Comparison of Adjectives and Adverbs

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Unit 6 Adjectives, Adverbs & Comparisons

Objectives

1. To be able to perceive what Adjectives, Adverbs and Comparisons are

2. To be able to apply Adjectives, Adverbs and Comparisons in various contexts

3. To be able to communicate in English with correct Adjectives, Adverbs and

Comparisons in various contexts

6.1 Adjectives

Adjectives describe people and things. They have only one form; they don’t change for

singular or plural nouns. They can:

1.come before the noun they modify.

Sally is a diligent student.

He is a rich man.

2.come after verb to be.

They are hungry.

3.come after verbs which are called ‘linking verb’: seem, sound, stay , show, grow, taste,

turn, become, look, remain, keep, get , set, smell, feel, appear etc.

The food here tastes good.

She feels wonderful.

Order of Adjectives

1.Adjectives can be separated with a comma (,) if there are two adjectives before a noun.

He is a tall, handsome man.

2.We use ‘and’ to separate two adjectives when they are not in front of a noun.

He is tall and handsome.

3.If there are more than one adjective, we use this general order. Please note that a noun

can also function as adjective.

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Determiner

Opinion /Quality

size

Age

Shape

Temperature

Color

Where it come

from / Nationality

What it is made of

/ Material

What it is for

A noun

an interesting large

old round cold black Italian leather tennis

ball

Adjectives ending in ‘-ing’ and ‘-ed’

1.We use adjectives that end with ‘-ing’ to describe a thing or person that makes us have a

feeling.

Dan was very shocked after someone had broken into Dan’s house.

2.We use adjectives that end with ‘-ed’ to describe people’s feeling.

It was very shocking someone had broken into Dan’s house.

Note There are adjectives that look like adverbs but they are not: friendly, lovely, lonely, likely,

lively, silly and ugly.

She isfriendly.

Exercise 1 Complete each sentence with the correct adjectives.

solid

proper

extraordinary

boring

ill

amazed

wonderful

careful

excellent

furious

1. The blocks are made of _______________ cement, and are really heavy.

2. My boss was very _______________ when I spoke to him today, so obviously there's

something wrong.

3. The weather looks _______________ today. Why don't we go out for a picnic?

4. Practicing _______________ exercise is a good way to keep healthy.

5. The party was really _______________; I wish I'd stayed home.

6.Seeing two lions fighting over the female one was an _______________ experience.

7. She has been seriously _______________ since last Tuesday.

8. I was _______________ at how fast he was talking.

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9. He is a ________________ driver.

10. Max is an ______________singer.

Exercise 2 Complete the text with the given adjectives.

afraid

fierce

beautiful

busy

curious

stout

brown

large

sharp

old

We were walking along the (1) _________________ street when we saw a crowd not far

from the (2) _________________ entrance of the shopping mall. I was (3) _________________

to know why people were so nervous. I peeped over the (4) _________________ shoulders of a

young man and I saw a (5)_________________ dog in front of the enormous building. It was

waiting impatiently for its master. The passersby were (6) _________________ of the shiny, (7)

_________________ teeth that it showed when it grinned. An (8) _________________ lady

suggested us to call the police so we did immediately. A (9) _________________ policeman soon

appeared in a (10) _________________ uniform. He then called the pet control division and soon

the situation was under control.

Note Adapted from http://www.myenglishpages.com/site_php_files/vocabulary-exercise-adjectives.php (retrieved October 29, 2017)

Exercise 3 Underline the correct form of adjectives.

There are some students who feel (1) depressed / depressing by studying, especially

subjects which they may find (2) confused / confusing. They often leave their work until the last

minute, and then find the amount they have to do is simply (3) exhausted /exhausting, or they are

(4) embarrassed / embarrassing to admit that they need help. They simply become more and more

(5) worried /worrying, and then work even less than before. Or they blame the school system,

because the subjects they are studying are just not (6) interested / interesting. However, you may

be (7) surprised / surprising to know that very few students feel this way, according to the research.

In fact, most students don’t find school work (8) annoyed / annoying at all. They are usually (9)

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excited /exciting by the subjects they are studying, and they feel (10) satisfied / satisfying when

they do something well.

Note. From Macmillan English Grammar in Context (p.139), by V. Micheal, 2008, Oxford: Macmillan.

Exercise 4 Put the words into the correct order.

