Adjectives and adverbs A Adjectives and adverbs An adjective describes a noun, Lust year we had a significant increase in profits. Last year profits were much better than this year. If you wtitit big gains on the StatU market you need d latlQ-tCttH view. (TllfiStrcet.CO'lll website) An adverb says how (quickly), when (tomorrow) or where (over there) something happens. Adverbs can come in different positions. 'How' adverbs usually come after the verb. We planned everything very carefully The economy is growing slowly. Frequency adverbs (unit i) come after be and auxiliaries, but before other verbs. She is never fate. She has never arrived late. She never goes there, Other 'when' adverbs can corns before or after the verb. Last year our profits rose slightly. Our profits rose slightly last year. If we have several adverbs together, the usual word order is: HOW - WHERE - WHEN Our profits rose slightly in Germany last year, (NOT last year in Germany) As well as describing verbs, adverbs can also describe adjectives and other adverbs. It's relatively expensive, (adverb + adjective) Ho arrived extremely tate. (adverb + adverb) Adverbs are also covered in units 1, 3, 5 and 7 (time expressions); 39 (too, enough); 40 (time words like in/on/at, for/since, by/until)', units 43 and 44 (linking words, which include 'sentence adverbs': firstly actually in general, clearly anyway); and unit 49 (trends: sales grew steadily all last year). & Form of adverbs Many 'how' adverbs are formed by adding -ly to an adjective. A few add -y -ally, or -ily, depending on the spelling of the original adjective. slow -slowly slight - slightly careful - carefully full - fully dramatic - dramatically steady - steadily Some adverbs and adjectives have the same form. Example? include fast hard, early late, high, low, right, wrong, daily■/'weekly7'monthlyv'quarterly; This is a fast machine, (adj.) This machine goes very fast, (adv.) It's a hard decision, (adj.) He's working very hard at the moment, (adv.) Note that the adverb hardly is not related to the meaning of hard. It's so noisy I can hardly think, ('hardly' = almost not) Note that good is an adjective and well is an adverb. She's a good negotiator. She negotiates well C Gradable and non-gradable adjectives w Look at these sequences: boiling -*- excellent/fantastic -«--■---■ enormous --■--■—■-large/big, small, tiny hot, warm, mild, cool, cold ---good, bad —■—— -*- freezing awful/terrible — minute -2 Adjectives in the middle of the sequence are 'gradable'. We can make them stronger or weaker with words like very, a bit, quite, reasonably relatively, extremely. The weather was quite hot/cold (NOT quite boiling/tro-oaing.) Tf)e meal was very good/bad. (NOT vary excellent/awful.) :'s'j Adjectives at the end of the sequence are 'non-gradable' or 'extreme'. With these adjectives we use absolutely. The talk was absolutely excellent/'awful. (NOT vory-excelle-nt.) D Order of adjectives When we have more than one adjective we use this order: Opinion wonderful, lovely, nice, difficult, important Size large, small, long, short Other qualities cheap, dean, quiet, fast Age new, old second-hand Shape, pattern, colour circular, flat striped, red, black Origin, nationality French, Japanese, American, Scandinavian Material wooden, metal, plastic, steel Type (what kind?) third-generation (phone), economic (policy), safety (device), investment (bank), face (cream) \'- Words in the final two categories can be nouns used as adjectives. ■ ' Here are some examples: 3 10-page American legal contract (size, nationality, type) a fast new sports car (quality, age, type) an efficient worldwide distribution network (opinion, si2e, type) £i cheap clean energy source (quality, quality, type) E Adjectives ending -ing and -ed ■3 Adjectives ending -ing describe something we are reacting to (outside us), Adjectives ending -ed describe our feelings and reactions (inside us). The meeting was very interesting, t was interested in your' idea about outsourcing. Asia Online president Kevin Randolph sctys he does not concentrate on the number of customers because he is not really interested in mass marketing. 7 am interested in quality marketing,' Randolph says. 'We have 100,000 customers, which is an interesting number, hut I am not managing the business based on that.' (business review weekly website) Other pairs like this are: bored/boring, confused/contusing, excited/exciting, fascinated'/fascinating, surprised /surprising, tired/tir/ng I found her comments quite surprising I was surprised by her comments. ■ 36 Practice Exercise 1 A B Complete the second sentence so it has a similar meaning to the first sentence. 1 There was a slight fall in profits in April. In April profits.................$&LMi$&$%„................ . 2 There was a dramatic improvement in yur share price l&tf month, Last month our share price............................................-.............. 3 There nas been a significant drop In demand for oil over the last few months. Demand for oil..........................................................over the iastfew months. 4 Let's have a brief pause for coffee. Let's........................................................for coffee, 5 There has been a steady improvement in the inflation figures. The inflation figures........................................................... 