Use a superlative adjective to compare three or more people, places, or things.
- Isabelle is the tallest girl in the class.
- Barcelona is the most historic place in Spain.
- That’s the most interesting movie for me.
Anses. (2015). 15 de marzo Día mundial del consumidor. Retrieved 18/04/18 from https://www.flickr.com/photos/ansesgob/16173893363
These years of constant development have changed the way we live. People produce and consume more things and services. We travel more and live longer. However, the impact of all this on the environment is bigger and more visible. Environmental regulations are trying to reduce this impact, but it has to be more efficient. Consumers have become more critical about what they buy and, in a world of choices, only the best beats up. The statement of consumerism is: “the more we have the happier we become”, but this is not always true. In this accelerated rhythm of growing, our best tool is having more intelligent choices about what we consume, but … How can we manage this? That’s right… checking and comparing the characteristics of what we are buying.
And these are exactly our key points of this lesson: comparing (comparatives) and maximizing (superlatives) the characteristics of something or someone. Did you guess the topic from highlighted words?... well done!
In this lesson you will practice the contrast between comparatives and superlatives in a context where you will reflect on consumer societies. This will help you to use structures in a real frame of reference.
In the first section you will analyze the contrast between comparatives and superlatives, emphasizing relations of comparative equality, superiority and inferiority and maximization of objects and people’s characteristics (adjectives). At the same time, as you analyze the topic in context, you will have the space to answer some practice exercises to master the comparative and superlative structure.
All this, as mentioned before, in a context that will make you reflect on the roll we are playing as a consumer society.
In the second section you will work on your reading, listening, writing and speaking abilities of language. Here, you will have different tasks to use what you reviewed in the previous part.
At the end of this segment you will find a self-evaluation to check out how much you have learned in this lesson.
At the end of this topic you will restate the construction of comparison relations –equality, superiority and inferiority- (comparatives) in contrast to expressions of maximum degree of a characteristic (superlatives) through phrases and conjunctions such as as, than, more than, less than, the most, in order to compare and maximize characteristics of objects, places and people of the English-speaking culture and their own.
To reach the objective it is required that you complete all the activities and remember you can repeat and go back to the lesson as many times as you consider it necessary. It is important you recognize that your determination is decisive to get your learning objectives. We hope this lesson contributes to your progress in language and world knowledge.
So, let’s get into it!!
As we mentioned at the beginning, development has changed the way we live. Definitely, people live longer, produce and consume more things and services.
A consumer is…
Freepik. (2013-2018). Man walking with shopping cart. Retrieved 18/04/18 from https://www.flaticon.com/free-icon/man-walking-with-shopping-cart_43032#
Pixnio.(2016). Inside mall. Retrieved 18/04/18 from https://pixnio.com/interiors-and-exteriors-design/inside-the-mall
Some people think a consumer society provides people a better life because they are more comfortable, they have a wider variety of food and, maybe, they go to restaurants more often. But it is true that in this perspective, they also buy more than they need.
Red-English Wikipedia. (2007). Mobile phone timeline. Retrieved 18/04/18 from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mobile_phone_timeline.png
Many years ago, products such as TV’s, cell phones, cars, and computers were only luxury, only for wealthy people. Today, it is easier to buy this kind of things because they are more accessible for everybody.
Pxhere. (2017). Technology. Retrieved 18/04/18 from https://pxhere.com/en/photo/1097014
The offer to buy these products is growing faster and consumer societies motivate people to buy bigger and better products. For example, smart phones become ‘smarter’ every year and people always want to buy newer and more advanced products.
Baselactionnetwork. (2013). Imported laptop housings pile. Guiyu, China. Retrieved 18/04/18 from https://www.flickr.com/photos/basel-action-network/9263493998
It is obvious that this has a bigger impact on the environment, for this reason we must be more serious and more responsible consumers.
Now watch the video Consumer society.
When we are exposed to different products, the only way we can make an informed decision about what to buy, we need to compare them. This is to see if they are different or the same, as part of being a responsible consumer. We need to use comparative adjectives to express such difference.
Did you notice the use of comparatives in the text and in the video? We are sure you did! Because this is not the first time you see comparatives.
How many more examples can you find in the consumer society text? Look at the example and identify them.
| Comparative Adjective | than | Complement | |
| Cell phones are | smart |
than | before |
| many years ago |
Now, let’s review the rules to remember:
After reviewing the comparative rules and doing some practice, it is time to put the rules into context. Consider the real situation of buying stuff. The market offers a lot of options but, as a responsible consumer, you must study your options and compare. This is the first step to be a responsible consumer.
