Adjectives and adverbs: comparative and superlative forms
Comparatives: -er vs more/less...than
We usually add -er to one-syllable adjectives and adverbs to make their comparative form. However, we use more + adjective -ú with one-syllable past participle adjectives (see Unit 69) such as bored, creased, pleased, w
G After I'd ironed my shirt it looked more creased than before, (not ...creaseder...) ■ü with fun, real, right and wrong:
D I expected the film to be rather dull, but I couldn't have been more wrong, (not ...wron ■fr when we are comparing two qualities:
D 'Don't you think Carl was brave to go bungee jumping?' 'Personally, I thought he was
more mad than brave.' D Although the paint was called 'Sky blue', I thought it was more green than blue. We can also use '...he wasn't so much brave as mad' and '...it was blue rather than green
We can sometimes use more as an alternative to the -er form to emphasise the comparison:
D You might think it's dark here but it's more dark in the cellar, (or ...darker...) Other adjectives used like this include clear, cold, fair, rough, soft, true.
Some adjectives with two syllables are most commonly used with more/less, particularly participle adjectives (e.g. worried, boring); adjectives ending in -ful and -less (e.g. careful, careless); afraid, alert, alike, alone, ashamed, aware; and some other adjectives, including a ' cautious, certain, complex, direct, eager, exact, formal, frequent, modern, special, recent. M two-syllable adjectives ending -y, -ow, -er and -ure can take either an -er or the more + adject« form, although the -er form is more frequently used.
Some adjectives (such as complete, equal, favourite, ideal, perfect, unique) have a comparative or superlative meaning so they are not often used with -er/-est or more/less/most/least. However, we can use comparative or superlative forms for special emphasis or for a particular communicative purpose:
D The weather today was good, but less perfect than yesterday.
Superlatives
We usually use the, a possessive form (with -'s), or a possessive pronoun before a superlative adjective or adverb. In informal contexts we sometimes leave out the before an -est or most* adjective superlative after a linking verb, particularly when the superlative is at the end oft sentence:
D 'Why did you go by bus?' 'It was (the) cheapest.'         D Which was (the) most ex
However, we can't leave out the when we go on to say what group of things is being com
D 'Why did you buy these oranges?' 'They were the cheapest ones I could find.' (not were cheapest ones...)
When most + adjective/adverb is used without the, most means something like 'very': G Did you see how she looked at you? It was most peculiar. (= very peculiar) D I checked the form most carefully (= very carefully) but didn't notice the mistake,
After a superlative we use of + a plural noun phrase to name the objects being compar
D John's the oldest of my three brothers. Notice that we can put the of-phrase at the beginning to emphasise it:
D Of my three brothers, John's the oldest.
When we give the location or context within which the comparison is made we usually a singular noun phrase:
D It was the tallest tree in the forest, (not ...the tallest tree of the forest.)
Grammar review: -* L7-L8
í and
Exercises
Unit 72
rati ve form.
;ed, pleased, worn:
aseder...)
g. (not ...wronger.)
thought he was
;han blue.
ather than green\
e comparison: trker...)
particularly (e.g. careful, /es, including active, )ecial, recent. Most the more + adjectiv<
íave a comparative
/most/least.
i or for a particular
172.1   Underline the correct or more likely alternative. If both are possible, notice the difference between them. (A)
1  It was almost as if the wolf was more scared/ scareder of us than we were of it.
2  The river was more deep/ deeper than I expected so I decided to turn back.
3  I think I'd describe her as more pretty/ prettier than beautiful.
4  He had always seemed unfriendly, but now they were alone he seemed even more cold/ colder.
5  I bought this tennis racket because it's more strong/ stronger.
6  As a politician I often receive threats, but some are more real/ realer than others.
7  There were two routes up the hill, but as we had lots of time we took the more long/ longer, more winding/ windinger one.
8  Sam isn't a bad boy really. He's more naughty/ naughtier than dishonest.
9  Although a different speaker began to talk, I felt even more bored/ boreder than before.
10  The exam was more hard/ harder than I thought it would be.
11  We need to take responsibility for elderly neighbours, and in a cold winter like this it is more true! truer than ever.
12  If the critics were wrong about Willis's first novel, they couldn't have been more right/ righter about her second.
Complete the sentences with an appropriate comparative adjective, using an -er or more + adjective form. Indicate where both forms are possible. (B)
alert             clever        complex       dirty            exciting       pleasant
powerful       recent       useless          wealthy       worried
1  I may not be much of a cook, but Brian is even....................................in the kitchen than I am.
2  Most research in this area uses simple interviews, but we used a....................................methodology.
3  1 didn't do well at school, and my fellow students all seemed....................................than me.
4  The film starts slowly, but gets....................................after the first half hour.
5  Neil is already rich, but his aim in life seems to be to become even.....................................
6  1 was concerned when John didn't phone to say he'd be late, but I was even....................................
when he didn't come at all that night.
? 'This painting is from the 17th century.' 'Really? It looks....................................than that.'
o The walk was quite enjoyable, but if the sun had been shining it would have been
fore a superlative ; an -est or most + is at the end of a
(the) most expensive? ;s is being compared uld find: (not They
like 'very': culiar) the mistake.
:ing compared:
we usually u
12.2
9  When I took the washing out of the machine it looked....................................than when it went in.
10  For an extra $500 you could buy a much....................................motorbike.
Curiously, many people say they feel mentally....................................if they eat very little for a day.
