Day 2

A. Comparatives and Superlatives

Form the comparative and superlative forms of a one-syllable adjective by adding –er for the comparative form and –est for the superlative.

One-Syllable Adjective	Comparative Form	Superlative Form
tall	taller	tallest
old	older	oldest
long	longer	longest

• Mary is taller than Max.
• Mary is the tallest of all the students.
• Max is older than John.
• Of the three students, Max is the oldest.
• My hair is longer than your hair.
• Max's story is the longest story I've ever heard.

If the one-syllable adjective ends with an e, just add –r for the comparative form and –st for the superlative form.

One-Syllable Adjective with Final -e	Comparative Form	Superlative Form
large	larger	largest
wise	wiser	wisest

• Mary's car is larger than Max's car.
• Mary's house is the tallest of all the houses on the block.
• Max is wiser than his brother.
• Max is the wisest person I know.

If the one-syllable adjective ends with a single consonant with a vowel before it, double the consonant and add –er for the comparative form; and double the consonant and add –est for the superlative form.

One-Syllable Adjective Ending with a Single Consonant with a Single Vowel before It	Comparative Form	Superlative Form
big	bigger	biggest
thin	thinner	thinnest
fat	fatter	fattest

• My dog is bigger than your dog.
• My dog is the biggest of all the dogs in the neighborhood.
• Max is thinner than John.
• Of all the students in the class, Max is the thinnest.
• My mother is fatter than your mother.
• Mary is the fattest person I've ever seen.

Two-syllable adjectives.

With most two-syllable adjectives, you form the comparative with more and the superlative with most.

Two-Syllable Adjective	Comparative Form	Superlative Form
peaceful	more peaceful	most peaceful
pleasant	more pleasant	most pleasant
careful	more careful	most careful
thoughtful	more thoughtful	most thoughtful

• This morning is more peaceful than yesterday morning.
• Max's house in the mountains is the most peaceful in the world.
• Max is more careful than Mike.
• Of all the taxi drivers, Jack is the most careful.
• Jill is more thoughtful than your sister.
• Mary is the most thoughtful person I've ever met.

If the two-syllable adjectives ends with –y, change the y to i and add –er for the comparative form. For the superlative form change the y to i and add –est.

Two-Syllable Adjective Ending with -y	Comparative Form	Superlative Form
happy	happier	happiest
angry	angrier	angriest
busy	busier	busiest

• John is happier today than he was yesterday.
• John is the happiest boy in the world.
• Max is angrier than Mary.
• Of all of John's victims, Max is the angriest.
• Mary is busier than Max.
• Mary is the busiest person I've ever met.

Two-syllable adjectives ending in –er, -le, or –ow take –er and –est to form the comparative and superlative forms.

Two-Syllable Adjective Ending with -er, -le, or -ow	Comparative Form	Superlative Form
narrow	narrower	narrowest
gentle	gentler	gentlest

• The roads in this town are narrower than the roads in the city.
• This road is the narrowest of all the roads in California.
• Big dogs are gentler than small dogs.
• Of all the dogs in the world, English Mastiffs are the gentlest.

Adjectives with three or more syllables.

For adjectives with three syllables or more, you form the comparative with more and the superlative with most.

Adjective with Three or More Syllables	Comparative Form	Superlative Form
generous	more generous	most generous
important	more important	most important
intelligent	more intelligent	most intelligent

• John is more generous than Jack.
• John is the most generous of all the people I know.
• Health is more important than money.
• Of all the people I know, Max is the most important.
• Women are more intelligent than men.
• Mary is the most intelligent person I've ever met.

Exceptions.

Irregular adjectives.

Irregular Adjective	Comparative Form	Superlative Form
good	better	best
bad	worse	worst
far	farther	farthest
little	less	least
many	more	most

• Italian food is better than American food.
• My dog is the best dog in the world.
• My mother's cooking is worse than your mother's cooking.
• Of all the students in the class, Max is the worst.

Two-syllable adjectives that follow two rules. These adjectives can be used with -er and -est and with more and most.

Two-Syllable Adjective	Comparative Form	Superlative Form
clever	cleverer	cleverest
clever	more clever	most clever
gentle	gentler	gentlest
gentle	more gentle	most gentle
friendly	friendlier	friendliest
friendly	more friendly	most friendly
quiet	quieter	quietest
quiet	more quiet	most quiet
simple	simpler	simplest
simple	more simple	most simple

• Big dogs are gentler than small dogs.
• Of all the dogs in the world, English Mastiffs are the gentlest.
• Big dogs are more gentle than small dogs.
• Of all the dogs in the world, English Mastiffs are the most gentle.

