11

LESSON 11

Lesson He’s taller than I am

Adjectives
We know what an adjective is. We know how to use adjectives.

Adjectives describe a noun.

I like good movies.

Adjectives can change the meaning of the noun.

It’s a bad movie.
It’s a good movie.

Adjectives are not singular or plural.

It’s a good movie.
They are good movies.

Adjectives usually come before the noun.

It’s a good movie.

However, they come also after the verb to be.

The movie is good.

Look at this chart.

Tim is riding an old bicycle. Words that describe nouns are adjectives .
In this sentence, old is an adjective.
It describes the bicycle .
The tall woman wore a new dress. Adjectives describe nouns. An adjective changes what a
noun means. It gives more information about it.
Roses are beautiful flowers. Adjectives are not singular. Adjectives are not plural.
There is no plural form.
He has a new car. Adjectives usually come before nouns.
His car is white. Adjectives can come after the verb ‘to be’.

102
 He’s t aller t han I am

Let’s look at some questions. These sentences use the verb to be.
Was it an easy test?
Yes, it was an easy test.
Yes, it was easy.

Is your brother a clever boy?

No, he isn’t a clever boy.
No, he isn’t clever.

Is Melanie’s chair green?

Yes, it is a green chair.
Yes, it is green.

Are the apples delicious?

No, they aren’t delicious apples.
No, they aren’t delicious.

Comparatives
When we use adjectives to talk about two people or two things, these adjectives have a special
form. They are called comparatives. These adjectives compare two people or two things.

We use -er, -ier, or more. These are called comparative forms. The word than usually comes after
the comparative form. We can make it negative by saying not before the adjective.
Ken is taller than Bill.
Bill is not taller than Ken.

This book is cheaper than that book.

That book is not cheaper than this book.

My hands are smaller than your hands.

Your hands are not smaller than my hands.
Ken is taller than Bill.

This is Ken. This is Bill. Ken is taller than Bill.

103
LESSON 11
This book is cheaper than that book.

This is a cheap book. This is an expensive book.

This book is cheaper than that book.

Terry’s hands are smaller than Mike’s hands.

Terry’s hands are small. Mike’s hands are big.

Terry’s hands are smaller than Mike’s hands.

Syllables
A syllable is a part of a word which has a single vowel sound.

Dog, cat, horse = 1 syllable

Mon/key, dol/phin, gir/affe = 2 syllables

El/e/phant, cro/co/dile, kan/ga/roo = 3 syllables

Syllables are very important in comparatives. ‹n one syllable words, we add –er.
old – older My mother isn’t older than my father.
young – younger My brother is younger than me.
sweet – sweeter This dessert is sweeter than that dessert.

We can see in these sentences, we add –er to one syllable words. We see that one syllable words
add –er in the comparative form.

104
 He’s t aller t han I am
Let’s look at the spelling of some one-syllable comparatives. Remember that the five vowels are
a,e,i,o,u and sometimes y.All the other letters are called consonants.

Spelling comparatives
Let’s look at these special forms.
Ed is big.
John is bigger.
John is bigger than Ed.

Hawaii is hot.
Florida is hotter.
Florida is hotter than Hawaii.

Natalie is thin.
Rebecca is thinner.
Rebecca is thinner than Natalie.

My cousin is fat.
My aunt isn’t fat.
My cousin is fatter than my aunt.

In these sentences, we can see a special spelling for the comparative form. The rule is when a
one-syllable adjective ends in one vowel and one consonant, you double the consonant.

Big = Bigger
Vowel Consonant Double the consonant

Hot = Hotter
Vowel Consonant Double the consonant

Fat = Fatter
Vowel Consonant Double the consonant

105
LESSON 11

Irregular comparatives
Here are two irregular comparative forms.
Good becomes better in the comparative form. It does not become gooder!
Bad becomes worse in the comparative form. It does not become badder!
The weather today is better than yesterday.
He isn’t a better football player than his brother.
My score was worse than my brother’s score on the test.
I feel worse today than I felt yesterday.

