How Do We Compare ?How Do We Compare ?

Decision Time!??

Developed by Donna Rowan for Level II

Inside Out

You need to decide….Which vacation to take

Which dress or suit to buy

Which car you like

Which boyfriend or girlfriend to date

There are Three Ways to Compare in English.There are Three Ways to Compare in English.I: We use the COMPARATIVECOMPARATIVE to compare 2 things.

John is FATTER THANFATTER THAN Jim.

OR

John is MORE SUCCESSFUL thanMORE SUCCESSFUL than Jim.

II. We use the SUPERLATIVESUPERLATIVE to compare 1 item to 2+items.

John is THE FATTEST MANTHE FATTEST MAN in the group.

OR

John is the MOST SUCCESSFULthe MOST SUCCESSFUL man in the group.

III. We use As…..AsAs…..As to compare two items equally.

John is AS SUCCESSFUL ASAS SUCCESSFUL AS Jim.

OR

John is AS FAT ASAS FAT AS Jim.

Now Let`s Take a Look at the Rules

for Each of the Ways of

Comparing.

We are going to We are going to compare compare TWOTWO

Items.Items.

Everyday we need to make decisions.Housewives: decide

what products to buy in the store.

Bold is more Bold is more effective effective

than Arielthan Ariel..

Business people: make decisions about what company to work with or who to give the job to.

Who would Who would you hire?you hire?

Why?Why?

We use adjectives to describe. Here are some adjective.

Let´s make 2 groups. What is the difference in the 2 groups?

SHORT ADJECTIVESSHORT ADJECTIVES MULTISYLLABIC MULTISYLLABIC ADJECTIVESADJECTIVES

BIGBIG BEAUTIFULBEAUTIFUL

SMALLSMALL INTERESTINGINTERESTING

CLEANCLEAN EXPENSIVEEXPENSIVE

EASYEASY BORINGBORING

DIRTYDIRTY DIFFICULTDIFFICULT

Let´s take a look at two carsLet´s take a look at two cars.

What characteristics are you interested in?What characteristics are you interested in?Are you interested in which car is faster?Are you interested in which car is faster?Are you interested in which car is more economical?Are you interested in which car is more economical?Are you interested in which car is more elegant?Are you interested in which car is more elegant?Are you interested in which car is cheaper?Are you interested in which car is cheaper?Are you interested in which car is bigger?Are you interested in which car is bigger?

Can you identify the adjectives in these Can you identify the adjectives in these questions?questions?

LET´S LOOK AT THE COMPARATIVE LET´S LOOK AT THE COMPARATIVE STRUCTURE.STRUCTURE.

WE HAVE 2 GROUPS OF ADJECTIVES. DO YOU REMEMBER THEM?Let´s look at the group of short adjectives.

ADJECTIVE + er AND Than BIG= BIGGER

than

SMALL= SMALLER than

CLEAN= CLEANER than

A Blazer is bigger than a Volkwagon.

A Fiat is smaller than a Cadillac.

A new car is cleaner than an old car.

Do you remember the multisyllabic Do you remember the multisyllabic adjectives? They are adjectives? They are longer wordslonger words that that would be would be difficult to pronouncedifficult to pronounce if we if we added more letter so what do you think we added more letter so what do you think we should do?should do? THAT’S RIGHT. WE CAN’T CHANGE THE WORD. WE PUT THAT’S RIGHT. WE CAN’T CHANGE THE WORD. WE PUT ANOTHER WORD IN FRONT OF THE ADJECTIVE. THAT WORDANOTHER WORD IN FRONT OF THE ADJECTIVE. THAT WORD

ISIS MORE than.

Remember Remember SUPERCALAFRGILISTCE

XPEALADOSHAS?

MORE + LONG ADJECTIVE THANMORE + LONG ADJECTIVE THAN

MORE BEAUTIFUL THANMORE BEAUTIFUL THANMORE DURABLE THANMORE DURABLE THANMORE ECONOMICAL THANMORE ECONOMICAL THANMORE ELEGANT THANMORE ELEGANT THAN

This is how we make This is how we make comparatives with comparatives with

multisyllable adjectives.multisyllable adjectives.