1. We live in / new / a / nice / house.

___________________________________________________________________________

2. A / old / dirty / dog / black / is walking along the streets.

___________________________________________________________________________

3. I saw / an / American / old / interesting / movie / at home.

___________________________________________________________________________

4. It was such / sunny / a / lovely / day / that we decided to take a walk.

___________________________________________________________________________

5. Last week, I visited a / little / old / lovely / village / in a country site.

___________________________________________________________________________

6. The umbrella is / and / red / yellow.

___________________________________________________________________________

7. A / shiny / Italian / sports / new / car / was parked in the parking lot.

___________________________________________________________________________

8. There is a / square / wooden / beautiful / table / in the dining room.

___________________________________________________________________________

9. It may rain! There are / black / big / clouds / in the sky.

___________________________________________________________________________

10. My niece has / black / long / beautiful / hair.

___________________________________________________________________________

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6.2 Adverbs

An adverb describes an action (a verb), saying how, when or where something happens.

Adverbs can:

1.modify a verb.

David sings loudly in the bathroom.

2.modify an adjective.

My mother is very beautiful.

3.modify an adverb.

David sings extremely loudly in the bathroom.

Form

1.We can add ‘-ly’ to adjectives to transform them into adverbs of manner (how).

Adjectives end with ‘-e’ drop ‘-e’. Adjectives ends with ‘-y’, change ‘-y’ to ‘-i’.

Adjectives end with ‘-ic’ add ‘-ally’.

careful

carefully

beautiful

beautifully

comfortable

comfortably

possible

possibly

happy

happily

easy

easily

fantastic

fantastically

dramatic

dramatically

2.Some adverbs have an irregular form.

good

well

3.Adjective and adverb with the same form. A number of adverbs have the same form as

adjectives.

Adjective

Adverb

fast

fast

far

far

low

low

long

long

straight

straight

enough

enough

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4.However, some adverbs have two forms of adverbs but differ in meaning.

Adjective

Adverb

(meaning)

Adverb

(meaning)

high

high (place)

highly

(figurative)

hard

hard

hardly

(=seldom)

late

late

lately

(=recently)

deep

deep (place)

deeply (feeling)

most

most

mostly

(=usually)

near

near

nearly

(=almost)

pretty

pretty

(=rather)

prettily

short

short

shortly (=soon)

Adjective

Adverb

hourly

hourly

daily

daily

monthly

monthly

weekly

weekly

yearly

yearly

early

early

little

little

much

much

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TYPE

1.Adverbs of manner describe the manner of an action or the way the action happens:

carefully, angrily, nicely, etc.

My grandfather walks carefully.

2.Adverbs of time state the time when the action happens: soon, late, today, tonight,

tomorrow, early, yesterday, etc.

I woke up early this morning.

3.Adverbs of place state the place where the action happens: here, there, inside, outside,

top, ahead, somewhere, beneath, etc.

Please bring the plate here.

4.Adverbs of frequency state the frequency (how often) or how many times the action

occurs: always, often, usually, generally, sometimes, at time, from time to time,

occasionally, hardly, rarely, scarcely, seldom, again and again, never and etc.

I hardly meet my old friends from high school.

100% 90%

80%

70%

30%

10%

5% 0%

always usually normally often

sometimes

rarely hardly ever never

5.Adverbs of degree explain the level or intensity of a verb, adjective, or even another

adverb: absolutely, completely, entirely, almost, exactly, extremely, nearly, very, so,

fairly, slightly, quite, just, only, too, enough, etc.

The students had completely finished the work before going back home.

Exercise 1 Fill in the blanks with the correct adverb.

1. Sarah is careful. She drives (careful) _____________________.

2. The old woman is slow. She walks (slow) _____________________.

3. His German is perfect. He speaks German (perfect) _____________________.

4. Our father is angry. He shouts (angry) _____________________.

5. My neighbor is a famous speaker. He is known (global) _____________________.

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6. He is a bad writer. He writes (bad) _____________________.

7. Jane is a nice piano player. She plays the piano (nice) _____________________..

8. He is a good swimmer. He swims (good) _____________________..

9. My daughter is a quiet girl. She does her homework (quite)_____________________..

10. This exercise is easy. I can do it (easy) _____________________.

Exercise 2 Put the adverb in brackets into the most appropriate space in the sentence.

