DEGREES OF COMPARISON

EXEPTIONS: one-syllable adjectives ending in -ed and the adjectives real, right and wrong
form their comparative and superlative with more and most: bored – more bored – most
bored.

EXEPTIONS: the adjectives common, handsome, mature, pleasant, polite, simple and stupid
can have either more and most or -er and -est.
(e) A few adjectives have two forms of comparison: the second form has a special meaning
and is actually a different word.
far – further / farther – furthest (of distance and time) / farthest (of distance only)
Both further (furthest) and farther (farthest) are used with the meaning of более (самый)
отдаленный, but only further may be used with the meaning of дальнейший, добавочный:
further information, further details, until further notice
old – older – oldest (of people and things) / elder – eldest (of people only)
Elder and eldest imply seniority rather than age. They are chiefly used for comparison within
a family: his eldest boy/girl/nephew, my elder brother/sister; but elder cannot be placed
before than, so older must be used here; He is older than I.
near – nearer – nearest (of distance literally and figuratively) / next (of time) / the next (of
order)
You can have a snack in the nearest cafe. In the nearest future I plan to enter the University.
I'll see my parents next week. There is important information on the next page.
late – later (of time) / the latter (the second of two people or things, or the last in a list just
mentioned) – the latest (the most recent or newest) / last (of time) / the last (of order)
Let's watch the latest news. Yesterday I met Max and Hilda in the street. The former said
“Hello”, the latter didn’t recognize me. He is the last person I want to see. We didn't have
time to speak last time.

Superlatives can be preceded by the and used as nouns.

Tom is the eldest. The eldest was only seven years old.
Comparatives can be used similarly.
His two sons look the same age. Which is the elder?

(f) In compound adjectives the first element forms degrees of comparison with -er, -est (if
the two elements retain their separate meaning).
well-known – better-known – best-known
good-looking – better-looking – best-looking
But forms with more and most are more common.
old-fashioned – more old-fashioned – most old-fashioned
far-fetched – more far-fetched – most far-fetched
 CONSTRUCTIONS WITH COMPARISONS
(a) Comparison of equals is expressed by as ... as – for positive comparison and not as ... as
or not so ... as – for negative comparison.
An apple is usually as big as an orange. A grape is not so (as) big as an orange.
(b) Comparison of two unequal persons or things is expressed by the comparative with than.
He is taller than his brother. A mountain is higher than a hill. A stream is not wider than a
river. This route is two miles longer than that one.
But: This route is twice as long as that one. His salary is several times as big as mine.
Twice (five times, etc.) as big (long, etc.) as ... is used to show that one exceeds the other
several times.
N o t e the use of pronouns and verbs after than and as:
(1) When than or as is followed by a third person pronoun, we usually repeat the verb.
We are taller than they are. I am not as clever as he is.
(2) When than or as is followed by a first or second person pronoun, it is usually possible to
omit the verb.
I am not as young as you. He is better-educated than I.
(3) In informal English, however, the pronoun is often put in the objective case.
He is more persistent than me. They are wiser than us.
When the infinitive is used after than, the to of the infinitive can be omitted.
It is sometimes quicker to walk than take a bus.
(c) Comparison of three and more persons or things is expressed by the superlative with
the ... of or the ... in (of place).
She is the prettiest of them all. Tom is the cleverest boy in the class.
(d) We also use the…the with two comparatives to say that one thing depends on another
thing: The warmer the weather, the better I feel.
SET EXPRESSIONS: a change for the better (the worse), so much the better (the worse) – тем
лучше, to be the worse for – делать что-то еще хуже, больше, none the worse for –
хуже не станет, if the worst comes to the worst – в худшем случае, to go from bad to
worse – становиться все хуже и хуже, as best – в полную меру, at (the) best – в лучшем
случае.
(e) Emphatic constructions.
Adjectives in the comparative and the superlative can be made more emphatic by adding
some adverbs (much, far, by far, still, even) or adjectives (possible, imaginable).
Comparatives are preceded by much, far, still, even. Superlatives are followed by possible or
imaginable.
much larger, far more difficult, still larger, still more difficult, even larger, even more difficult
by far the largest, by far the most difficult, the largest thing possible, the most difficult task
possible, It was the most difficult task imaginable. Surely, it is by far the most likely
explanation.
ORDER OF ADJECTIVES
OPINION-SIZE-AGE-SHAPE-COLOR-ORIGIN-MATERIAL-PURPOSE
1. When you use two or more adjectives in front of a noun, you usually put an adjective that
expresses your opinion in front of an adjective that just describes something.
You live in a nice big house. He is a naughty little boy.
2. When you use more than one adjective to express your opinion, an adjective with a more
general meaning such as ‘good’, ‘bad’, ‘nice’, or ‘lovely’ usually comes before an adjective
with a more specific meaning such as ‘comfortable’, ‘clean’, or ‘dirty’.
I sat in a lovely comfortable armchair in the corner. He put on a nice clean shirt.
It was a horrible dirty room.
3. Descriptive adjectives belong to six main types. They are normally put in the following
order: size, shape, age, colour, nationality, material.
We met some young Chinese girls. He had round black eyes.
There was a large round wooden table in the room.
The man was carrying a small black plastic bag.
4. You usually put comparative and superlative adjectives in front of other adjectives.
Some of the better English actors have gone to live in Hollywood.
These are the highest monthly figures on record.
5. When you use a noun in front of another noun, you never put adjectives between them.
You put any adjectives in front of the first noun.
He works in the French film industry. He receives a large weekly cash payment.
6. When you use two adjectives as the complement of a link verb, you use a conjunction such
as ‘and’ to link them. With three or more adjectives, you link the last two with a conjunction,
and put commas after the others.
The day was hot and dusty. The room was large but square.
The house was old, damp and smelly. We felt hot, tired and thirsty.