A VOLKSWAGAN IS MORE ECONOMICAL THAN A MERCEDES.A FORD IS MORE DURABLE THAN A PORCHE.A CHEVROLET IS MORE POPULAR THAN A FIAT

A VOLKSWAGAN IS MORE ECONOMICAL THAN A MERCEDES.A FORD IS MORE DURABLE THAN A PORCHE.A CHEVROLET IS MORE POPULAR THAN A FIAT

A VOLKSWAGAN IS MORE ECONOMICAL THAN A MERCEDES.A VOLKSWAGAN IS MORE ECONOMICAL THAN A MERCEDES.A FORD IS MORE DURABLE THAN A PORCHE.A FORD IS MORE DURABLE THAN A PORCHE.

A CHEVROLET IS MORE POPULAR THAN A FIATA CHEVROLET IS MORE POPULAR THAN A FIAT

Short adjectives

1-syllable adjectives old, fast

2-syllable adjectives ending in -y happy, easy

Normal rule: add '-er' old > older

Variation: if the adjective ends in -e, just add -r late > later

Variation: if the adjective ends in consonant, vowel, consonant, double the last consonant

big > bigger

Variation: if the adjective ends in -y, change the -y to -i happy > happier

Long adjectives

2-syllable adjectives not ending in -y modern, pleasant

all adjectives of 3 or more syllables expensive, intellectual

Normal rule: use 'more'modern > more modern expensive > more expensive

Some Irregular Comparatives You Some Irregular Comparatives You Need to RememberNeed to Remember

GOOD = BETTER GOOD = BETTER

BAD = WORSEBAD = WORSE

FAR = FAR = FARTHER/FURTHERFARTHER/FURTHER

NOW:

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

COST

NO.

MODELS

FEATURE

S

MILAGE

MERCEDES

VOLKSWAGON

Comparisions of Mercedes-Benz and Comparisions of Mercedes-Benz and VolkswagonVolkswagon

Do you have any of these adjectives?

FAST BEAUTIFUL

CHEAP ECONOMICAL

BIG DURABLE

SAFE ELEGANT

CLEAN MODERN

What others do you have?

Superlative Superlative

AdjectivesAdjectives

We use the SUPERLATIVE to Compare one Item one Item

to 2 or more.to 2 or more.

Remember : Separate the Long and Short AdjectivesRemember : Separate the Long and Short Adjectives

SHORT ADJECTIVES FORM SUPERLATIVE

THE + ADJECTIVE+ESTTHE + ADJECTIVE+EST

The biggestThe biggest

The happiestThe happiest

The smallestThe smallest

The blue whale is the biggest animal in the world.The blue whale is the biggest animal in the world.

John is the happiest boy in the class.John is the happiest boy in the class.

Susan has the smallest hands in her family.Susan has the smallest hands in her family.

Here’s how we change the long Here’s how we change the long adjectives to superlativeadjectives to superlative

The + MOST + AdjectiveThe + MOST + Adjective

The most beautifulThe most beautiful

The most economicalThe most economical

The most popularThe most popular

Marilyn Monroe was the most beautiful woman in the world.Marilyn Monroe was the most beautiful woman in the world.

Walking is the most economical means of transportation.Walking is the most economical means of transportation.

Brad Pitt is the most popular male actor this year.Brad Pitt is the most popular male actor this year.

Here is a chart showing the SUPERLATIVE form :

One Syllable Adjectives place 'the' before the adjective and add '-est' to end of the adjective

(Note: double the final consonant if preceded by a vowel) Example: cheap - the cheapest / hot - the hottest / high - the highest Example Sentences : Today is the hottest day of the summer.

This book is the cheapest I can find.