6 There was a slow recovery in consumer confidence Ia5( year. Consumer confidence..........................................................fast year, 7 There has been a gradual rise in unemployment. Unemployment........................................................... 8 There nas been considerable growth in Korean GDP over recent years. Over recent years Korean GDP........................................................... Exercise 2 C E Underline the correct cdjective, 1 I couJdn't do any more work last night. I was just so iirejd/tiring. 2 I aonJt think the audience liked the talk. They looked bored/boring. 3 I don't think the audience liked the talk. It was a bit bored/boring. 4 Your new multimedia project sounds really exated/exciting. 5 You look worried/worrying. Is anything the matter? 6 Their profits fast year were extremeiy large/enormous. 7 Their profits last year were absolutely large/enormous. 8 The sales figures fast month were very bad/terrible 9 Warsaw is absolutely cold/ freezing at this time of yea: Exercise 3 A Complete the sentences with one word from the list A and one word from fist B. A: badly completely easily extremeiy heavfly quite unexpectedly weJ4 B: delayed designed heJpfu1 illegal late made pronoled retognLiable 1 This suitcase is very......._...................It will last for years and years. 2 The new product is being............................................... You see the adverts everywhere 3 This website is very...............................................I can't find the information ' need. 4 You've been...............................................I really appreciate it. 5 Our offices are...............................................Look out for the large flags at the front. 6 I'm sorry, my flight has been...................._..........................I'll caJI you when I arrive. 7 Taföig bribes is.....................+...,.....................You'lf lose yotr job if they catch yoj. K I arrived at the presentation..............................................and missed the first part. Exercise 4 D Put ea& group of words into the best order. 1 old-fashioned a .'arge machine cutting .........A.J.^£...9!d.-^f^ ....... 2 wooden square two cartons .............................................................................................. 3 new package an amazing software .................................T............................................................ 4 period a transition three-month difficult .............................................................................................. 5 chips computer Taiwanese high-quality.............................................................................................. G a strategy well-planned investment.............................................................................................. 7 access cheap Internet high-speed.................„............................_.............................................. S a new revolutionary compute handheld.............................................................................................. 9 a powder washing new wonderful......................................................................................... 10 awful plastic cheap souvenirs.............................................................................................. Exercise 5 A B Complete the sentences wrth a word from the list betow. At the end of each sentence write adj. (adjective) or adv. (adverb) to show how the word in tne gap is being used, good well fast fast hard hard hardty late law month iy 1 We're going to introduce a .MPtttWy. newslettef Id: all employees. 2 I'm sorry, your goods a'e gong to arrive about a week.................. ................. 3 That flight time is too...................Haven't you got anything earlier? ................. 4 Everything^ fine. The meeting is going very.................. ................. $ I was so bred that I could.................keep my eyes open. ................. 6 The hotel was................., but we didn't [ike the food m the restaurant. ................. 7 It's a.................choice, but I think Carta is the better candidate. ................. 8 I had to work very.................:o get everything finished on time. ................ 9 I'm sorry I don't understand. You're ra'king too ... ................. 10 We'll have to make a.................exit if things start going wrong. ................. Exercise SAB i^42 Redd this report about the convergence a* mob'le ohenes and handheld computers. Underline either the adjectve or adverb each time. 1 ■ seems; (1 I Strang /hi ratify, but some I w people are walking around with a mobile ^hnnŕ, n handheJd computer tike n Palm, a Bager, and even a notebook Computer with j. (^wnwi!!i0fi(if/caHíď7i(ieiwiiii( keyboard. a& we!I. These digLtal devicis are converging (3) rapid/rapidty, bait manufacturers are finding it difficult to get al! the parte \o integrate (4) proper/property. Contemporary mobile phones look (5)geod/y/ott, are relatively (6] $trffa$ at sending short te«t messages, but don't work {7) good/uvil as handheld computers. They lack memory, synchronise (8) b&d/hsAly with desktop PCs, and are not The Net: anywhere, anytime, in the palm of your hand (9}frtsy/«sihj to use for writing emails. Searching for an address-book entry or scrolling through a contact