1. I _______________go _______________to bed before midnight. (usually)

2. I _______________have _______________been abroad. (never)

3. I_______________ take _______________a bath twice a day. (always)

4. I _______________was _______________impressed with the play. (very)

5. I watch _______________Japanese movies_______________. (occasionally)

6. You can see a lot of _______________flowers_______________. (there)

7. I _______________have _______________finished with my households. (almost)

8. I think I should_______________ take_______________ a long holiday. (sometimes)

9. He _______________is_______________ late for any meeting. (seldom)

10. She _______________is _______________the right person for the job. (exactly)

Exercise 3 Decide whether the words underlined are acting as adjectives or adverbs.

1. Some people think modern paintings are ‘difficult’.

_______________

2. They find them confusing because they are not ‘picture’.

_______________

3. They say that a good photograph would be better.

_______________

4. At least, they say, a photo does show the real world.

_______________

5. It’s also hard to persuade them that the artist worked hard.

_______________

6. Some modern painting could easily have been painted by a child.

_______________

7. Artists sometimes make the situation more difficult.

_______________

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8. They write explanations of their work which can seem unnecessary. _______________

9. They may not seem to have very much connection with the art.

_______________

10. Still, if the work seems interesting then it is worth looking at.

_______________

Exercise 4 Underline the correct form of adverbs or adjectives.

1. Jason is terrible /terribly upset about his failure.

2. Don't speak so fast / fastly. I couldn’t catch a word.

3. This sushi tastes so good / well.

4. Our volleyball team played bad /badly yesterday.

5. Be careful with this jar. It's fragile / fragilely.

6. Kevin is extremely intelligent / intelligently.

7. Robin looks sad / sadly. What's the matter with him?

8. I'm he didn't mean to frighten you. It was sure /surely an accident.

9. Her hair always looks so soft / softly. I'd love to know how she takes care of it.

10. My wife felt rather nervous /nervously about the play she was in, but she performed

wonderful / wonderfully.

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6.3 Making Comparison: equatives, too and enough

Equatives

Equatives are used to compare two things, people, verbs, adjectives or adverbs to show

that they are equal or not equal. We use

as + adjective / adverb + as.

=

equal

not as + adjective / adverb + as.

=

not equal

The table is asexpensiveas the sofa.

She is as strong as me.

They are not as smart as my brother.

He cooks as deliciously as his son.

Jack doesn’t work as much as me.

Maria doesn’t run as quickly as Tim.

Too and Enough

‘Too’ means the degree of more than good or suitable in the situation. We use

too

+

adjective / adverb

(+ to infinitive)

I don’t want to go to school. I’m too sleepy.

I’m too sleepy to go to school.

This car drives too quickly. It’s dangerous.

It’s dangerous to drive too quickly.

He left the office too early to catch.

‘Enough’ means ‘as much or as many as we need’. We use ‘not … enough’ to mean

‘less than we need’.

(not)

+

adjective / adverb

+

enough

(+ to infinitive)

This bag is big enough. I can put all my stuff inside.

This bag is big enough to put all my stuff inside.

This bag is not big enough to put all my stuff inside.

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He talks politely enough to work as a receptionist.

He doesn’ttalk politely enough to work as a receptionist.

Exercise 1 Fill in the comparison with as ... as.

1. Simone is _________________________Frederick. (smart)

2. Bella is _________________________Patricia. (beautiful)

3. You are _________________________ my nieces. (crazy)

4. I can run _________________________ they can. (fast)

5. My adviser is _________________________your adviser. (not strict)

6. Your mobile phone is _________________________mine. (not expensive)

7. Korean movies were _________________________American’s. (not interesting)

8. This steak does taste _________________________the one I had yesterday. (not good)

9. I visit temples _________________________you do. (often)

10. He can’t write _________________________I can. (much)

Exercise 2 Look at these pairs of sentences. Do they mean the same thing or are they different?

1. Japan is colder than Thailand.

same / different

Japan isn't as hot as Thailand.

2. Thai food isn't as expensive as Japanese food.

same / different

Japanese food is more expensive than Thai.

3. My English isn't as good as yours.

same / different

Your English is as good as mine.

4. I'm not as clever as you.

same / different

You are as stupid as me.

5. My sister is younger than yours.

same / different

Your sister isn't as young as mine.

6. Cats are as lovely as dogs.

same / different

Dogs aren't as lovely as cats.

