Unit 6
Grammar
1. Comparative & superlative
- Monosyllabic adjectives and adverbs are compared with –er+ than, the + -est.
e.g. London is bigger than Vienna.
My car is cheaper than your car.
My brother works harder than his friend.
The Nile is the longest river in the world.
This question is the easiest of all.
|
adjective |
comparative |
superlative |
|
strong |
stronger than |
the strongest |
|
small |
smaller than |
the smallest |
|
late |
later than |
the latest |
|
nice |
nicer than |
the nicest |
|
big |
bigger than |
the biggest |
|
thin |
thinner than |
the thinnest |
|
fat |
fatter than |
the fattest |
- Disyllabic adjectives ending with (y, er, ow, le) are compared with -er, -est.
|
adjective |
comparative |
superlative |
|
easy |
easier than |
the easiest |
|
happy |
happier than |
the happiest |
|
clever |
cleverer than |
the cleverest |
|
narrow |
narrower than |
the narrowest |
e.g. Which is the easiest exercise?
- Other adjectives and adverbs are compared with more/less, the most/the least.
|
adjective |
comparative |
superlative |
|
careful |
more/less careful than |
the most/the least careful |
|
expensive |
more/less expensive than |
the most/the least expensive |
|
difficult |
more/less difficult than |
the most/the least difficult |
|
tired |
more/less tired than |
the most/the least tired |
|
terrible |
more/less terrible than |
the most/the least terrible |
Examples:
Which dress is more expensive, the green or the blue one?
Do you think Geography is more interesting than History, or less interesting?
Which dress is the most expensive?
Which subjects are the most popular, and which are the least popular?
We can use more/less.....than, as ......as and the most/least to compare adjectives and adverbs.
2. Unequal Comparisons.
Subject + verb +not +as + (adjective/adverb) as + noun.
- Salma is not as tall as Rama.
- Ahmad does not run as fast as his brother.
To compare quantities and numbers, we use as much/ as many
as much / as many
Examples
- There are not as many people in our class as in yours.
- I don't eat as much fast food as my brother.
We use the pattern:
(not) as + adjective indicating quantity + (noun) + as
The quantity adjective you use depends if the noun in the comparison is countable or uncountable.
- Countable nouns
We use as many with countable nouns.
Examples
- I have visited the States as many times as he has.
- I have three brothers. That's as many as you have.
- They have as many children as we do.
Uncountable nouns
We use as much with uncountable nouns.
Examples
- I don't eat as much fast food as my brother.
- You've heard as much news as I have
We can also use as … as to compare adverbs.
Examples
- Mahmoud works as hard as his brother.
- I can't run as fast as you.
We can also use as ... as adverbially.
Examples
- I don't like running as much as I like swimming.
- We practise our English as often as possible.
Let's practise comparisons
Complete each of the following sentences so that your sentence is similar in meaning to the one before it.
1. I have more friends than Laila.
Laila has fewer friends than me.
Laila doesn't have as many friends as me.
2. There is less information on the web than in the book.
There is more information in the book than on the web.
There isn't as much information on the web as in the book.
3. There are fewer chairs in my office than in yours.
There aren't as many chairs in my office as in yours.
4. Studying physics is more challenging than studying arts.
Studying arts is less challenging than studying physics.
Studying arts isn't as challenging as studying physics.