Two, Three or More Syllable Adjectives place 'the most' before the adjective

Example: interesting - the most interesting / difficult - the most difficult Example Sentences : London is the most expensive city in England.

That is the most beautiful painting here.

Two Syllable Adjectives Ending in '-y' place 'the' before the adjective and remove the 'y' from the adjective and add 'iest'

Example: happy - the happiest / funny - the funniest Example Sentences : New York is the noisiest city in the USA. He is the most important person I know.

COMPARISON OF ADJECTIVES IRREGULAR COMPARATIVES AND SUPERLATIVESThese adjectives have completely irregular comparative and superlative forms:

Adjective Comparative Superlative

good better best

bad worse worst

little less least

much more most

far further / farther furthest / farthest

  Earth Mars Jupiter  

1.Diameter (km) 12,760 6,790 142,800

2.Distance from Sun (million km)

150 228 778

3.Length of day (hours)

24 25 10

4. Moons 1 2 16

5. Surface temp.(°C)

22 -23 -150

1. Jupiter is the biggestthe biggest planet.

OR

Jupiter has the biggestthe biggest diameter.

2.Jupiter is the most the most distantdistant from the sun.

OR

Jupiter is the longest the longest distancedistance from the sun.

3. Mars has the longest day.the longest day.

OR

Mars has the most the most hourshours in a day.

4. Jupiter has the most the most moons.moons.

Jupiter has the shortest the shortest day.day.

OR

Jupiter has the least hoursthe least hours in a day.in a day.

Earth is the smallestthe smallest planet.planet.

OR

Earth has the smallestthe smallest diameter.diameter.

Earth is the leastthe least distantdistant.

OR

Earth is the shortestthe shortest distance.distance.

Earth has the least the least moons.moons.

5. Earth has the warmestthe warmest temperature. Jupiter has the coldestthe coldest temperature.

Robert Pershing Wadlow

He was 8 feet 11 inches and weighed 490 pounds.

http://www.altonweb.com/history/wadlow/

Jeanne Louise Calment

122 Years old.

http://www.wowzone.com/calment.htm

Buying a Pet Are you interested in buying a pet?  What kind of pet should you buy?  If you want to play with the pet, buy a dog.  Dogs make wonderful pets.  They are affectionate and playful animals and they can even protect your house.

If you want a quieter animal that will cuddle with you on the sofa while you watch TV, buy a cat.  Cats are clean animals and you don't need to take them out for a walk like you do for a dog.

If you're allergic to animal hair or you live in a smaller place, try a small caged animal such as a hamster.  Hamsters are easy to care for and they won't wake the neighbors. 

Mice and guinea pigs are other small caged animals that are very popular. 

Birds also make great pets.  A bird cage can fit even in the smallest of apartments.  They can wake you up in the morning with their beautiful song.  

Want a pet that requires very little care, is small, and is very quiet?  Try buying a fish.  Watching fish swim around in an aquarium is very relaxing.

Pets can bring a lot of happiness into your life but remember that having a pet is a big responsibility.  Make sure that the pet fits into your lifestyle.  If you love and care for them, they will give you their affection in return.   

Write superlative sentences about the animals from the story.

Write the pet names and the adjectives on a piece of paper.dogsdogscatscats

hamstershamstersbirdsbirdsfishfish

example quiet 

1. playful

2. easy to care for

3. clean

4. beautiful singers

Fish are the quietestthe quietest pets.

Dogs are THE MOST PLAYFULTHE MOST PLAYFUL pets.

Cats are THE CLEANESTTHE CLEANEST animals.

DON’T REPEAT

Birds are THE MOST BEAUTIFULTHE MOST BEAUTIFUL singers

Hamsters are THE EASIEST TO CARE FORTHE EASIEST TO CARE FOR pet.