B. Watch the following videos and report the results in class After watching the video, do the following exercises: 1. List all of the comparative and superlative adjectives used in the video 2. Select 5 comparative or superlatives from the video and use them in a sentence. Be creative 3. What about you? Do you have a favorite place to eat pizza? burgers? what's different there than at other restaurants? (EX. burgers are juicier, service is much better than, atmosphere is more fun) C. Exercises - comparatives and superlatives Open the following worksheet and work on the exercises except the Survey section. Check the answers in class. D. Quantifiers: how much or how many?  1. Neutral quantifiers:      Some, any, several, a number of,  enough, etc. (a) Some and any are both quantifiers and articles. In many contexts, some is the plural indefinite article, the plural of "a" or "an"; but more often, some implies a limited quantity, and for this reason has the value of a quantifier. Some is used in affirmative statements; it is replaced with any in negative and interrogative contexts.   Examples:       I've got some apples in my basket and some water in my bottle.      I haven't got any apples in my basket, nor any water in my bottle.      Have you got any apples in your basket? Have you got any water in your bottle?      We had some visitors last weekend, but we didn't have any this weekend      Have you got any rooms free for the night of September 30th ? (b) Several and a number of  imply "more than one, but less than a lot". They are not usually used in negative or interrogative structures, only in affirmative statements. For example      There are several books / a number of books by J.K.Rowling in our library.      Several people / A number of people said that they'd seen the missing child. Enough  Enough implies a sufficient quantity; it is used in affirmations, negations and questions. We can get tickets for the concert, I've got enough money now. Have you got enough money for the tickets? 2. Large quantity quantifiers:       much, many, lots of, plenty of, numerous, a large number of, etc. (a) Much and many: much is used with non count nouns (always in the singular); many is used with count nouns in the plural.       IMPORTANT NOTE: Much and many are not often used, in modern spoken English, in affirmative statements; but they are very commonly used in interrogative and negative contexts.  Examples: I have many reasons for thinking that this man is innocent is acceptable, but rather formal; most English speakers would more naturally say:    I have plenty of / a lot of / a large number of reasons for thinking ..... Much whisky is of very good quality. This sentence is technically acceptable, but not probable in modern English. Most people would say (and write):    A lot of whisky / A good proportion of whisky / Plenty of whisky ...... Remember this principle: don't use much or many in affirmative statements.  ► Lots of, a lot of, plenty of, a large number of, numerous  These expressions all mean  more or less exactly the same. In the list above, they are arranged in order of formality, going from the most informal (lots of) to the most formalnumerous. Informal language is more appropriate in dialogue, formal language in written documents. 3. Small quantity quantifiers:   ►    few, a few, little, a little, not many, not much, a small number of, etc. These quantifiers are normally only used in affirmative statements, to which they give a negative colouring. ► Little, a little, not much are used with non count nouns (always in the singular)        Few, a few, not many are used with count nouns in the plural. Examples:   Few people can speak more than three languages A few (of the) paintings in this gallery are really good. There's little point in trying to mend it. You'll never succeed! I've got a little money left; let's go and have a drink. 4 Recapitulation: table of usage for common English quantifiers Affirmative Negative Interrogative Neutral some, several, a number of, enough any, enough any, enough Large quantity numerous, plenty of, a lot of, lots of, too many much, many, too many much, many, too many Small quantity few / a few, Little / a little 5. Few or a few,  little or a little ? The difference between the two expressions in each phrase is purely one of meaning, not of usage. Without the article, few and little (used respectively with count nouns and non-count nouns) have the meaning of "not much/ not many, and possibly less than one might hope for or expect".  These expressions have a negative value to them. With the article, a few and a little have the meaning of  "at least some, perhaps more than one might expect" . These expressions have a positive value. Examples: Few of my friends were there, so I was disappointed. A few of my friends were there, so I was quite happy. Hurry up; there's little time left ! We have a little time to spare, so let's stop and have a cup of coffee. E. Exercises - Quantifiers 1. Open the following worksheet and work on the exercises. Check the answers in class. 2. Can you think of any songs wthat contain one or more english quantifiers? Can you find one that uses 4 quantifiers or more? You can use the internet to check the lyrics of songs to confirm their use of quantifiers. List them and share them in class.