MULTIMEDIA-ENGLISH
ACTIVITY SHEET (created by the user: Profe)

Before doing this activity you may need to read the text you will find at the end


  SmartMemo
Comparison of adjectives and adverbs
Focus Grammar
Description Let's practise the comparison of adjectives and adverbs.
Instructions 1- Look at the sentences and try to say that in English 2- Move your mouse over the black button to check your answer. 3- If you were right, click on the green button, if wrong, click on the red.
 
Item Match Comments
Ahora tengo mucho menos dinero que ayer Now I have much less money than yesterday
Soy más joven que él I'm younger than him
Hoy hace mucho más calor It's much hotter today
Tienes que tener más cuidado You have to be more careful
Mi coche es igual de nuevo que el tuyo My car is as new as yours
Sus libros son ahora mucho peor que cuando empezó His books are now much worse than when he started
El examen fue mucho más difícil esta vez The exam was much more difficult this time
Mi hijo no es tan alto como yo My son isn't so tall as me
Estás cada vez más alto You're growing taller and taller
Ellos son más ricos que nosotros They're richer than us
La historia se está poniendo más y más interesante The story is getting more and more interesting
Él es mayor que yo (tamaño) He's bigger than me
Vamos cada vez más despacio We're going more and more slowly
Se está poniendo más y más nublado It's getting more and more cloudy
El niño no es tan feo como tú The baby is not as ugly as you
Ahora uso ropa menos cara Now I wear less expensive clothes
Me levanté más temprano que ayer I got up earlier than yesterday
Esto es mucho mejor This is much better
Tienes que ir más despacio You have to go more slowly
Hoy hace tanto sol como ayer Today is as sunny as yesterday
Él es mucho mayor que ella (edad) He's much older than her
Mary es más alta que sus tres hermanas Mary is taller than her three sisters
Mis manos estaban frías como el hielo My hands were as cold as ice
¿Puedes venir antes? Can you come earlier?
El francés es más fácil que el chino French is easier than Chinese
Mi hijo es tan alto como yo My son is as tall as me
Él está cada día más imbécil He's more and more stupid
Mi casa no es tan grande como la tuya My house is not so big as yours
La película fue menos interesante que el libro The movie was less interesting than the book
Él es más alto que yo He's taller than me
Se hizo cada vez más oscuro It got darker and darker
Mi ordenador es un poco más grande que ese My computer is a bit bigger than that
Mi coche es más rápido que el tuyo My car is faster than yours
Estoy menos gordo que este verano I'm less fat than last summer
Ahora es un poco más fácil Now it's a bit easier
Total number of items: 35
This is an activity from Multimedia-English www.multimedia-english.com
 

COMPARISON OF EQUALITY

Affirmative: AS - AS
      My son is as tall as me
Negative: NOT SO - AS  (also: not as - as)
      My son isn’t so tall as me / My son isn’t as tall as me

COMPARISON OF INFERIORITY

LESS - THAN
      I’m less fat than last summer
      The film was less interesting than what I expected

COMPARISON OF SUPERIORITY AND SUPERLATIVE

When comparing two things we use the comparative:

      John is taller than Mark

When comparing more than two things, we use the superlative:

      John is the tallest in his family
      Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world

short words (1 syllable):

Comparatives add -ER and superlatives add -EST
     old  older  oldest
     fast  faster  fastest
Words ending in -e drop it
     late  later  latest
     fine  finer  finest
Words ending in -y change it to -i
     shy  shier  shiest
Words ending in one single syllable followed by one single consonant, double the final consonant when the vowel is stressed: -1V+1C --> -CC
     fat  fatter  fattest
     slim  slimmer  slimmest
 
long words (3 or more syllables):

They use MORE for the comparative and THE MOST for the superlative.
 
     intelligent  more intelligent  the most intelligent
 
2-syllable words:

They can use both forms, but we prefer More/the Most
     
     handsome  more handsome the most handsome
     cheerful  more cheerful  the most cheerful
 
Nevertheless, words ending in -y and some adjectives such as: quiet, clever y narrow usually take -er/-est
     easy  easier   the easiest
     happy  happier  the happiest
     clever  cleverer   the cleverest
 
But if they end in -ly, they use more/most (except: early)
     quickly  more quickly  the most quickly
     slowly  more slowly  the most slowly
     early  earlier  the earliest
 
If you find the two-syllable words confusing, it is usually safe to say that when in doubt, you can always use more/most.

 
PRONOUNS WITH COMPARATIVES

 If the second part of the comparison is a personal pronoun, there are three possibilities:
     She's older than me     (the most common construction in informal English)
     She's older than I am   (the most common in formal English)
     She's older than I         (very formal and rarely used, so you can forget about it) 

 
GRADING

- my friend is tall  --> my friend is taller than me
- my friend is very tall  --> my friend is much taller than me
- my friend is a bit tall --> my friend is a bit taller than me

To express that the quality is increasing, you use more and more

- It's getting darker and darker
- You are becoming more and more stupid

 
Irregular forms

     good/well    better    best
     bad/badly    worse    worst
     far  further/farther    furthest/farthest