But brackets around the if it can be left out in these sentences. (C)
1  It was the sweetest orange I'd eaten for ages.
2  Ann and Clara were both excellent musicians, but Clara was the most creative.
3  He's the fastest runner in his class.
4 We get lots of birds in our garden, but blackbirds are the most common.
5  'Shall we go by train or car?' 'Well, going by bus is actually the easiest.'
f Complete the sentences with in or of. (D)
1 The building is said to be the highest....................................Europe.
The Democrats are the smallest....................................the four main political parties.
he hotel enjoys the most spectacular setting....................................any on the south coast.
For many people, it is the most important day....................................the whole year.
i She's without doubt the best swimmer....................................my school.
145
Key to Exercises
71.3
1   /
2   ...to me in a friendly way/ manner/ fashion.
3   / (or ...fine...)
4   ...flatly refused.
5   / ('...very clear' is also possible in informal contexts)
6   ... in a cowardly way/ manner/ fashion...
7   ...justly renowned.
8   ...slowly turned...
9   'thinly' is grammatically correct, but some people would use 'thin' in informal contexts
10   ...loudly applauded...
UNIT 72
72.1
1   more scared
2   deeper or more deep (for emphasis)
3   more pretty
4   colder or more cold (for emphasis)
5   stronger
6   more real
7   longer; more winding
8   more naughty
9   more bored
10   harder
11   truer or more true (for emphasis)
12   more right
72.2
1   more useless
2   more complex
3   more clever or cleverer (more usual)
4   more exciting
5   more wealthy or wealthier (more usual)
6   more worried
7   more recent
8   more pleasant or pleasanter (more usual)
9   more dirty or dirtier (more usual)
10   more powerful
11   more alert
72.3
'the' can be left out in 2, 4 and 5.
72.4
1    in
2    of
3    of
4    in or of (both are possible)
5    in
UNIT 73
73.1
2    The Downtown Hotel is not such a pleasant place to stay as the Strand Hotel, or The Downtown Hotel is not as pleasant a place to stay as the Strand Hotel.
3    The President's address to the nation is as important a speech as he is ever likely to make in his career.
270
4    It wasn't such a big problem as I first thought, or It wasn't as big a problem as I first thought.
5    Theresa's dog is as ferocious an animal as I've ever seen.
6    She's not such a fluent Greek speaker as she claims to be. or She's not as fluent a Greek speaker as she claims to be.
73.2
1    as many as      5    as little as
2    as few as         6   as few as
3    as much as       7   as little as
4    As many as      8    as much as
73.3
2  + a Her handwriting was so
untidy as to be nearly illegible.
3  + e The bookcase was so heavy
as to be almost impossible to move.
4  + c The CD was so badly
scratched as to be unplayable.
5  + f The plot of the novel was so
complicated as to be completely incomprehensible.
6  + b The difference between the
results was so small as to be insignificant.
73.4
1    How serious an injury
2    as serious as
3    bad enough to
4    y or not as fit as
5    not such a good player as or not as good a player as
6    go so far as to say
7    sufficiently well or well enough
8    as speedy a recovery as possible
UNIT 74
74.1
1   I expect Sue to win the race easily.
2   He regretted missing the concert greatly, or He greatly regretted missing the concert.
3   I secretly hated playing the piano... (more likely than T hated playing the piano secretly, although my parents thought I loved it.' This would mean that my parents thought I loved playing the piano secretly.)
4   He calmly started to walk across... or He started to walk calmly across...
5   She kindly offered to do the work.
6   Ray hurriedly finished speaking and sat down, or Ray finished speaking hurriedly and sat down.
7   I simply don't remember putting it down.
8   We look forward to hearing from you soon.
9   They deliberately tried to ignore me. or They tried to ignore me deliberately.
10  I don't pretend to understand the instructions completely.
74.2
2   She waited nervously until her name was called, (manner + time)
3   The road climbed steeply through the mountains, (more likely than ...through the mountains steeply) (manner + place)
4   As a punishment she had to be at school early for the next two weeks, (adverb + prepositional phrase; both time)
5   As I left, I locked the door securely, (object + adverb)
6   We're travelling around Australia during the summer, (place + time)
7   The house is by the river, just downstream from the bridge, (adverb + prepositional phrase; both place)
8   She was able to describe accurately the exact details of the house where she had lived as a baby, (adverb + long object)
9   In hospital she had to lie for a week with her right leg suspended in mid air. (time (short) + manner (long))
10   He swam rapidly for a few minutes and then got out of the pool, (manner + time)
11   If you leave now, you should be at home by nine o'clock, (place + time)
12   They enjoyed themselves immensely at the party, (object + manner + place)
74.3
2    y or Next, vigorously beat the eggs in a small bowl. (Both of these are more likely than Next, beat the eggs in a small bowl vigorously).
3    I thought I'd securely locked the luggage, or I thought I'd locked the luggage securely.
4    I stopped playing tennis regularly... (more likely)
5    / or Rafter was beaten easily in the final./ Rafter was beaten in the final easily.
6    She always brings sandwiches from home.
7    No, they moved away last year.
8    The local residents welcomed warmly the decision... or The local residents warmly welcomed the decision...
9   /
UNIT 75
75.1
2   a
I was brought up to earn money honestly... Honestly, I'm perfectly capable of putting up the shelf myself. She admitted frankly... Frankly, I went to sleep during his lecture..