older/heavier e tc

Short words (1 syllable) —> -er:

old —» older slow —>slower cheap —> cheaper
nice —> nicer late —> later big - » bigger

Spelling (—> Appendix 5): big —> bigger hot —>hotter thin —> thinner

Words ending in -y —>-ier:

easy —>easier heavy —> heavier early —> earlier

Rome is old, but Athens is older. (not more old)

O Is it cheaper to go by car or by train? (not more cheap)
O Helen wants a bigger car.
O This coat is O K, but I think the other one is nicer.
O Don't take the bus. It's easier to take a taxi. (not more easy)

far -» further:
O a : H o w far is it to the station? A mile?
b: No, it's further. About two miles.

more

Long words (2/3/4 syllables) —» more ...

careful —> more careful polite —> more polite
expensive —> more expensive interesting —» more interesting

C You must be more careful.

O I don't like my job. I want to do something more interesting.
O Is it more expensive to go by car or by train?

good/well —> better bad —>worse

O The weather wasn't very good yesterday, but it's better today.
O 'Do you feel better today?' 'No, I feel worse.'
W hich is worse - a headache or a toothache?

184 [ older than ... / more expensive than ... Unit 88 the oldest / the most expensive Unit 90
Exercises
m m Look at the pictures and write the comparative (older / more interesting etc.).

Write the comparative.

old older good
strong large
happy serious
modern 9 pretty
important 10 crowded

Write the opposite.

1 younger er
ld
o better 4
2 colder .................................................................................. 5 nearer
3 cheaper .................................................................................. 6 easier

Complete the sentences. Use a comparative.

1 Helen's car isn't very big. She wants a bigger one.
2 My job isn't very interesting. I want to do som ething fflo r e jn te re e tin g ......
3 You're not very tall. Your brother is ................................................................................
4 David doesn't work very hard. I w o rk ................................................................................
5 M y chair isn't very comfortable. Yours is ................................................................................
6 Your idea isn't very good. M y idea is ................................................................................
7 These flowers aren't very nice. The blue ones a re.............................................................................
8 My bag isn't very heavy. Your bag is ................................................................................
9 I'm not very interested in art. I'm in history.
10 It isn't very warm today. It w a s ................................................................................yesterday.
11 These tomatoes don't taste very good. The other ones tasted
12 Britain isn't very big. France is ................................................................................
13 London isn't very beautiful. Paris is ................................................................................
14 This knife isn't very sharp. Have you got a ................................................................................one?
15 People today aren't very polite. In the past they w e re ..................................................................
16 The weather isn't too bad today. Often it is m u ch .........................................................................
Unit
88 older than ... more expensive than
^ /j ’m taller than you/)

£150
£130
£120

£H5

She's taller than him. The Europa Hotel is more expensive than the G rand

We use than after comparatives (older than ... / more expensive than ... etc.):
O Athens is older than Rome.
O Are oranges more expensive than bananas?
O It's easier to take a taxi than to take the bus.
O 'How are you today?' 'Not bad. Better than yesterday.'
O The restaurant is more crowded than usual.

We usually say: than me / than him / than her / than us / than them.
You can say:
O I can run faster than him. or I can run faster than he can.
O You are a better singer than me. or You are a better singer than I am.
O I got up earlier than her. or I got up earlier than she did.

more/less than ... 60-

MORETHAN 50
O a : H o w much did your shoes cost? £60?
b: No, more than that. (= more than £60)
O The film was very short - less than an hour.
■50-
O They have more money than they need.
O You go out more than me.

40- LESS THAN 50

a bit older / m uch older etc.

Box A is a bit bigger than Box B. Box C is much bigger than Box D.

bigger Canada is much bigger than France.

older Sue is a bit older than Joe - she's 25 and he's 24.
a bit
better than The hotel was much more expensive than I
much
more difficult expected.
more expensive O You go out much more than me.

186 ( old —» older, expensive —> more expensive -» Unit 87 not a s ... as -» Unit 89
Exercises
g y Write
ite sentences about
a Kate and Ben. Use than.

jKate Ben

■\ r
1 I'm 26. 1 I'm 24.
2 I'm not a very good swimmer. 2 I'm a very good swimmer.
3 I'm 1 metre 68 tall. 3 I'm 1 metre 63 tall.
4 I start work at 8 o'clock. 4 I start work at 8.30.
5 I don't work very hard. 5 I work very hard.
6 I don't have much money. 6 I have a lot of money.
7 I'm a very good driver. 7 I'm not a very good driver.
8 I'm not very patient. 8 I'm very patient.
9 I'm not a very good dancer. 9 I'm a good dancer.
10 I'm very intelligent. 10 I'm not very intelligent.
11 I speak French very well. 11 I don't speak French very well.
12 I don't go to the cinema very much. 12 I go to the cinema a lot.

K a te [so ld e r than.J3.en................................................ Kate is a .

Ben j s . a . b e l t a r . ^ .................. B en ..........
Kate is ........................................................................................ B e n ..........
Kate sta rts....................................................................... Ben. 10 Kate.
B e n ............................................................................................... 11 Kate
Ben h a s...................................................................................... 12 Ben ...