SUBSTANTIVIZED ADJECTIVES
(1) Words denoting classes of persons, such as: a native, a relative, a savage, a progressive,
a conservative, a criminal, etc.
(2) Words denoting nationalities: a Russian, an American, a German, an Italian, a Greek, a
Czech, etc.
Note that the nouns of this group ending in [z] or [s] – Chinese, Japanese, Swiss, Portuguese
– have homonymous forms for the singular and plural: a Chinese – many Chinese.
(3) Words denoting periodicals: daily, weekly, monthly.
Partially substantivized adjectives take only the definite article, but they do not have any
other characteristics of the noun. Here belong
(1) Words denoting classes of persons who represent some feature of human character,
condition or state. These adjectives are used in a generic sense: the good/bad, poor/rich,
healthy/sick, young/old, living/dead, wounded/injured (the poor = poor people, the dead =
dead people).
After the battle they buried the dead.
These words are used as plural nouns and are followed by a plural verb. If we wish to denote
a single person we must add a noun.
The old receive pensions. B u t An old man usually receive a pension.
Note that these adjectives refer to a group or class of persons considered in a generic sense.
If we wish to refer to a particular group it is necessary to add a noun.
The young are usually intolerant, (a general statement) B u t: The young men are arguing
(particular young people).
(2) Words denoting nationalities ending in -sh, and -ch: the English, the French, the Scotch,
the Irish, the Welsh, the Dutch, etc.
Note that a single representative of that nationality will be denoted by a compound noun: an
Englishman, an Englishwoman.
(3) Words denoting abstract notions: the good, the beautiful, the useful, the contrary, the
impossible, the unknown, the opposite, the inevitable. These words belong to singularia
tantum.
I shall prove the contrary. The impossible had happened.
A number of such words are used in prepositional phrases: in the negative, on the contrary,
on the whole, for the better, in the main, at large, in particular, in short, all of a sudden, etc.
 CLASSIFICATION OF ADVERBS
Exceptions:
(a) Adjectives ending in -ly (friendly, lovely, lively, lonely, likely) have no adverb form. We
use a similar adverb or a word-group
likely (adj.) – probably (adv.)
(b) The following adverbs have the same form as their adjectives: high, low, near, far, hard,
fast, early, late, much, little.
a high mountain (adj.) – The bird flew high (adv.)
a fast train (adj.) – She drives fast (adv.)
(c) As a rule, the derived form with LY has a more abstract meaning.
high высоко (в прямом смысле) – highly высоко (в переносном смысле), благосклонно,
похвально
deep глубоко (в прямом смысле) – deeply глубоко (в переносном смысле), весьма, очень
near близко – nearly почти
close близко – closely тщательно, внимательно
late поздно, с опозданием – lately за последнее время недавно
Не praised her highly. I think highly of her. She is a highly cultured person.
But: hard много, усердно – hardly едва
He works hard. – He can hardly say a word in English.
Adverbs formed from the roots of pronouns are called pronominal adverbs. They include:
Within this group of pronominal adverbs there is found a group of conjunctive adverbs:
when, whenever, how, why, where, etc These adverbs, may be used as connectors introducing
subordinate clauses.
The pronominal adverbs, such as when, where, how, why may also be used as interrogative
adverbs introducing questions.

DEGREES OF COMPARISON
Some adverbs of manner, degree and frequency have degrees of comparison.
(a) In most cases they are formed by adding more and most.
quickly – more quickly – most quickly, cleverly – more cleverly – most cleverly
(b) One-syllable adverbs, however, add -er, -est.
hard – harder – hardest, high – higher – highest
(c) The adverb early forms degrees of comparison in the same way as one-syllable
adjectives.
early – earlier – earliest
(d) Irregular forms:
well – better – best, badly – worse – worst, late – later – last
far – farther/farthest (of distance only)//further – furthest (used of distance, time, and in an
abstract sense)

CONSTRUCTIONS WITH COMPARISONS

Comparisons with adverbs are formed in the same way as those with adjectives, i. e. we use:
as ... as, not so... as, not as ... as, several times as ... as and the comparative with than.
She dances better than I do (than me). I don't drive as (or so) fast as you (do). They arrived
earlier than you. Also: He ran fastest of all.
Most placed before an adverb can mean "very".
He played most beautifully. She behaved most generously.