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Comparative forms with adjectives and adverbs

Presentation / Objective

Adjectives and adverbs have two things in common. They modify a word, and they can show a degree of comparison. Adjectives modify a noun, or a pronoun and adverbs modify verbs or adjectives.

You are going to learn how to compare two things, two people or two situations using these words.


Objective

By the end of this topic, you will:

Reaffirm comparing two different people, objects or places through the use of comparative adjectives and adverbs.

Content

Comparisons with adjectives

There are some rules to compare adjectives. It is based on the way adjectives are pronounced. If they are “short adjectives” (one syllable adjectives), you add “-er” at the end. If it is a two-syllable adjective and ends in “y”, the “y” changes to “i” and ad “-er”.

If the adjectives are “long adjectives” (two or more syllable adjectives), you are going to add the word “more” before the adjective. You may find this information confusing, but do not worry. Take a look at the following charts.


One-syllable adjectives

Adjective

Comparative

fast

faster

long

longer

nice

nicer

cheap

cheaper

Look at these adjectives, add the suffix –er at the end of them. In case the adjective ends in e, you add the r.


Look at the following examples. Just click on each image to see the example below.



Take a look at this chart:

Adjective

Comparative

fat

fatter

hot

hotter

big

bigger

thin

thinner


Notice, these adjectives are similar to the one-syllable ones. But most of them are three-letter words (consonant, vowel, consonant) or their last three letters are consonant, vowel, and consonant. When the adjectives end in a consonant, the last consonant is repeated, and you add – er to the adjective.

Once again check the previous chart:


Adjective

Comparative

fat

fatter

hot

hotter

big

bigger

thin

thinner

Look at these examples. Click on each image to see their description.



Note: One syllable adjectives with three letters ending in –w don’t take the previous rule. So, just add the suffix –er after the –w

new – newer. NOT newwer

few – fewer. NOT fewwer

Content

Two syllable adjectives ending in –y

Adjective

Comparative

crazy

crazier

happy

happier

heavy

heavier

tiny

tinier


When the adjectives end in -y change the -y to an –i and add the suffix –er.

Look at these examples. Click on each image to see the example below.

If the adjective doesn’t follow any of the previous rules, write the word before the adjective. In this case, the adjective does not change.


Check the following chart:


Adjective

Comparative

modern

more modern

boring

more boring

beautiful

more beautiful

handsome

more handsome

Now, look at these examples. Click on each image to see their description.


The previous examples are comparatives to show superiority.

There are also comparatives of inferiority. They don’t follow a rule. In this case, you only add the word less before the adjective.

Check these examples:

David is less careful than Mario.
A watch is less expensive than a cell phone.
The teacher is less angry today.
Angie is less sad than yesterday.

Content

Comparisons with adverbs:

Regularly adverbs modify verbs. This means that comparative adverbs tell us how an action is performed. Comparative adverbs are formed similarly to comparative adjectives.

Take a look at these examples:

Usain Bolt runs faster than me.
My sister arrived home earlier than my mother.

When the words more or less are go before the adverb when the adverbs end in –ly.
For example:

With my new computer, I can work more efficiently.
He played less confidently after his injury.

An adverb can be made from an adjective by adding the suffix –ly at the end. These are called regular adverbs.



Irregular adverbs


Adjective

Comparative

extreme

extremely

real

really

quiet

quietly

happy

happily

But, there are also irregular adverbs. Take a look at this chart:

Adjective

Adverb

Comparative

good

well

better

fast

fast

faster

hard

hard

harder

daily

daily

more daily

straight

straight

more straight

bad

badly

worse

Examples

My father drives too fast. NOT My father drives too fastly.
Diana speaks English well. NOT Diana speaks English goodly.
Rick always worked hard. NOT Rick always worked hardly.
Justin arrived late to his concert. NOT Justin arrived lately to his concert.

Reading

Activity 1

Ramiro’s family

Do you compare the members of your family? Some people don’t like comparisons, but sometimes we need to do them to describe our family members. Read the text about Ramiro’s family and choose the best option to complete the blank spaces.

Reference:fabiennefrancis. (2016). Familia / retrato / sonriendo [photo].
Retrieved on April 6th 2017 from https://goo.gl/OIjrRV


Listening

Activity 2

This pizza tastes better!

Do you have a favourite pizza restaurant? If you do, then you will understand Ramiro and his friend Elizabeth while they are comparing two pizza restaurants. Listen to the conversation and answer True or False.

Reference:Unsplash. (2016). Pizza vegetariana / quesos / comida italiana [photo]. Retrieved on April 6th 2017 from https://goo.gl/zIrfvC

To answer the activity, listen carefully to the audio “Pizza Tasting”.



Writing

Activity 3

Ramiro’s friends

Do you get along well with your friends? Do you have things in common?

Describe two of your friends using comparative adjectives and comparative adverbs.

You can use the following prompt to guide you:

Reference: makunin. (2009). Pareja / personas / blanco y negro / cara / retrato [photo]. Retrieved on April 3th 2017 from https://goo.gl/fBDxbM

These are my friends Josh and Karen. They are a lovely couple. Josh is older than Karen, he is 27 years old, and she is 25. Josh is also taller, and Karen is more romantic than him. They like going camping. Josh is less chatty than Karen, but Karen is more serious. When they invite me to eat, I have seen that Josh eats faster than Karen and me. They both work hard.

Use the rubrics to check your progress before sending your file.


You can verify your text on: https://languagetool.org/

Speaking

Activity 4

Ramiro’s movie likes

Do you like movies? What are your favourite movies? This time you are going to compare two of your favourite films.

Record yourself using Vocaroo or your cellphone. Before recording, click on the “Audio” button to listen to an example:



References: MichaelGaida. (2016). Cine / Sala de cine / películas [photo]. Retrieved on April 4th 2017 from https://goo.gl/ALwFUu

When your recording is ready, use the checklist to check your work.

Self assessment

What is the comparative?

Let us check how much you remember about forming comparative adjectives and adverbs. In this exercise, you need to complete the sentences by writing the correct form of the adjectives or adverbs.

Self assessment

Time to check your memory!

It is time to play a memory game. You are going to look for the pair of words. Each adjective or adverb has its comparative form.

References

Basic references

Thornbury, Scott. Natural Grammar, Oxford, 2004

S. Azar, Betty and A. Hagen, Stacy. Understanding and Using English Grammar. Pearson Longman, 2009.

Complementary

CUAED. (2011). English Media. UNAM. Consulted on April 2017 from: https://goo.gl/zDdPdd

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