2/9/2020 Lesson | Smrt English

5-3 Making Comparisons 

A: What kind of fabric are you going to use to make the
dress?
B: I'm just going to use cotton. It's not as soft as silk, but
it's a lot cheaper .

Adjectives

Adjectives are words that describe nouns:

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The house is big . The expensive makeup I ate some spicy chips. She bought a beautiful
was on sale. blouse. 

Adverbs

Adverbs can describe adjectives, verbs, or other adverbs. In Grammar 5-3, we will focus on adverbs that describe verbs:

She sings beautifully . He can run fast . I went to bed late last Susan dresses fashionably .
night.

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As + Adjective / Adverb + As

We can use this pattern to say that both parts of the comparison are equal or the same. Almost or nearly are
commonly used with this pattern:

Steve can run as fast as Jim. I can jump as high as you.

I ate as much as I could last night. Today, it is almost / nearly   as hot as it was yesterday.

Not + As + Adjective / Adverb + As

The negative version of this pattern is used to say that the two are not equal. In this sense, the rst noun is less in some
way than the second. That is to say, the second noun is more in some way than the rst.

I tried the chicken but it didn't taste as good as the beef. Today, it doesn't feel as warm as  it did yesterday.

I'm not as tall as you. My computer isn't as new as yours.

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Comparative & Superlative Adjectives & Adverbs

Additionally, we can make comparisons using the comparative or superlative forms of adjectives and adverbs.

Adjectives & Adverbs with One Syllable

Adjectives and adverbs with one syllable take er in their comparative form and est in their superlative form:

Hot Cold Big Warm Old Fast

Comparative hott er cold er bigg er warm er old er fast er

Superlative the hott est the cold est the bigg est the warm est the old est the fast est

Adjectives Ending in "y"

If an adjective ends with the letter y , we usually change the y to ier  for its comparative form and iest for superlative:

Easy Busy Pretty Happy

Comparative eas ier bus ier prett ier happ ier

Superlative the eas iest the bus iest the prett iest the happ iest

Adjectives with Two or More Syllables

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If an adjective has two or more syllables, we do not change the adjective.  Instead, the comparative form is made with
the adjective and the word more . Most is used to make the superlative form:

Nervous Interesting Fashionable Boring

Comparative more nervous more interesting more fashionable more boring

Superlative the most nervous the most interesting the most fashionable the most boring

Exceptions

For some adjectives, both  er or more  can be used to make the comparative form and est and most for the
superlative. Both ways are okay:

Friendly Simple Quiet Narrow Clear

more friendly more simple more quiet more narrow more clear
Comparative
friendl ier simpl er quiet er narrow er clear er

the most friendly the most simple the most quiet the most narrow the most clear
Superlative
the friendl iest the simpl est the quiet est the narrow est the clear est

Adverbs Ending in "ly"

If an adverb ends with the letters  ly , its comparative form uses more and superlative form uses most :

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Beautifully Carefully Slowly

Comparative more beautifully more carefully more slowly

Superlative the most beautifully the most carefully the most slowly

Irregular Adjectives & Adverbs

Some adjectives and adverbs have irregular comparative and superlative forms:

Good Bad / Badly Far

Comparative better worse farther / further

Superlative the best the worst the farthest / furthest

Using Comparative Adjectives & Adverbs

Below are some examples of sentences containing adjectives and adverbs in their comparative form :

I met his sister last night.  She seems nicer .

You did well, but you can do better .

Could you please speak more slowly ?

Canada is big, but Russia is bigger .

It feels warm today, but it is going to feel warmer tomorrow.

We often use  than  when comparing two or more things:

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My class is more interesting than your class.

She can run faster than you.

The weather today seems nicer than it was yesterday.

You are not a bad singer. I sing much worse than you do.

My older brother is lazier than me.

Notice the di erence in using comparative adjectives and adverbs with the not as ... as :

Cotton isn't as expensive as silk.

Silk is more expensive than cotton.

Cotton is cheaper than silk. 

Peter isn't as tall as Phil.

Phil is taller than Peter.

Peter is shorter than Phil.

Comparatives can be modi ed with much , far ,  a lot , way (informal), a bit , a little , and slightly :

Brazil is a big country, but China is much bigger.

Could you speak a bit more slowly, please?

My new car is way better than my old one. (spoken / informal English)

I live slightly farther from school than you do.

Using Pronouns When Comparing

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When using pronouns, in informal English, we can use object pronouns ( me , him , her , etc.) after than or as . In
more formal English, we prefer using a subject pronoun  and (auxiliary) verb :

Informal / Spoken Formal / Written

You did better than me . You did better than I did .

She can't type as fast as me . She can't type as fast as I can .

He is going to arrive earlier than her . He is going to arrive earlier than she is .

They dress more fashionably than   us . They dress more fashionably than we do .

I didn't do as well on the test as you . I didn't do as well on the test as you did .

Using Superlative Adjectives & Adverbs

Look at examples below of superlative adjectives and adverbs . Notice the use of the :

Jim is the tallest student in the class.

There are many great Italian restaurants in town, but this one is the best .

Shelly is one of the nicest people I have ever met.

That is one of the most expensive cars you can buy.

Superlative adjectives are often used after one of ...:

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It is one of the hottest days of the She has one of the most beautiful This is one of the most di cult things
year. voices I have ever heard. I have ever done.

Exercise
Open the exercise to begin the activity. Follow the instructions in the document.

Exercise

 5-3 Making Comparisons

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