THE COMPARISON OF THE ADJECTIVE

THE COMPARISON OF THE ADJECTIVE

Adjectivul din limba englez nu se schimb dup gen, numr i caz. Singurul mod de marcare formal este COMPARATIA. Categoria gramatical a comparaiei este concretizat n limba englez, ca i n romn, n trei grade de comparaie:

GRADUL POZITIV nemarcat arat prezena normal a unei caliti a obiectelor, fr a se face vreo comparaie: He is tall. She is beautiful.

GRADUL COMPARATIV compar dou obiecte, indicnd prezena calitii la obiectele comparate - n msur egal - comparativul de egalitate: He is as tall as his sister.

- n msur inegal comparativul de superioritate: I am younger than her.

inferioritate: This lesson is less interesting than the previous one. / Grandma is not as old as Grandpa.

GRADUL SUPERLATIV arat c un membru al unui grup posed calitatea comparat n cel mai nalt grad, prin intermediul

unei comparaii directe superlativul relativ: She is the cleverest of all. sau fr comparaie direct superlativul absolut: She is very clever. Atentie ! Atunci cnd se compar numai dou noiuni se folosete gradul comparativ precedat de articolul the n locul superlativului:

She is the younger and the more beautiful of the two sisters.

He lives in the newer part of the town. (El locuiete n zona cea mai nou a oraului. Se

consider c oraul are dou zone.)

I took the bigger box.(Am luat cutia cea mai mare.- Nu erau dect dou: una mare i una mic.)Pentru a forma gradele de comparaie ale adjectivelor n limba englez, trebuie s le mprim n trei categorii: a) adjective scurte (adjectivele monosilabice i bisilabice); b) adjective lungi (formate din trei sau mai multe silabe); c) adjective neregulate.

A. COMPARATIA ADJECTIVELOR SCURTEGRADUL POZITIVGRADUL COMPARATIVGRADUL SUPERLATIV

Adjectiv + - erthe adjectiv + - est

small smallerthe smallest

Shortshorterthe shortest

big *biggerthe biggest

Thinthinnerthe thinnest

Fatfatterthe fattest

dry **drier the driest

dirty dirtierthe dirtiest

Funnyfunnierthe funniest

nice ***nicerthe nicest

Freefreerthe freest

clever****clevererthe cleverest

Gentlegentlerthe gentlest

Simplesimplerthe simplest

Narrownarrowerthe narrowest

*adjectivele terminate ntr-o consoan precedat de o vocal scurt dubleaz consoana

**adjectivele terminate n y precedat de o consoan transform pe y n i***adjectivele terminate n e sau ee pierd pe e final naintea lui er sau est.

**** unele adjective bisilabice (common, gentle, handsome, mature, narrow, pleasant, polite, simple, stupid, subtle, etc) pot forma comparativul i superlativul cu ajutorul ambelor reguli.

Eager, proper, fertile, hostile, fragile, se compar numai cu more i the most.

B. COMPARATIA ADJECTIVELOR LUNGI

GRADUL POZITIVGRADUL COMPARATIVGRADUL SUPERLATIV

MORE +Adjectiv THE MOST + adjectiv

Carefulmore carefulthe most careful

Difficultmore difficultthe most difficult

Boringmore boringthe most boring

bored more boredthe most bored

C. COMPARATIA ADJECTIVELOR neregulate

GRADUL POZITIVGRADUL COMPARATIVGRADUL SUPERLATIV

goodbetterthe best

bad / illworse the worst

much / manymore the most

late*laterthe latest / the last

old **older elderthe oldest (of people and things)the eldest (of people only)

near = aproapenearer = mai apropiat

(n spaiu, rudenie)the nearest = cel mai apropiatthe next = urmtorul (in timp, ordine)

littlelessthe least

far ***fartherfurtherthe farthest (of distance only)the furthest (of distance and time)

* late =trziu later = mai trziu, mai recent

the latest = cel mai trziu / recent

the latter = cel de-al doilea (dintre

2 elemente), acesta din urm // opus lui the formerthe last = ultimul (din mai multe elemente) opus lui the first

The late edition of this paper appears at 3 p.m. There is a later one at 5 p.m.

John and Tom are tall boys: the former is the captain of the basketball team and the latter is a good footballer. Whats the latest news? (Care sunt ultimele tiri?) His last novel is still unpublished. (Ultimul su roman este nc nepublicat.)