First situation: Imagine you are thinking about buying a car. Think about the characteristics you are looking for in a car. Look at the first option:
Now compare your options. Compare these two cars, considering the characteristics of the previous chart:
As you could see these comparatives are expressing relations of superiority and inferiority because one is more than the other, in other words: One is superior and the other is inferior.
Second Situation: You need to buy some drinks for a party. You are considering two options but you can only buy one:
Think about 10 sentences using comparative adjectives to help you decide what to choose. Consider the adjectives form the box and drag them to the corresponding picture.
| 1. Colder / 2. More Refreshing / 3. Cheaper / 4. More expensive / 5. Sweeter / 6. More exotic / 7. More acid / 8. Softer |
Now that you have reviewed the rules and had some practice, in this part you are going to check how you can form the complements of the comparatives. Look at some patterns in the following chart:
You can use object pronouns to complete a comparison sentence:
But in more formal writing and speaking, use a subject pronoun + auxiliary verb:
Use and auxiliary verb after ‘than’. Do not repeat the main verb:
A possessive noun or possessive pronoun can be used after ‘than’:
Sometimes, if the comparison is clear or obvious, ‘than’ and the second part of the comparison are not necessary.
Be careful! Don’t use ‘that’ or ‘then’ in a comparison, because these words have different meaning:
Read the next passage about consumer behavior and pay special attention in the expressions in bold:
The study of consumers helps companies and organizations improve their marketing strategies. This is as important as having a good product because if you have a good product but your marketing strategy is not as good as the product, it will cause that its impact on the market could be less effective.
To do this, it is fundamental to consider some issues: the psychology of how consumers think, feel, reason, and select between different alternatives and how the consumer is influenced by his or her environment (culture, family, signs, media). For example, people want to look as cool as famous people; however this might be not as positive as you may think. Consumer behavior involves ideas as well as tangible products.
Look at each phrase from the previous passage. Does the phrase mean equal or not equal? Choose the correct answer.
As you could see this kind of comparatives show comparison relations, but not as superiority: AS…AS show equal relation and NOT AS…AS and LESS show inferiority.
Let’s get deeper into the topic.
As we said before, comparatives AS…AS show equality in comparisons and LESS… than inferiority relations: Look at the chart:
| As/less | Adjective | As/than | Complement | Relation | |
| My car is | as | big comfortable |
as | yours | equal |
| This phone is | not as | expensive good |
as | that one | inferior |
| Vodka is | less | popular | than | beer | inferior |
Now check the rules:
Use as + adjective to compare two people, places, or things that are the same or equal in some way:
Be careful, when you use as…as the adjective is in simple form not in the comparative form:
To complete a comparison with as… as, you can use:
In informal speaking, object pronouns are often used to complete comparisons with as…as.
The opposite of ‘more’ is ‘less’.
Use not as . . . as with one-syllable adjectives.
Use less . . . than or not as . . . as with adjectives that have two or more syllables. The meaning is the same.
If the comparison is clear, the second part of the comparison is not necessary.
Everybody knows that the Mount Everest is the highest Mount in Earth. A lot of people have wanted to climb this mount, but unfortunately they have also leave a lot of trash. Take a look at the following information:
In the sentences above we find out a lot of things about the Mount Everest. It’s really sad that it is the dirtiest mountain right?
Well, let’s focus now on the grammar part ok? Did you notice the bold phrases? Those show the superlative adjectives!
Look at the chart below:
Use a superlative adjective to compare three or more people, places, or things.
Add -est to the end of most one- syllable adjectives to form the superlative.* Use the before superlative adjectives.
Use the most before most adjectives that have two or more syllables.
For some two-syllable adjectives either -est or the most can be used to form the superlative.
Some superlatives are irregular.
The opposite of the most is the least.
A prepositional phrase with in or of is often used to complete a superlative.
If the comparison is clear, it is not necessary to complete it.
One of theoften comes before a superlative adjective. The superlative adjective is followed by a plural noun.
Now that you have check the chart about superlative adjectives is time to practice a little bit with them.
Using the adjectives in parenthesis write the appropriate superlative structure.
Use the words in parenthesis to write appropriate superlative sentences. Consider the following points:
Activity 1
It’s time to learn more about how human beings have turned a beautiful mountain such as the Everest into a landfill.
It is sad to say, but people need to learn to be more careful with waste. They aren’t doing something to stop wasting so much!
