Главная страница | Контакты | Случайная страница Автомобили Астрономия Биология География Дом и сад Другие языки Другое Информатика История Культура Литература Логика Математика Медицина Металлургия Механика Образование Охрана труда Педагогика Политика Право Психология Религия Риторика Социология Спорт Строительство Технология Туризм Физика Философия Финансы Химия Черчение Экология Экономика Электроника

Comparative constructions.

ADJECTIVES

Adjectives are words expressing a quality of a substance.

According to their morphological structure adjectives are divided into:

1. simple: bad, large, heavy, square, many, much;

2. derivatives (have suffixes, prefixes or both): beautiful, unimportant, boring, interested, helpless;

3. compound: snow-white, old-fashioned, hard-working, light-green, duty-free.

Degrees of Comparison.

Most qualitative adjectives have 3 degrees of comparison: positive, comparative and superlative.

The comparative and superlative degrees are formed in 2 ways:

a) By the suffixes –er, -est:

one syllable & two syllable ending in –y, -er, -ow, -le & with the stress on the last syllable.

big – bigger – the biggest

happy – happier – the happiest

clever – cleverer – the cleverest

simple – simpler – the simplest

narrow – narrower – the narrowest

b). by adding more, the most

famous – more famous – the most famous

interesting – more interesting – the most interesting

You can use –er or more with some two-syllable adjectives, especially: quiet, clever, narrow, simple, common, stupid, gentle, friendly, cruel, pleasant, shallow.

The comparative of real, right, wrong is formed with more & most:

real – more real – the most real

right – more right – the most right

wrong – more wrong – the most wrong

A+ the superlative degree of an adjective means весьма, крайне:

This is a most boring novel. – Это весьма скучный роман.

Irregular adjectives.

Good – better – the best

Bad – worse – the worst

Late – later – the latest (refers to time)

latter – the last (refers to position)

Old – older the oldest (for people & things)

elder – the eldest (for people only in the same family, relatives)

But: I have an elder brother. – My brother is 5 years older than me.

Far – farther/further – the farthest/the furthest (about distance)

further – the furthest (additional)

Near – nearer – the nearest (denotes distance)

nearer – the next (denotes position)

Little – less – the least (lesser is formed from less but it is not a true comparative, we cannot use than after it. It is used in a set expression: The lesser of two evils. – Меньшее из двух зол.

Many (much) – more – the most

Comparative constructions.

1. To compare things which are the same: as…as, the same … as – такой же как, twice as…as, three times as … as – в 2 (3) раза…. The adjective is used in the positive degree. – She is as busy as a bee. Father is the same age as mother. Petrol is twice as expensive as it was 2 years ago.

2. To compare things that are different: not as…as, not so…as – не такой как. The adjective is used in the positive degree. – Italy is not so hot as Iraq. He isn’t as poor as I thought.

3. than –чем – The comparative degree is used. – Your spelling is better than mine.

4. the … the – чем … тем. The comparative degree is used. – The longer is the night, the shorter is the day.

5. We can use the + comparative when we compare only 2 things of the same kind: Of the 2 cars this is (the) faster.

6. half as much/many – She is half my age.