list is (10) stoap/slflfflfy, although once you find the name you em call the person (11) dinct/dimtiy by just touching the phone number. O! course die big issue in the future is Internet1 access - it need:; to be fast, [Wimwfmily and (13) tfo'flp/drfiipfy, but a]low phone companies to make n profit. Things are moving very (14) quick/quickly in this area, and the manufacturers who succeed in getting everything (15) riglii/righlh are going to make (16) ktigeftiitffcig profits, Comparing 1 A Comparatives and superlatives ; We use the comparative form of an adjective to compare two separate things. Comparative: Model C400 is more powerful than model C200. Model C200 is less powerful than model C400. We use the superlative form to say that one thing in a group has more or less of a quality than all the others. Superlative: The most powerful model that we make is the C600. The least powerful model that we make is the C200. B Form The form depends on the number of syllables in the word and the spelling. Adjective Comparative Superlative One syllable cheap cheaper the cheapest nice nicer the nicest One syllable ending big bigger the biggest vowel - consonant hot hotter the hottest One/two syllables risky riskier the riskiest ending -y easy easier the easiest Two or more modern more/less modern the most/least modern syllables expensive more/less expensive the most/least expensive A franchising contract is one of the longest and most sophisticated that investors will ever sign. (Entrepreneur International website) i Note that one-syllable adjectives ending in single vowel - single consonant double the final consonant, and that -y becomes i, big - bigger flat - flatter wet - wetter easy - easier noisy - noisier happy - happier Some two-syllable adjectives can form in either way. Examples include clever, common, narrow, polite, quiet, simple, tired-common commoner I more common the commonest I the most common " Note that long adjectives have both more/most and less/least, but short adjectives only have -eii-est. * Note the following irregular forms; good better the best bad worse the worst far farther/further the farthest/furthest [apan's economy is weakening, its chances oj recovery from the- worst slowdown since World War ll are getting smaller and smaller every day. (Yahoo Business News website) C Other points We use than to link the things we are comparing. This year's profits will be a little higher than last year's. It's a lot more difficult than I thought at first. Before a superlative we use the or a possessive form. This is the/our/Digicom's most powerful model. Comparative and superlative adjectives can be used without a noun if the meaning is dear from the context. Their level of service is good, but ours is better. Digicom produces a range of models, but this one is the most powerful. The present perfect with ever is often used with superlatives. This is the most powerful machine that we have ever produced This is one of the best meals i have ever eaten Tlie Brazilian supermarket chain Pao tie Acncar reported a profit of US$167.3m last year, the largest it has ever made. (Business News Americas website) D Comparing equal things We can compare two equal things with (just) as... as. We say that two things are not equal with not as ... as. The adjectives do not change. The C6D0( is (just) as powerful as the C6O0. The C400 is not as powerful as the C600. Trends in oil prices are about supply and demand fundamentals, It really is as simple as thai. (Gulf Business Magazine website) It's still good to be king of your corporation - just not as good as it used to he. (BusinessWeek website) E Comparing actions When we compare actions we can use an auxiliary at the end of the sentence. The C60O runs faster than the C400. OR The C600 runs faster than the C400 does. You've done more wort than me. OR You've done more work than I have. 37 Practice Exercise 1 A B C D Underline the correct words. 1 The new line should be so profitable as/as profitable as the old one. 2 This handset is the most profitable I the more profitable we've ever made. 3 This version of the programme is the most recent/recenter. 4 The guarantee is a year longer than/that with our older models. 5 Nothing is worse/worst than missing a flight because of traffic. 6 This printer is one of the best/better on the market. 7 The meeting wasn't long as/as long as I thought. S Today the share price is more bad/worse than it was yesterday. 9 I'm sorry, the journey took longer than/the longest we expected. 10 We'll be there soon. It's not much farer/further. Exercise 2 A B C D Complete the sentences with a comparative or superlative form of the adjective in brackets. Include any other necessary words like the, more, less, as or than. 1 Coca-Cola is ...«!S_J8.9$£&.. (big) soft drinks manufacturer in the world. 2 This keyboard is quite difficult to use. It's.........,...................{small) the one I'm used to. 3 The conference was a little disappointing. It was.............................(interesting) I expected. 4 Yesterday was one of.............................(hot) days of the year. 5 I think this suggestion is.............................(good) the other one. 6 It's impossible to choose between these two products. One is.............................(good) the other. 7 The first round of negotiations was easy: The next will be.............................