7. I'm not strong I can't lift it.

same / different

I'm too strong to lift it

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8. I have a low salary. I don't think I can buy a new house.

same / different

I don't earn enough money to buy a new house.

9. I can't go, I'm very tired.

same / different

I’m tired enough to go.

10. The door is very narrow. The fridge can’t go in.

same / different

The door is too wide for the fridge to go in.

Exercise 3 Rewrite the sentence so that it contains the word or words in the capitals.

1. This book is less interesting that one.

NOT AS

_____________________________________________________

2. A bike is less expensive than a car.

NOT AS

_____________________________________________________

3. The first performance is perfect, and so is the second.

AS

_____________________________________________________

4. My leg doesn’t get more painful than it was

AS

_____________________________________________________

5. I think the exam is not more difficult than it used to be.

AS

_____________________________________________________

6. He's very shocked. He can't move.

TOO

_____________________________________________________

7. The coffee is very hot. You can't drink it.

TOO

_____________________________________________________

8. He's very ill. He can't join the trip.

TOO

_____________________________________________________

9. These mangoes are almost ripe. You can pick them.

ENOUGH

_____________________________________________________

10. He is eighteen. He can vote.

ENOUGH

_____________________________________________________

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6.4 Making Comparison: comparatives & superlatives

Comparatives

Comparatives are used to compare two things. They can be formed by

1.adding ‘-er’ at the end of an adjective (+ than)

The new menu is longerthan the old one.

The old menu is shorter. (than the new one)

2. adding ‘more/less’ in front of an adjective of more than 2-3 syllables or adverb (+than).

This new restaurant is more expensive than the old one.

The old restaurant is less expensive. (than the new one)

He sang more beautifully than Sally.

Spelling rules

1.Add ‘-er’ to one syllable adjectives or adverbs.

smart

smarter

large

larger

short

shorter

long

longer

2.Double the consonant and add ‘-er’ to one syllable adjectives with a Consonant-Vowel-

Consonant Pattern

big

bigger

hot

hotter

3.For two syllable adjectives ending in ‘y’, Change the ‘-y’ to ‘i’ and add ‘-er’.

happy

happier

angry

angrier

4.Adjectives or adverbs with two or more syllables (not ending in Y) use ‘more/less’

modern

more / less modern

expensive

more / less expensive

interesting

more / less interesting

beautifully

more / less beautifully

carefully

more / less carefully

5.There are some irregular words:

good / well

better

bad / badly

worse

far

farther (further)

little

less

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much / many

more

Comparative adjective / adverb + comparative adjective / adverb

1.Use two comparative adjectives /adverbs joining by ‘and’ to state a changing situation

The world’s temperature is changing. It’s hotter and hotter.

The weather is getting colder and colder when we are out.

He walks more and more carefully because he doesn’t want to hurt himself again.

2.Use ‘the + comparative adjective / adverb + clause + the + comparative adjective / adverb

+ clause’ used to show proportionate increase or decrease.

The more he reads, the more he understands.

The older we grow, the wiser we become.

The less you spend, the more you save.

The sooner they go, the better it is.

Superlatives

Superlatives indicate that one noun or verb is greater than all the rest. They do not

compare two nouns or verbs. Superlatives are formed following the same rules as comparatives,

but using the word ‘the most / least’ or ‘the -est’ ending.

This university is ranked the best in Thailand.

Climbing is the most exciting adventure I’ve ever done.

My roommate is the most helpful person I have ever met.

Kate works the hardest among all the students in the class.

Note We use ‘ever’ and ‘present perfect’ to talk about experience with ‘superlatives’

This is the most difficult language I’ve ever studied.

Spelling rules

1.Add ‘the -est’ to one syllable adjectives or adverbs.

smart

the smartest

large

the largest

short

the shortest

long

the longest

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2.Double the consonant and add ‘the -est’ to one syllable adjectives with a Consonant-

Vowel-Consonant Pattern

big

the biggest

hot

the hottest

3.For two syllable adjectives ending in ‘y’, Change the ‘-y’ to ‘i’ and add ‘the -est’.

happy

the happiest

angry

the angriest

4.Adjectives or adverbs with two or more syllables (not ending in Y) use ‘more/less’

modern

the most / the least modern

expensive

the most / the least expensive

interesting

the most / the least interesting

beautifully

the most / the least beautifully

carefully

the most / the least carefully

5.There are some irregular words:

good / well

the best

bad / badly

the worst

far

the farthest (furthest)

little

the least

much / many

the most

Exercise 1 Complete the sentences by putting in the comparison forms of adjectives in brackets.