** old = btrn, vechi

older = mai btrn / vechithe oldest = cel mai btrn / vechi

elder = mai n vrst

the eldest = cel mai n vrst

(despre membrii aceleiasi familii, folosit atributiv, opus lui younger)

!!!!! elder nu poate fi folosit inainte de than: My brother is older than me. (Fratele meu e mai mare dect mine.)

My elder brother is a doctor. (Fratele meu mai mare este doctor.)

She is my eldest sister. ( Ea este sora mea cea mai mare.)

*** far

farther ( mai deprtat) the farthest

- further ( mai deprtat) - the farthest

suplimentar, adiional, n plus

I cant walk any farther / further. = Nu mai pot merge departe.

Formarea comparativului de egalitate: as .. asComparativul de egalitate se exprim prin adjectivul la gradul pozitiv precedat i urmat de conjuncia as :

My room is as large as hers. (Camera mea este la fel de / tot asa de mare ca a ei.)

Formarea comparativului de inferioritate:

Adjectivul la gradul comparativ precedat de not so /as i urmat de as:not as / so .. as = nu aa de ca ..

My homework is not as easy as yours. (Tema mea nu este la fel de uoar ca a ta.)

The weather is not so bad as it was yesterday.

adjectivul la gradul pozitiv precedat de less than (procedeu folosit mai ales cu adjectivele lungi i n exprimarea scurt):less . than . = mai puin .. dectMy composition is less interesting than hers. (Compunerea mea este mai puin interesant dect a ei.)

Atentie! * nu uitai s folosii THAN (dect) la gradul comparativ, atunci cnd termenul comparaiei este exprimat:

He is more punctual than the others.

** Exist o diferen ntre engleza formal i cea familiar:

Formal: than / as + I / he/ she/ we/ they + verb

Familiar: than / as + me / him /her / us / them

Formal

Familiar

You are as tall as I am.

You are as tall as me.

Bill is older than she is.

Bill is older than her.

He got angrier than we did.

He got angrier than us. INTARIREA COMPARATIEI ADJECTIVELOR

MUCH / FAR asezate naintea adjectivului la comparativ:

BY FAR aezat dup comparativ

This book is much more interesting than the other books he has written.

far more interesting

more interesting by far

(Cartea aceasta este mult mai interesant dect celelalte cri pe care le-a scris.)

Construcia DIN CE IN CE MAI , TOT MAI = comparativ AND comparativ

It is colder and colder. (Este din ce n ce mai frig.)

The old man felt worse and worse. (Btrnul se simea din ce n ce mai ru.)

Dac adjectivul este lung, se repet adverbul more /less i se intercaleaz AND:

His lectures are more and more interesting.

Your stories are less and less credible. (tot mai puin credibile.)

Acelai sens se red n stilul oficial i n scris prin folosirea adverbului ever n faa comparativului:

The books published in this country are ever more interesting.

Comparativul Dublu ( cu ct + comparativ + cu att + comparativ )

the + comparativ + THE + al doilea comparativ

The more I see him, the less I like him. (Cu ct l vd mai mult, cu att mi displace mai tare.)

The bigger a house is, the more difficult is to look after. (Cu ct o cas este mai mare, cu att este mai greu de ngrijit.)

The longer the days, the shorter the nights. (Cu ct sunt zilele mai lungi, cu att sunt nopile mai scurte.)

SUPERLATIVUL DE INFERIORITATE: the least This is the least important of our problems. (Aceasta este cea mai puin important dintre problemele noastre.) SUPERLATIVUL ABSOLUT se construiete cu ajutorul adverbelor very, too, highly, extremely, utterly, fantastically, incredibly, terribly, etc + gradul pozitiv al adjectivului:

They were confronted with extremely high temperatures.

THE + adjectiv la superlativ + OF / IN = pentru a exprima superioritatea sau inferioritatea. OF pentru a indica un grup de oameni sau obiecte.

IN pentru aindica un loc.

This is the oldest book in the library.

He is the naughtiest boy in the class.

This book is the best of /in the series. Pentru a face o comparatie cu superlative putem folosi si o propozitie relativa, cu un verb la Present / Past Perfect.It is the least attractive of all the houses I have seen.This is the best beer (that) I have ever drunk.

This was the worst film (that) he had ever seen.

He is the kindest man I have ever met.

!!! Aceeasi ide poate fi exprimata folosindu-se NEVER + comparativul:

I have never drunk better beer.

I have never met a kinder man.PAGE 3