(difficult). 8 We're only a small company. We're not.............................(large) the market leader in our sector. 9 This year our sales figure are.............................(bad) last year. 10 This is.............................(bad) case of corruption we've seen for years. Exercise 3 A B C D E Put one suitable word in each space. 1 We are bigger „..i"ft*-..„ GNC, but Satco are......biggest in the market. 2 I can see you either day. One day is.................good.................the other. 3 Nobody knows more about electronics.................Tina.................. 4 Of course I'll speak to him. It's the.................I can do after all your help. 5 Sorry, 5% discount is my best offer. It's the..................I can do. 6 He is one of the.................difficult customers I have ever dealt with. 7 Everyone else had worked a lot longer on the project.................I.................. 8 I don't think that this market is..................risky.................it was. 9 The restaurants are the same. This one is.................as expensive.................that one. 10 This restaurant is better for us. It's.................as expensive.................that one. Exercise 4 A B C D Complete the seconc sentence so rt has a similar meaning to the first sentence, 1 David is a better technician than Pauf. Paui Is not........a,* .jcv-c' a tecV.KiA?, AS........David. 2 nobody at KBN is a better Investment analyst than Carol. Carol is the.....................................................................at KBN. 3 I haven't read as ma",y sections of the report as you. You've read...................................................................... rl I expected the meeting to last [anger. The Tieetmg didn't last...................................................................... 5 Our training budget isn't as big as yours Your training budget is...................................................................... 6 Mo presentation I've given is more important than this one. This is the...................................................................... 7 ~h s speaker is more interesting than the last one. The !ast speaker was not.....................................................................this one. 8 I ate less than George die I didn't.....................................................................George 9 Ho one in the team has better communication skills than Jane. Jane has..................................................................... in the team 10 I have rarely met a more interesting person. He ;s one of...................................................................... Exercise 5 A B 43 Complete the magazine article about investment options with the comparative or superlative forms of the adjectives in brackets. Investment choices: risk and reward ■ n this report were going to look at the three main types of I investments: casli [in bank accounts), bonds [long-term loans that give a fixed rate of return) and stocks (equities). The (1)......................~ (safe) is cash, and the fact that this has less risk than ihe others means that it also has a (2)................................... {low] return. If you want a (3)...................................(good) return you sfiould consider bonds. These are fixed interest investments, and are a (4)................................... (attractive) option than cash, particularly when interest rates are falling. The (5)................................ [risky] form of investment is stocks. They offer the chance of mucti (6)................................... (great) profits over the long term, but you might make a loss if the company does badly. The {7}............................... (bad) case scenario is that the company goes bankrupt and you lose everything.You can reduce ihe risk by investing in a fund rather than individual stocks. Funds that invest in developed economies are a [6)................................... (sensible) choice for must people, as the markets have more liquidity and it is (9)....................^........(easy) for Ihe fund manager to buy and sell. Birt there are also emerging market funds thai: invest In countries like China, India or Turkey. These markets are only for the (10) ,,r.......................,........(aggressive) investors of all as they have much (11)................................... (high) volatility. So what isi the (12]................................. (good) solution? Most financial advisors recommend a balance. In the middle of your career you can afford to have a [13)...................................(farge) part of your investments as stocks, perhaps 60-80%, with some bonds for stability and cash for emergencies. As you get (14)................................... [near) retirement you should consider switching most of your money to bonds, and increasing your available cash. Comparing 2 A Large and small differences We can using adverbs of degree (see unit 39) to talk about differences. Product Product 1220 5300 $200 Jsir.n more ... than A rs a bit/ a tittle bit/slightly more expensive than B. A is considerably/much/a lot/far -nore expensive than 1 Using 55 . . as $120 $200 A is not nearly as expensive as S $ 180 $ 2 00 A is a/most/nearly/not quite as expensive as B S40Q S200 A is twice as expensive as 6 S450 $200 A is more than twice as expensive as B. l:e-reigs! sxdtttlige matters grejttt utore wlntilr awl nttincdictnhlc than conunxiditics ntntkets, (African Business im£,ndne website) We can use even to emphasise the comparison. J,!;*!!