1. He has ________________ (big) potential than anyone thought in this role.

2. She looks terrible. She looks even ________________ (bad) than last week.

3. His salary is not ________________ (many) than his colleague's.

4. Which of the three markets do you think are ________________ (large)?

5. You can figure out the riddle because you're _______________ (wise) of us all.

6. In the last few months, competition in the Asia market has become _____________________

(difficult)

7. Things are in control now – we have ________________ (few) problems than in the past.

8. There are more accidents on this road because the traffic is ________________ (heavy) than

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the others.

9. School is boring, but homework is ____________________ (bore) than school.

10. She's a lot ______________________ (enjoyable) in the new position than she was in the

previous one.

Exercise 2 Complete the sentences by putting in the comparison forms of adverb of the

adjectives in brackets.

1. She read the book ______________________ (quick) among all the students.

2. Read the instruction ______________________ (careful) than before because this machine is

very new.

3. He stared at her ______________________ (angry) than the last time but didn’t say a word.

4. She passed her job interview ______________________ (easy) than she expected.

5. I ran ______________________ (fast) of you all.

6. He thinks that he had done the test ______________________ (bad) than last semester.

7. She was working ______________________ (busy) yesterday afternoon than she was all

week.

8. The kids were playing extremely ______________________ (happy) than the last two hours

when I came into the room. I heard the scream of joy.

9. You have to do homework ______________________ (careful) in future.

10. She plays ______________________ (confident) than she did in the past. I think she plays

______________________ (good) in the game. She is ______________________ (valuable)

player of the game.

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Exercise 3 Use the information to complete the sentences about Julia, Rob and Lila.

Julia

Rob

Lila

age

28

30

29

tall

163 cm.

186 cm.

165 cm.

getting up

6.15 am.

6.15 am.

6.45 am.

salary

21,000 Baht

25,000 Baht

26,000 Baht

1. (old)

Rob is ________________________________________________ of them all.

2. (tall)

Rob is ________________________________________________ among us.

3. (late)

Lila gets up______________________________________________ of them all.

4. (little)

Julia earns_____________________________________________ of them all.

5. (young)

Lila is __________________________________________ than Julia.

6. (early)

Rob gets up____________________________________________ than Lila.

7. (young)

Julia is __________________________________________ of them all.

8. (high)

Lila receives ___________________________________salary of them all.

9. (short)

Julia is __________________________________________ than Rob.

10. (much)

Rob earns __________________________________________ than Julia.

Exercise 4 Use the words in brackets to write sentences. Use ‘the + superlative, and the Present

Perfect + ever form’.

1. (Here’s / warm / place / I / visit)

___________________________________________________________________________

2. (It’s / big / shopping mall / I / be)

___________________________________________________________________________

3. (They are / rich / people / we / meet)

___________________________________________________________________________

4. (Iceland is / cold / country / I / be)

___________________________________________________________________________

5. (It’s / sad / movie / I / see)

___________________________________________________________________________

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Exercise 5 Complete the sentences by putting in the comparison forms of adverb / adjective of in

brackets.

1. The _________________ (large) the house is, the more _________________(expensive) it is.

2. The more freedom she has, the _________________ (happy) she is.

3. The _________________ (many) books you read, the _________________ (smart) you are.

4. The more, the _________________ (merry).

5. The _________________ (near), the better.

6. The price is getting ______________ and ______________ (high).

7. The Asia market is becoming ______________ and ______________ _________________

(competitive).

8. The _________________ (hard) you work, the more results you obtain.

9. The _________________ (fast) you drive, the more petrol the car consumes.

10. The older I get, the _________________ (few) friends I have.

Extension Activity

Write a sentence for each adjective or adverb.

1. the most reliable

____________________________________________________________

2. more quietly

____________________________________________________________

3. less dangerous

____________________________________________________________

4. more often

____________________________________________________________

5. the most

____________________________________________________________

6. successful

____________________________________________________________

7. well

____________________________________________________________

8. clearly

____________________________________________________________

9. sometimes

____________________________________________________________

10. smaller

____________________________________________________________

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Test Yourself

References