Adjectives & AdverbsComparative, superlatives and special structures

Shorter adjectives

Longer adjectives

Adjectives with two formsAdjective Comparative Superlative

clever cleverer/more clever

the cleverestthe most clever

Other examples:

common mature quiet

cruel narrow shallow

gentle pleasant simple

likely polite stupid

good/ well -better - the best

bad/ badly - worse - the worst

little - less - the least

many /much – more - the most

far - farther - the farthest (distance) - further - the furthest (quantity) near - nearer - the nearest (distance) - the next (order) late - later - the last / the latter - the latest (until now)o old - older – the oldest - elder – the eldest (same family)Ana Maria Coelho 2010

Irregular forms

Gradable Non-gradable/extreme adjectives adjectives

Intensifiers

Intensifying comparatives

Use

MuchA lotFar ManyA bitA little

He works ___________ harder than his brother.

His home is _________ farther from here than mine.

Bankers have ________ more power than politicians.

His company has __________ more workers than mine.

Ana Maria Coelho 2010

Using so/such to intensifyso + adjective (that)It was so crowded that I couldn’t

go in!

so + much/many/few + nounThere were so many people

that…

such a + noun group (that)There was such a huge crowd!

1. His attitude was so noble.

2. She has such an elegant way of dressing / style.

3.His German is so fluent.

3. He speaks German so fluently.

4. He’s such a hard-working man.

5. She is so ugly.

1. He had such a noble attitude.

2. She dresses so elegantly.

3. He speaks German in such a fluent manner.

4. Paul works so hard.

5. Such an ugly woman she is.

sosuch

Ana Maria Coelho 2010

Special structures

Learning languages has become increasingly useful over time.

…more and more useful…

The number of people who speak Gaelic has been gradually decreasing over the years. (few)

COMPARATIVE and COMPARATIVE

A few examplesOur population is becoming…

Our debt…

Our economy is …

Double comparative

Ana Maria Coelho 2010

The + comparative …., the + comparative….

If you start learning languages early, you’ll learn faster.

The earlier you start, The faster you’ll learn.

Use this structure to rewrite the following statements:

1.Our world is getting more globalized.

English becomes more useful.

2. If you speak it well, you’ll have more advantages.

3. If you use it more often, you’ll learn it faster.

4. If you use it very little, you’ll forget it soon.

5. Learning more languages means more success.

Ana Maria Coelho 2010

The comparative …/ the comparative…