GRAMMAR PRACTICE

10C  Comparison
1 Complete the second sentences so they mean the
10.8
same as the first sentences.
She spoke more quietly than I’d expected.
1 The second interview wasn’t as difficult as the first.
The more nervous I was, the more I forgot what to say.
The first interview was the second.
The less I worried, the more relaxed I felt.
2 The beginning of this movie isn’t as good as the end.
My most successful interview was the first.
The end of this movie is the beginning.
He was just as friendly as I’d imagined.
3 Eva behaved more calmly than the other candidates.
It wasn’t quite as bad as I’d thought it would be.
Eva behaved of all the candidates.
4 I was really happy, and my sister was happy, too.
Comparatives My sister was just I was.
5 All the presentations were a lot more interesting than
We use comparative adjectives + than to compare two things, people, or places.
mine.
With one-syllable adjectives, we add -er. With adjectives ending in -y, we change the By far was mine.
y to i and add -er. For adjectives with more than two syllables, we use more or less. 6 The hotel was a little larger than we expected.
Some application forms are easier to complete than others. The hotel wasn’t quite we expected.
I think Jim is more intelligent than Peter. 7 If I don’t work many hours, I don’t make a lot of
We also use comparative forms of adverbs. We use more or less to form most of these. money.
The , the money I make.
He talked more excitedly than anyone else.
8 Lauren spoke much more quietly than Katie.
We can use a bit, a little, or slightly before a comparative to say there is a small Katie spoke than Lauren.
difference, and a lot, much, or far to say there is a big difference.
2 Rewrite the sentences and correct the mistakes. Some
He answered me a bit more rudely than I was expecting.
sentences have more than one mistake.
There are much more qualified candidates than me.

the … the
We also use the structure the … the to make comparisons. The comparisons may
include nouns, adjectives, adverbs, or entire clauses or ideas, too.
The more interviews I have, the more confident I become. (noun, adjective)
The harder I try, the less frustrated I feel. (adverb, adjective)
The more we’re prepared, the more we succeed. (clauses/ideas)

Superlatives
We use superlative adjectives to say that something is more or less than all the 1 The lovelyest flowers in the shop were most
others in a group. With one-syllable adjectives, we put the in front and add -est. expensive.
With two-syllable adjectives ending in -y, we change the y to i and add -est. With
adjectives of more than two syllables, we use the most or the least. 2 More I do my job, more I enjoy it.
The most enjoyable day was the one we spent together.
The least convincing argument was the one you gave! 3 I have less classes this semester than my friends.
Some adjectives have irregular comparative and superlative forms.
4 It was raining a lot heavily than I thought, so I got
good – better – best bad – worse – worst
pretty wet.
far – farther/further – farthest/furthest

We can put by far before a superlative to make it stronger. 5 The more exciting trip I’ve taken is when I went to
Biology is by far my worst subject. Rome.
We use the superlative with the present perfect + ever and one of the + plural noun.
6 There are much fast players than me. I’m pretty slow!
That was one of the best jobs I’ve ever had!

7 Matt thinks more creative than the rest of us.
as … as

We use as … as to say that two things are the same and not (quite) as … as to say that 8 Last semester was one of the most happy times I’ve
two things are different. We can use just with as … as to emphasize a similarity. ever had.
I was just as angry as he was!  The exam wasn’t quite as hard as I expected.

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