* ft a country full of ilistritmU>rs, tnhoi^ttciv Mtf other middtetneu. 'Ihe dislocation mmS iry 'lie Internet eoaltl be even grcatre that* m the I IS. (HT.com website) B Other structures with comparatives We can say that something is inoeas.ng or decreasing by using two comparatives linked by and. 7Tie personal pensions marker is growing bigger and bigger Investors are becoming more and more sophisticated. We can say that one situation depends on another by using the and one corr.parative followed by the and another comparative The longer the strike goes on, the more difficult it will be to find a solution. The bigger the onnpiitiy tnd the forger irs nw, the greater ttie opportunity to see tremendous efficiencies. (linsinessWeek Online website) These phrases are also useful for comparing things: exactly/just/almost/'nearly/virtually/more or less I roughly the same ... as exactly/just/very/more/less /Quite/a bit/a little like completeiylquitelsilghtiy oifferen- from issry similar to compared to/in comparison with Online retailers irillt 3D employee?: hare to offer exactly the same ttmee as trading companies mill tnruotir hi hillions if euros. (Conni'ctis website) D Comparing adverbs < In general, adverb; follow exactly the same rules as adjectives. One syllable: hard, harder, the hardest Two syllables ending -y: early, earlier, the earliest Two or more syllables: efficiently, more/less efficiently, the most/least efficiently The adverbs well and badly are irregular. well, better, the best badly, worse, the worst We can use the same structures as adjectives. In the IT sector people are having to work harder and harder to get promotion. The quicker we can sign the deal, the sooner we can start production. Those arguing that the US slowdown is about to end almost as soon as it begem miss the point entirely. (BusinessWeek website) We often need comparative and superlative adverbs when the verb has the form of a present participle (doing) or a past participle [done). Korea is one of the most rapidly developing countries in the world. This product is more attractively designed and more solidly built. Tim ueu' Deutidie Bank ti'iU be better placed to use its strait? corporate relationships to benefit from the restructuring and M&A boom currently happening across Europe. (BusinessWeek website) E Comparing nouns We compare nouns using the words below. Countable nouns (products, people, customers, banks) more, fewer, the most, the fewest, (not) as many... as We have far more people working for us now than two years ago. We don't have as many products on the market as two years ago. Jncountable nouns (time, money, information, progress) more, tess, the most, the least, (hot) as much ... as I'm working as a freelancer now and I earn considerably less money. I don't have nearly as much time for reading as I would like. 1 Phrases with superlatives These phrases are common with superlatives. One of the largest retailing groups in Latin America. By far the/Fasily the largest retailing group in Latin Amerka. The second/Third/fourth largest retailing group in Latin America The recession thai followed the dollar crisis of 1 994 ivai one of the worst in Mexican liistoty. (Glnbnl Business Magazine website) 38 Practice Exercise 4 A B C E A company wants to rrove prenvscs and there are several options. Read the details in the table. Exercise 1AB CDE Underline the correct words. 1 The new design is considerably more light/tighter than the old one. 2 There are nearly twice as many people working here as/than last year. 3 The sooner they decide, //'•; better/the better for us all. 4 There's each time morel more and more investment in China every year. 5 We have the nearly largest/the second largest market share in Turkey, 6 This model might be better for you. It's slightly/quite less expensive. 7 This is our faster/fastest selling product. 8 Everything's getting more and more expensive iexpensiver and expensiver. 9 If needed, could this production line go more quickly/more quicker! 10 It's a little more expensive, but the quality is much better I more better. 11 Our sales this year are virtually the same as/the equal of last year, \2 This is one of the best/the well organised conferences I've ever been to. Exercise 2 A B Write a word or phrase from the list next to a similar word or phrase below. virtually a bit roughly exactly much nearly/ vfWHy a |jtt|e/........................ far/........................ more or less/........................ just/........................ Now complete these sentences by writing the pairs of words/phrases in the space. 1 They're similar. They're ,™Ai]t,lY/ M';f .!R..!S»**r.!