1.  What's the largest animal?           a) elephant

           b) whale           c) giraffe

2.  What's the fastest animal?           a) elephant

           b) horse           c) cheetah

3.  What's the largest fish?           a) shark           b) whale

           c) cheetah

 

4.  What's the largest bird?           a) ostrich           b) condor           c) giraffe

5.  What's the tallest animal?           a) giraffe           b) elephant           c) ostrich

We use AS……….ASAS……….AS when we are comparing two things that are equal equal and we can also use it to

make SIMILES.SIMILES.

How do we use Comparatives - As...As?

The structure "as...as" is used to compare things that are equal.compare things that are equal. For example:

- Jennifer is 163cm and Tony is 163cm. Jennifer is as tall as Tony.- Bach's music is as good as Mozart's.

"as...as" can also be used in negatives and questions.negatives and questions. For example:

The Amazon isn't as long as the Nile.The second movie wasn't as good as the first.

Is Japan as expensive as England?

"as...as" can also be used to show an extreme amount.show an extreme amount.The amount you eat is "equal" to the amount you want.

- "Eat as much as you want." - Study as hard as possible.

The blouse is ____________ grass.

Her eyes are ____________ the sky.

John is __________ Jim.

The boys are ____________ the girls.

John

Jim

USE AS…..ASUSE AS…..ASas green asas green as

as blue asas blue as

as tall asas tall as

as smart asas smart as

as white as snow as smooth as silkas slow as molasses

as old as the hills

as free as a bird

as nutty as a fruitcake

as light as a feather

as cold as ice as blind as a bat as black as coal

1. The night was

2. Her hateful eyes were

3. Without my glasses, I am

4. The sheets on the bed looked

5. The bicycle looks heavy, but it feels

6. Paragliding is about the closest one can get to being

7. My computer is very fast at times, and at other times it is

8. When I was a child, a man of seventy seemed to me to be

9. After using our body lotion, your skin is guaranteed to feel 10. The man acted so oddly that his neighbors considered him to be

as black as coal.as black as coal.

as cold as iceas cold as ice

as blind as a bat.as blind as a bat.

as light as a feather.as light as a feather.

as free as a bird.as free as a bird.

as slow as molasses.as slow as molasses.

as old as the hills.as old as the hills.

as soft as silk.as soft as silk.as nutty as a as nutty as a fruitcake.fruitcake.

as white as snow.as white as snow.

Q1 - It's better ____ I thought.1. as2. then3. than4. like

Q2 - Brazil is _____ England.1. biger than2. bigger as3. bigger than4. biger as

Q3 - She is _____ in the class1. the best2. best3. better than4. as good as

Q4 - I'm not as successful ___ she is.1. as2. like3. than4. then

Q5 - It was ______ expensive restaurant I've ever been to.1. more2. the more3. most4. the most

Q6 - I'd like some ____ information.1. farther2. further3. Either could be used here.

Q7 - It's ____ art collection in Europe.1. finer2. finest3. the finer4. the finest

Q8 - It was ____ than I was expecting.1. cheaper2. cheapest3. Either could be used here.

Q9 - This is the ______ kitchen I've ever seen.1. dirtyest2. dirtiest3. Either could be used here.

Q10 - Which is ____ of the two?1. more difficult2. most difficult3. Either could be used here.

Q11 - She finished ____ than everyone else.1. more quickly2. quicker3. Either could be used here.

Q12 - The underground is ____ buses. 1. more expensive2. most expensive3. the most expensive4. more expensive than

Q13 - The plane would be _____ than the coach.1. more quickly2. quicker3. Either could be used here.

Q14 - It was ____ test I have ever done.1. the most hard2. the hardest3. Either could be used here.

Q15 - There were ____ people at the game than expected.1. most2. more3. many

CAN YOU ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS?CAN YOU ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS?

HERE ARE THE ANSWERS.HERE ARE THE ANSWERS.

How well did you do?Column One

Q1. 3

Q2. 3

Q3. 1

Q4. 1

Q5. 4

Column Two

Q 6. 3

Q7. 4

Q8. 1

Q9. 2

Q10. 1

Column Three

Q11. 3

Q12. 4

Q13. 2

Q14. 2

Q15. 2