Let’s learn more about the case of the Mount Everest. First, read the article How we turned Mount Everest into a dump.
Now read the sentences, which were taken from the text, and drag the different elements from the left column to the appropriate space in the right column. You have two attempts to answer every item. You can know your score at the end of the exercise.
Listen to the conversation of six people deciding what to buy. You will have to select the choice each speaker makes and also the reason why they made that decision.
Drag the different options to the appropriate spaces. You have two attempts to answer the exercise. You can know your score at the end of the exercise.
Listen to a talk between a professor and a student talking about marketing strategies.
Then complete the sentences taken from the audio:
Activity 8
Going on vacation is always relaxing, isn’t it? What do you prefer? A beach resort? A cottage in the forest? Camping? Sightseeing in old towns?
Imagine that you’re going on vacation. You have three places in mind. Think of as many adjectives as you can for each one, observe the example:
Camping |
Resort |
Sightseeing |
Cheap Funny ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ |
Expensive Relaxing ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ |
Cultural interesting ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ |
Now write 10 sentences using comparative and superlative adjectives. For example:
Finally write a short text between 100 and 120 words where you can use your sentences from the previous exercise.
In your text you need to respond:
You will be evaluated considering:
To self-evaluate your writing. Check this rubric.
Activity 5
Look at the items in the box. Then rank them from 1 to 8 (1 = the least important and 8 = the most important).
|
a. a big car → → b. stylish clothing → → c. a computer → d. a TV e. a smart phone f. plastic bags g. meals in restaurants → h. a gold watch |
Do you think we have the same ideas as people from other countries?
Now rank the items from the chart above according to what you think american people would rank them.
Once you’ve ranked them as you think American people would rank them, write some sentences you can follow to make your recording. Follow the example:
Make a recording of yourself where you can compare your culture to the American culture according to the items and sentences you have.
You will be evaluated considering
Once you are ready you will record your account
It’s time to check your understanding on comparative and superlative adjectives.
Read the following sentences and choose comparative o superlative. You can know your score at the end of the exercise.
IJff, N. (2012). Consumer Society [video]. Retrieved 18/04/18 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vL-wpPQwo0
Perner, L. (1999-2018). consumer behavior: The psychology of marketing. Retrieved 18/04/18 from https://www.consumerpsychologist.com/
Cambridge English Dictionary. (2018). Retrieved 18/04/18 from http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/consumer
The Week Staff. (2015). How we turned Mount Everest into a dump. Retrieved 18/04/18 from http://theweek.com/articles/546387/how-turned-mount-everest-into-dump
TEFLtastic. (2018). Comparing and contrasting games/ worksheets. Retrieved 18/04/18 from https://tefltastic.wordpress.com/worksheets/functions/compare-contrast/
TEFLtastic. (2018). Explaining education in your country comparing and contrasting practice. Retrieved 18/04/18 from https://tefltastic.wordpress.com/worksheets/vocabulary/education/education-comparing-contrasting/
TEFLtastic. (2018). Compare and contrast the places. Retrieved 18/04/18 from https://tefltastic.wordpress.com/worksheets/exams/cambridge-exams/fce/fce-result/compare-contrast-places/
Writing
UsingEnglish.com. (2002/2018). Fun practice for comparative adjectives. Retrieved 18/04/18 from https://www.usingenglish.com/articles/fun-practice-for-comparative-adjectives.html
Speaking
TEFLtastic. (2018). IELTS Speaking Comparing and contrasting questions. Retrieved 18/04/18 from https://tefltastic.wordpress.com/worksheets/exams/ielts/ielts-sp/ielts-sp-one-three/ielts-sp-comparing-contrasting-questions/
Reading
Goodwin, N., Nelson, J., Ackerman, F., Weisskopf, T. (2008). Consumption and the Consumer Society. Retrieved 18/04/18 from http://www.ase.tufts.edu/gdae/education_materials/modules/Consumption_and_the_Consumer_Society.pdf
Grammar
Maxwell, K., Clanflied, L. (2000-2018). Comparative and superlative adjectives – tips and activities. Retrieved 18/04/18 from http://www.onestopenglish.com/grammar/grammar-reference/adjectives/comparative-and-superlative-adjectives-tips-and-activities/144844.article
Beare, K. (2017).Teaching Comparative and Superlative Forms to ESL Students. Retrieved 18/04/18 from https://www.thoughtco.com/comparative-and-superlative-forms-1211066