Two-syllable adjectives and comparatives

When we have an adjective with two or more syllables, we use
more before the adjective.
She is more beautiful than her sister.
Baseball is a more difficult sport to play than football.
My father is more hardworking than my uncle.
A ticket for a tennis match is more expensive than a ticket for a
volleyball match.

In these sentences, more comes before the adjective. We use more to make the comparative of
two or more syllable adjectives.

Less can also be used in comparative forms. Less (-) is the opposite of more (+).
John is hardworking.
Peter is lazy.
Peter is less hardworking than John.

Boxing is interesting.
Golf is boring.
Golf is less interesting than golf.

A football is expensive.
A baseball is cheap.
A baseball is less expensive than a football.

English is difficult.
Spanish is easy.
Spanish is less difficult than English.

Comparatives with y
With a two or more syllable adjective that ends with –y, the –y
changes to –ier in the comparative form.
pretty = prettier My aunt is prettier than your aunt.
busy = busier My father is busier at his new job than he was
at his old job.
tidy = tidier Sam’s bedroom is tidier than his brother’s.

106
 He’s t aller t han I am
The comparative forms: -er, -ier, and more.

Val is 25 years old. Liz is 20 years old. When we use adjectives to talk about 2
(a)Val is older than Liz. people
or things, the adjectives have special
Health is very important. Money is forms.
important. In (a) we add –er to an adjective.
(b) Health is more important than money. In (b) we use more in front of the adjective.
Than usually follows the comparative forms.

Adjectives with one adjective comparative Adjectives that

syllable young younger end in one vowel and
cheap cheaper one consonant,
tall taller double the consonant.
big=bigger
thin=thinner
fat=fatter
hot=hotter

Adjectives that end noisy noisier Adjectives that end

in -y dirty dirtier in –y, change the –y to i
and add er.

Adjectives with 2 or famous more famous Use more (or less)

more syllables important more important in front of adjectives
interesting more interesting with 2 or more syllables.

Irregular forms good better The comparative forms

bad worse of good and bad are irregular.

Exercise 1: Make the normal adjectives into comparatives or make the comparatives into normal
adjectives.

M: Welcome to Rome! Rome is a beautiful and historical city.

more beautiful more historical
D: We are excited.
___________________________________________________________

Which city is older, Rome or Athens?

___________________________________________________________

M: That’s a difficult question. I think Athens is older than Rome.

___________________________________________________________

I think Rome is more beautiful than Athens.

___________________________________________________________

D: Well, we will see. Maria, Anna and I are hungry. Can we eat before we start?
___________________________________________________________

107
LESSON 11
M: Sure. What do you want to eat?

A: We love Italian food. Can we eat pizza? Or maybe spaghetti?

M: The pizza in Rome is more delicious than the spaghetti. We can eat at that restaurant.
__________________________________________________

A: Is it expensive?
___________________________________________________________

M: It is less expensive than the other restaurants in this area.

___________________________________________________________

A: Good. Let’s eat there.

D: We are staying at the Loggia Hotel. Is there a cheaper hotel?

___________________________________________________________

M: The Deledonne Hotel is cheaper than the Loggia Hotel.

___________________________________________________________

They have TV sets, too. You can watch the big football match tonight.
___________________________________________________________

A: Wonderful! Let’s eat now. After, we can visit some museums and then see the Coliseum.

M: Good idea. Let’s go.

Exercise 2: Fill in the blanks with the correct comparative.

Example: My computer is __faster than___ (fast) yours.

Your apartment is __________ (large) your grandmother’s.

It is __________ (warm) today than yesterday.

Love is __________ (important) money.

Alan is __________ (lazy) his brother.

Your history class is __________ (difficult) your English class.

Nadia’s German is __________ (good) her husband’s.

Dan is __________ (good) Anna at hockey.

His car is ___________________ (expensive) their car.

I want a ______________ (good) examresult than before.

This book is ____________________ (exciting) the last book.