*»..MiK the previous year. Let's start by comparing Chevron and Texaco. Their sales were (2)...........................,......, although Chevron made (3)..................................profit. Looking at the year-on-year trene you can see that the percentage change in sales was very (4)..................................between the two companies, whereas the change in profits was quite (5)...................................In fact, Chevon's profits grew (6)..................................faster - 150% compared to 115% Now let's look at Exxon Mobil, the market leader. The table shows that Exxon is (7).................................. the largest company, with more than (8)..................................sales as Chevron and Texaco combined, and exactly (9)..................................profit In terms of percentage growth, Exxon's figures were (10)..................................lower than its two competitors,' Adweirbs <®f degree A Adverbs of degree Adverbs of degree show how big or important something is. They make the meaning weaker .(small degree) or stronger (large degree). Small degree: a little, a bit, slightly Medium degree: quite, fairly, pretty, rather, reasonably, relatively Large degree: extremely, really, very, absolutely, completely Mau Fober is noted as a slightly eccentric but often very accurate market tipster, (asia-inc magazine website) Look at these examples. With adjectives: It was a little expensive/rather strange/very professional. With adverbs: It was done a bit late/quite quickly/very professionally. With verbs: / really disagree. They've increased their offer a little With comparatives: It's a bit/slightly/considerably/much/a lot cheaper. J Too, enough, not enough Too means 'more than is necessary or good'. Wor enough means 'less than is necessary or good'. Enough means 'as much as is necessary' or 'sufficient'. Adjectives: The salary is too low. The salary isn't high enough Adverbs: I'm sorry, it goes too slowly I'm sorry, it isn't fast enough Nouns: There's too much work. There isn't enough time. Note the positions: too comes before adjectives, adverbs and nouns; enough comes after adjectives and adverbs, but before nouns. We use too many/few + plural nouns and too much/little + uncountable nouns. There are too many people involved in the project. I think we spent too much money on the consultants. We can leave out the noun if the meaning is clear. Just a little milk, please. Not too much. There are six chairs. Is that enough? t Other structures with too and enough After too and enough we can use a phrase with for. Their delivery times are too long for us. Have we got enough chairs for everyone? : After too and enough we can use a to infinitive. Sales are too slow to make much profit. We don't have enough time to do everything. Simply put, information technology is just not important enough on its own to generate a sustained II ...... ■ D So and such .i We use so and such fór emphasis. So with adjectives and adverbs: The meeting finished so quickly. Such a with adjective + singular noun: It was such a quick meeting Such/So many/So few with plural nouns: You have such friendly colleagues. We sold so many policies last month! Such/So much/So little with uncountable nouns: It was such good advice. I have so much work to do. 'Such a big merger has huge competitive implications' says a senior Ck'rman banking executive. (BusinessWeek Online website) i So/such and too ate different. So/such express an opinion which can be either positive or negative. Too suggests a difficulty, that something cannot be done. There are so many people involved in the project, (it's just my opinion) There are too many people involved in the project, (we need to reduce the number) So/such can be used with that to express a result. Too cannot be used with that. The meeting finished so quickly that I was home by 5.30. (NOT too quickly that) E Quite, fairly, pretty or rather! ■ Quite, fairly and pretty mean 'a medium amount'. 'Like most businesses, we're fairly cautious about what might come in the next couple of years, mainly because of Hie Asian situation.' (business review weekly web-site) i In American English pretiy is a common way of saying 'Very*, We can change the meaning of quite in British English by stressing the adjective in speech. The meaning changes to 'very'. This is called understatement. The restaurant was quite good, (normal meaning: it was OK) Trie restaurant was quite good, (understatement: it was very good) ■j. Rather also means 'a medium amount', but it often suggests that something is bad, surprising or unusual. It is more formal. It's rather late to do anything now. (It's a little too late, I'm afraid) The restaurant was rather good. (I enjoyed It, surprisingly) ';> With a comparative we can only use rather, not quite. The meeting took rather longer than I expected. (NOT quite longer) " With some adjectives quite means 'absolutely' or 'completely'. These nclude: absurd, certain, different, hopeless, impossible, ridiculous, right, sure, true, wrong. I'm quite certain about this. (= absolutely certain) Are you sure that's quite right? (= completely right) Exercise 4 D Look at Die table befow, then comome the sentences, using either so ... that ... or such ... that Match each phrase 1-8 with the phrase a)-h) with the closest meaning. Be careful - some are similar. a) It's comparatively slow. b) It's slightly slow. c) It's fairly slow. d) It's a little too slow, Cm afraid. 5 It's so slow. CD e) I want it to be even slower. 6 It's too slow, f) There's a problem. I want it to be faster. 7 It's slow enough. [~D g) It really is very slow. 8 It's not slow enough, h) OK. That's as slow as it needs to be. it's a bit slow, it's quite slow. It's rather slow. It's relatively slow. Underline the correct words. T The salary they are suggesting sounds so good/too good to be true! 2 There were so few/so little customers that I went home early. 