Complete the sentences. Use than.

1 He isn't very tall. You're M iter, than him.(OR ta lle r than.ha.js}..
2 She isn't very old. You're..........................................................................................
3 I don't work very hard. You w o rk ......................................................................
4 He doesn't watch T V very much. Y o u ...........................................................
5 I'm not a very good cook. Y o u ............................................................................
We don't know many people. Y o u ...................................................................
7 They don't have much money. Y o u .................................................................
8 I can't run very fast. You c a n ................................................................................
9 She hasn't been here very long. Y o u ................................................................
10 They didn't get up very early. Y o u .....................................................................
11 He wasn't very surprised. Y o u .............................................................................

^ 2 3 1 Complete the sentences with a bit or much + comparative (older/better etc.).

1 Emma is 25. Joe is 24^.
Em m a i.s.a.bit older th an J o e ..........................................................................................................
2 Jack's mother is 52. His father is 69.
Jack's m o th er...................................................................................................................................................
3 M y camera cost £120. Yours cost £112.
My cam era ........................................................................................................................................................
4 Yesterday I felt terrible. Today I feel O K.
I feel.......................................................................................................................................................................
5 Today the temperature is 12 degrees. Yesterday it was 10 degrees.
It's...........................................................................................................................................................................
6 Sarah is an excellent tennis player. I'm not a very good player.
Sarah.....................................................................................................................................................................
Unit
90 the oldest the most expensive

HOTEL PRICES IN KINTON

( P e r ro o m p e r n ig h t)

Europa Hotel £150 Grosvenor £110

Grand Hotel £130 Bennets £100
Royal £120 Carlton £98
Astoria £115 Star £85
Palace £115 Station £75

Box A is bigger than Box B. The Europa Hotel is more expensive than the Grand.

Box A is bigger than all the The Europa Hotel is more expensive than all the other
other boxes. hotels in the city.
Box A is the biggest box. The Europa Hotel is the most expensive hotel in the
city.

Bigger and more expensive etc. are comparative forms (—> Unit 87).
Biggest and most expensive etc. are superlative forms.

The superlative form is -est (oldest) or m o st ... (most expensive).

Short words (old/cheap/nice etc.) —» the -est:

old —>the oldest cheap —» the cheapest nice —>the nicest
but good —>the best bad —» the worst

Spelling (—>Appendix 5): big —> the biggest hot —>the hottest

Words ending in -y (easy/heavy etc.) —> the -iest:

easy —>the easiest heavy —> the heaviest pretty —» the prettiest

Long words (careful/expensive/interesting etc.) —>the m o s t...

careful —> the most careful interesting - » the most interesting

Rm We say the o ld e st... / the most expensive ... etc. (with the):
O The church is very old. It's the oldest building in the town.
(= it is older than all the other buildings)
O W hat is the longest river in the world?
O Money is important, but it isn't the most im portant thing in life.
O Excuse me, where is the nearest bank?

You can use the oldest / the best / the most expensive etc. without a noun:
O Luke is a good player, but he isn't the best in the team.
(the best = the best player)

You can use superlative + I've ever ... / you've ever ... e tc .:
O The film was very bad. I think it's the worst film I've ever seen.
W hat is the most unusual thing you've ever done?

190 ( present perfect + ever -fr Unit 17 older / more expensive 4 Units 87-88 3
Exercises
m Write sentences with comparatives (older etc.) and superlatives (the oldest etc.).

big/small
(A /D ) A is bigger than P.
(A ) A is th e biggest,
3 (B) 13 is th e sm a llest.

long/short
(C /A) C i s ................................................................................A.
(D) D is ......................................................................................
(B) B ...........................................................................................

young/old
(D/C ) D
(B)
(C ) ......

expensive/cheap
(D /A ) ....................
(C ) ....................
(A ) ....................

RtilaumBA, Bycelled good/bad

(A /C ) .....
(A )........... .....
(D)................

| Complete the sentences. Use a superlative (the oldest etc.).

1 This building is very old. It’s th e o ld est building jn the town.
2 It was a very happy day. It w a s.............................................................................................. of my life.
3 It's a very good film. It's................................................................................................I've ever seen.
4 She’s a very popular singer. She's.............................................................................................. in the country.
5 It was a very bad mistake. It w a s .............................................................................................. I've ever made.
6 It's a very pretty village. It's................................................................................................I’ve ever seen.
7 It was a very cold day. It w a s............................................................................................... of the year.
8 He's a very boring person. He's..............................................................................................I've ever met.

m m Write sentences with a superlative (the longest etc.). Choose from the boxes.
Ctirl
jy u i icyI Alaska high country river Africa South Am erica
Everest the Nile large -eity- state Australia the world
Brazil Jupiter long mountain planet the USA the solar system

1 Sydney is the largest crtyjn Australia....

2 Everest.................................................................................
3 ..................................................................................................
4 ..................................................................................................
5 ..................................................................................
..................................................................

191