L.06: Comparative and superlative
V. COMPARATIVE AND SUPERLATIVE
The comparative and the superlative depend on the length of the adjective. Generally, we consider words of one or two syllables as short words and words of three or more syllables as long words or adjectives.
V.1: Comparative and superlative of superiority
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Formation |
Example |
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comparative |
Adj + er (than) |
Tomorrow the sky will be bluer than it is today. I told him it was crazier than he thought |
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More + adj+ (than) |
Your seat is more comfortable than mine
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superlative |
Adj + -est |
The bluest sky I have ever seen was in Greece Of all my friends, ha is the craziest |
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Most + adj |
This the most comfortable seat in the room |
V.2: Comparative of equality
Formation: as+ adjectives + as (autant…que / aussi….que)
- She is as slow as a turtle.
- He is as experienced as one can be.
- She was running as fast as she could
V.3: Comparative and superlative of inferiority
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Formation |
Examples |
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Comparative |
Less………(than) |
She is less beautiful than her sisters Ali is less short than Mike |
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Superlative |
The least….of / in |
She is the least successful of all her family She is the least successful in the family |
V.4: The + comparative or superlative
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Examples |
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The + comparative |
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The + superlative |
Off all her books, the last one is the best |
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Double comparative |
The more I see you, the more I want you |
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The more you eat, the fatter you become |
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The less you talk, the happier I am |
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The more you beat her, the less she loves you |
V.4: The irregular comparative and superlative
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Words |
Comparative |
Superlative |
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Bad/adj (mauvais) Badly/ adv(mal) |
Worse Worse |
The worst The worst |
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Far /adj (lointain) Far /adv (loin) |
Further/farther Further/farther |
Furthest/farthest Furthest/farthest |
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Good /adj (bon) Well /adv (bien) |
Better Better |
The best The best |
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Little /adj (petit) Little /adv( peu) |
Less Less |
The least The least |
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Much /adj (bcp de) Much /adv (bcp) |
More More |
The most The most |
Remarks
1. The same…as and not like: Tom is the same age as George
2. Harder and harder: It is becoming harder and harder to get a job
- More and more: Life is getting more and more difficult
3. Inferiority= comp. of inequality: She is not as successful as her sisters.
Exercise 1:
Put words between brackets into the correct form
A: Rose: do you happen to know which is (small / planet)……………………………….. in our solar system?
Amy: Pluto, isn’t it? I know it is (far)…………………………….. away from the sun.
B: Jill: Shall e go out for a swim? It’s lovely and sunny.
Mike: I am not sure. There is quite strong wind. I think you will find it’s (not / warm)………………………
It looks, when you get outside.
C: Eddy: We had better go to the bank this morning.
Sean: Can’t we go (late)…………………………?
Eddy: No, they shut (early)…………………………………….they do at home.
D: Will: Hurry up! We’ll miss the train. Can’t you run (fast)………………………..?
Pete: Sorry, I am going (fast)……………………………..I can already.
Will: Ok. I guess you are quite a bit(short / I)………………………………..after all.
Exercise 2:
Complete the following passage with comparative or superlative
A: many people think that witch doctors are (good) ……………………..doctors.
B: I don’t agree, they only prefer witch doctors because their medicines are (expensive) …………………….
A: I think witch doctors are (gifted) ……………………….. because they can cure witchcraft and doctors can’t. But the problem is they’re (organized) …………………………….
B: Gifted or not, the (important) ……………………… thing is to get recovered
A: I think if they accept to collaborate, it will be (benefit) ……………………… for us.
B: Of course it will.
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