3 We can't pull out now. There's too much/too many money involved. 4 It was such/so a boring meeting that I nearly fell asleep. 5 The meeting was such/so boring that I nearfy fell asleep. 6 I had to say 'no' - the cost was so much/too much for the budget I was given. 7 We had so much/so many new business that we needed extra staff. 8 I had so much/so many reports to write that I put the answering machine on. 9 We have so few/so little information that we can't make a decision. 10 The meeting was so short/too short to cover all the points properly. 11 Can you help me? I'm not enough tail/tall enough to reach the top shelf. 12 There isn't enough money/money enough in the budget for your idea. Complete the sentences with one of these words: too, enough, so, such, much, many, little, few. 1 Is your coffee.....1?PP.....hot? Would you like a little more milk? 2 I had..................................trouble finding somewhere to park that I arrived late. 3 I had.................................. problems finding somewhere to park that I arrived late. 4 There were.................................. replies to the last mailing that we won't do another. 5 I had..................................cash on me that I couldn't even buy a sandwich. 6 The price of their shares is...........,.....high to buy any more right now. 7 We're making.................progress that we should finish a week early. 8 We're expecting a lot of people. This room won't be large.................. 9 I couldn't do any work on the train. I was.................tired that I fell asleep. 10 She speaks.................quickly for rne to understand. 11 They pay.................late that we won't receive the money until June. 12 That's.................a good idea. It'll save us thousands of dollars. 1 a) There was a big drop in their share price1, b) 1 he drop in their share price waft very big ■i- Investors became very n;jrvous. 2 a) The advertising campaign was very successful, b) The advertising campaign was a success. 3 a) Our order processing system wcks very well b) Wo have a very good order processing system. 4 a) That company has ver/ larcje bank debts. - b> That company's bank debts are very large. 5 a) The Internet connection is very fast. b) There is a very fast Internet connection. + Sales increased by 35% per month. i Most goods are dispatched within £8 hours. + Them's a risk >x wil1. have to dose down. i-Web pages appear almost instantly. 1 a) There was JS*£_.* Mi.Mtlft-Jti.. *l*!.C..*h*(^..K^...^fl*.*l. investors became very nervous, b) The drop in their share price was —........._.. Fo.big -tViAt............._.. investors became very nervous 2 a) The advertising campaign was.....................................................sales increased by 25% per month. b) The advertising campaign was......................_..............................sates increases by 25% per month. 3 a) Our order processing system works..................,........................,..............most goads are dispatched within 48 hours, b) We have..................................-....................................- most goods are dispatched within 48 hours. 4 a) That company has.........................„...............................there's a risk it will have to dose down. b) That company's bank debts are..........................................................there's a risk it will have to dose down. 5 a) The Internet connection fs...................__.....................................Web pages appear aJmost instantly. b) There is.............................................................Web pages appear almost instantly. Exercise 5 B D Complete the second sentence so it has a similar meaning to the first sentence and contains the word in brackets 1 I didn't buy that laptop because the screen was too small, (enough) I didn't buy that laptop because ..>*WJ&K*£ft.*sJJftjpt 2 The problem was so difficult that I referred it to my line manager, (such) It.....................................................................that l referred it to my Jine manager. 3 There weren't enough copies of the agends. (few) There.....................................................................of the agenda. 4 There's not enough space on This spreadsheet for all the resute. (little) There's.........-...................................- -....................on this spreadsheet for all the results 5 It was. such a good presentation that they gave us the contract immediately, (so) Trie........................-.......................- -........-......that they gave us the contract immediately. 6 I sold too lew units last month to get a bon-ls. (enough) J.............................................................Jast mon:h to get s bonus. 7 I've got such a busy schedule that! can't meet you until next Tuesday, (so) My schedule.....................................................................that i can't meet you until next Tuesday. 3 We've sent out lots of brochures and well need1 to print some more, (many) We've sent out.....................................................................we'll need to print some more. 9 I haven't got enough time to- prepare for the meeting, (too) t've go-.....................................................................to prepare for rhp meeting.