Now it’s time to practice what you’ve learnt. Write the sentence using the superlative form of the adjective.

For example: No animal in the world is faster than cheetah.

Where’s the adjective? There it is: faster.

Write the sentence: The cheetah is the fastest in the world.

No man in the world is lazier than Donny.

Donny is the laziest man in the world.

No chef is worse than Peter.

Peter is the worst chef.

No jeans in the shop are more expensive than these.

These are the most expensive jeans in the shop.

I should also mention that everything you’ve learnt about the adjectives is also true for adverbs.

Adverbs are the words that describe how a verb is done.

Adverbs that have the same forms as their adjectives add –er/-est.

long – longer - the longest

fast - faster – the fastest

Two syllable or compound adverbs take more/most (compound adverbs are adjectives +ly, careful - carefully).

often – more often – the most often

quietly – more quietly – the most quietly

patiently – more patiently – the most patiently

Let’s look at the most common forms of irregular adverbs.

And the final task for you is to correct the given sentences:

1.     Julia is happier at her work than him.

2.     Jack works more slowly than we do.

3.     The Crimea is more hotter than Norway.

4.     Sam lives the further from here.

5.     Kyle is taller than Jo.

6.     Geoffrey is more strongest guy in his family.

7.     Jack is the friendliest person in the class.

8.     Kate can sing better than Gina can.

9.     Michael is romanticer than Harold.

10.            It was the most worst film I’ve ever seen.

Well, that’s all for today!

I hope you know more now than you did when you started the video.