Grammar

СТЕПЕНИ СРАВНЕНИЯ ПРИЛАГАТЕЛЬНЫХ И НАРЕЧИЙ

	Положительная	Сравнительная (Comparative)	Превосходная (Superlative)
I. слово состоит из одного слога	big near	bigger (than) nearer (than) Nick is older than me.	the biggest the nearest He’s the oldest in the group.
II. слово состоит из трёх или более слогов	important	more important (than) My new camera is more expensive than the old one.	the most important It’s the most expensive camera.
III. слово состоит из двух слогов и А) заканчивается на “y” B) заканчивается на другую букву	easy modern	easier (than) more modern (than)	the easiest the most modern
IV. ИСКЛЮЧЕНИЯ	good / well bad / badly many / much little far	better (than) worse (than) more (than) less (than) farther (than) further (than)	the best the worst the most the least the farthest the furthest
V. независимо от количества слогов:	bright beautiful	less bright (than) less beautiful (than)	the least bright the least beautiful

VI. если сравнительную степень нужно уточнить, то уточнение ставится перед ней,

и неважно, по какой модели она строилась:

two years younger – на два года младше

three times more expensive – в три раза дороже

a little / a bit longer – немного длиннее

much / a lot / far more important – гораздо важнее

VII. конструкция (not) as … as, not so … as … :

А) as short as … – такой же короткий, как и …

not so / as interesting as … – не такой интересный, как …

В) если отрицание надо усилить: not nearly as … as …

not nearly as talented as … - далеко не такой талантливый, как …

VIII. конструкция the + сравнительная степень, the + сравнительная степень

показывает, что второе зависит от первого: чем …, тем …

The more, the better. – Чем больше, тем лучше.

The more exercises you do, the better the results (are). – Чем больше делаешь

упражнений, тем лучше (бывает) результат.

Exercise 20. Write the opposite.

Example: bigger – smaller

the most intelligent – the silliest

1. heavier 2. the quickest 3. more boring 4. the youngest 5. weaker 6. better

7. the most expensive 8. more difficult 9. further 10. the cheapest 11. the most

12. shorter 13. the highest 14. less 15. the worst

Exercise 21. Complete the sentences with a comparative.

1. I’m not very interested in science. I’m … in art.

2. The music isn’t loud enough. Can you make it … ?

3. Why aren’t you serious? You should be … .

4. This furniture isn’t modern. I like … furniture.

5. Ireland isn’t a big country. Russia is … Ireland.

6. That chair isn’t comfortable at all. This chair is … that one.

7. Sorry, five o’clock isn’t convenient to me. Six o’clock is … five.

8. Penny doesn’t work very hard. The other students work … her.

9. This juice doesn’t taste very good. Orange juice tastes … .

Exercise 22. Combine two sentences using a bit / a little / much / a lot / far and a

comparative. (VI)

1. Belorussian is easy to learn. Chinese is very difficult to learn.

2. Helga’s 19. Boris’s 20.

3. I speak English a little. Martha speaks English fluently.

4. Ian isn’t a very good football player. Alex is an excellent football player.

5. Gary weighs 94 kilos. Steve weighs 62 kilos.

6. Olga’s 1m 68cm tall. Greta’s 1m 69cm tall.

7. The black jumper costs $30. The blue jumper costs $34.

8. The film begins at 7:30 pm. The news begins at 9 pm

Exercise 23. Express the same idea according to the examples. (VI, VII)

Example A: Brighton isn’t as big as London. => London is bigger than Brighton.

1. Mr Brown isn’t as intelligent as Mr Sweet.

2. Bill isn’t as clever at maths as Gary.

3. There isn’t as much snow in New York as in Helsinki.

4. I can’t edit as well as Steve.

Example B: Brighton isn’t nearly as big as London. => London is much bigger than Brighton.

1. His second film isn’t nearly as interesting as his first one.

2. Maria isn’t nearly as talented as Alice.

3. It isn’t nearly as dry here as in Lima.

4. Diana hasn’t got nearly as many friends as Jill.

Example C: London is bigger than Brighton. => Brighton isn’t as big as London.

1. I live farther from university than you.

2. We have more classes on Thursday than on Saturday.

3. Acting is more difficult than editing.

4. In Australia it’s colder in summer than in winter.

Example D: London is much bigger than Brighton. => Brighton isn’t nearly as big as London.

1. A flight to Cuba costs a lot more than a flight to Madrid.

2. I’m afraid my short is much worse than Don’s.

3. I think Nancy’s much nicer than Fiona.

4. Lasagna is much more delicious than hamburgers.