108
 He’s t aller t han I am
Exercise 3: Write the comparatives in the box.

big bigger dark

tall dirty
short hungry
famous noisy
good dangerous
bad warm
expensive cold
cheap beautiful
excited ugly
light fat

Reading

N
Read the story and answer the questions.

ew York is a beautiful
state. It is in the United
States. It is on the east coast.
New York meets the Atlantic
Ocean in New York City. There
is a long, narrow island there.
It is called Long Island. 1). Where is New York State?
New York has a varied geography.
There are high mounteins, clear rivers 2). Is it on the east coast or the west coast?
and big forests in the northern sec-
3). Where does New York State meet the
tion. There are huge lakes in the west- Atlantic Ocean?
ern section. There are rolling hills in the
eastern section. There are areas of 4). What is the long, narrow island there
great population in the southern sec- called?
tion. 5). What can you see in the western section?
New York is a medium-sized state. It
is smaller than Texas. It is bigger than 6). What can you see in the southern section?
Maine. It does have lots of people. 7). Where can you see rolling hills?
There are more people there than in
Ohio. It is a great state. There are more 8). Is New York a very large state?
things to see and do than in any other
9). Is New York larger than Texas?
state.
10). Does it have fewer people than Ohio?

109
LESSON 11
ANSWER KEY Lesson 11
Exercise 1: Make the normal adjectives into comparatives or make the comparatives into normal
adjectives.

M: Welcome to Rome! Rome is a beautiful and historical city.

__more beautiful_ _more historical_

We are very excited.

more excited
Which city is older, Rome or Athens?
old
M: That’s a difficult question. I think Athens is older than Rome.
more difficult
I think Rome is more beautiful than Athens.
beautiful
D: Well, we will see. Maria, Anna and I are hungry. Can we eat before we start?
hungrier
M: Sure. What do you want to eat?
A: We love Italian food. Can we eat pizza? Or maybe spaghetti?
M: The pizza in Rome is more delicious than the spaghetti. We can eat at that restaurant.
delicious
A: Is it expensive?
more expensive
M: It is less expensive than the other restaurants in this area.
expensive
A: Good. Let’s eat there.
D: We are staying at the Loggia Hotel. Is there a cheaper hotel?
cheap
M: The Deledonne Hotel is cheaper than the Loggia Hotel.
cheap
They have TV sets, too. You can watch the big football match tonight.
bigger
A: Wonderful! Let’s eat now. After, we can visit some museums and then see the Coliseum.
M: Good idea. Let’s go.

110
 He’s t aller t han I am

Exercise 2: Fill in the blanks with the correct comparative.

Example: My computer is __faster than___ (fast) yours.

My apartment is larger than my grandmother’s.

It is warmer today than yesterday.

Love is more important than money.

Alan is lazier than his brother.

My history class isn’t more difficult than my English class.

Nadia’s German is better than her husband’s.

Dan is better than Anna at football.

His car is more expensive than their car.

I want a better exam result than before.

This book is more exciting than the last book.

Exercise 3: Write the comparatives in the box.

big bigger dark darker

tall taller dirty dirtier
short shorter hungry hungrier
famous more fanmous noisy noisier
good better dangerous more dangerous
bad worse warm warmer
expensive more expensive cold colder
cheap cheaper beautiful more beautiful
excited more excited ugly uglier
light lighter fat fatter

111
LESSON 11
Reading
1). Where is New York State?
It is in the United States.

2). Is it on the east coast or the west coast?

It is on the east coast.

3). Where does New York State meet the Atlantic Ocean?
It meets the Atlantic Ocean in New York City.

4). What is the long, narrow island there called?

It is called Long Island.

5). What can you see in the western section?

You can see huge lakes.

6). What can you see in the southern section?

You can see areas of great population.

7). Where can you see rolling hills?

You can see rolling hills in the eastern section.

8). Is New York a very large state?

No, it’s a medium-sized state.

9). Is New York larger than Texas?

No, it is smaller than Texas.

10). Does it have fewer people than Ohio?

No, it has more people than Ohio.

112
 He’s t aller t han I am

vocabulary list
NOUNS VERBS ADJECTIVES ADVERBS PREPOSITIONS
duck describe historical always about
giraffe double smoky maybe at
tidy never in
sometimes of
today on
tonight to
usually with
yesterday

CONJUNCTIONS QUESTION WORDS

but how
or what
then where
who

113