The Degrees of Comparison

EXERCISE № 44. Form the degrees of comparison of the following adjectives. Consult the British National Corpus for an alternative form.

Tall, green, new, easy, simple, interesting, stable, severe, important, bitter, beautiful, good, funny, comfortable, thick, wonderful, busy, bad, famous, early, far, outstanding, good-looking, well-built, serious, full, little, well-paid, careful, concise, clear, dirty, yellow, narrow, wicked, bright, old, favourite, noble, near, heavy, hearty, dangerous, lovely, pretty, funny, flat, wet, slender, fat, tender, sad.

EXERCISE № 45. Try to soothe a very pessimistic person. Use the model. Pay attention to the use of the article.

Example: I live a very dangerous life. – Take it easy. I live a more dangerous life.

I have thin hair. – Take it easy. I have thinner hair.

I am very old. – Take it easy. I am older.

1. I am very unhappy.	1. I am unhappier
2. I have a small flat.	2. I have a smaller flat.
3. I have little money.	3. I have less money.
4. I have a boring job.	4. I have a more boring job.
5. I am very absent-minded.	5. I am more absent-minded.
6. My neighbour is very beautiful.	6. Mine is more beautiful.
7. My car is very dirty.	7. Mine is dirtier.
8. My boss is very haughty.	8. Mine is haughtier.
9. My business is very slow.	9. Mine is slower.
10. My street is very noisy.	10. Mine is noisier.
11. I have an old coat.	11. I have an older coat.
12. My wife's cooking is disgusting.	12. My wife's cooking is more disgusting.
13. My English is bad.	13. My English is worse.

EXERCISE № 46.Compare something with the things described below.

Example: Madonna is very popular. – Brad Pitt is even more popular.

1. Cheese is very expensive now. 2. Krasnoyarsk is very old. 3. The Yenisey is very long. 4. The traffic in Krasnoyarsk is very bad. 5. Ironing is boring. 6. Going by plane is dangerous.7. Going by train is cheap. 8. Ice-cream is delicious. 9. It is warm in Europe in winter.

EXERCISE № 47.Compare two people or objects. Use the words in brackets.

Example: He is very intelligent. (his father) - He is far (much) more intelligent than his father.

1. Her hair is dark. (her sister's)	1. Her hair is far darker than her sister's.
2. This road is long. (that road)	2. This road is far longer than that one.
3. His spelling is good. (pronunciation)	3. His spelling is far better than his pronunciation.
4. My flat is comfortable. (his flat)	4. My flat is far more comfortable than his.
5. Her children are obedient. (mine)	5. Her children are far more obedient than mine.
6. His job is well-paid. (hers)	6. His job is far more well-paid than hers.
7. He is attentive. (She)	7. He is far more attentive than she is.
8. This river is deep. ( the lake)	8. This river is far deeper than the lake.
9. Your test is easy. (mine)	9. Your test is far easier than mine.
10. This bag is heavy. (that bag)	10. This bag is far heavier than that one.
11. Your story is incredible. (your friend's)	11.Your story is far more incredible than your friend's.
12. Your news is bad. (mine)	12. Your news is far worse than mine.

EXERCISE № 48.Compare two objects using the model.

Model: I am 27. My sister is 30. (young) - I am three years younger than my sister.

1. Our new house is a ten-storeyed building. The house we lived in before has 8 storeys. (high) 2. My twin brother was born at 7.30. I was born at 7. 53 a.m. (early) 3. The temperature is rising. It was 10 degrees in the morning. It is 16 now. (high) 4. The jacket is 50 $. The skirt is 46 $. (expensive). 5. This bag is 30 kilos. That bag is 10 kg. (heavy) 6. This excursion lasts for 4 hours. That one takes 5 hours. (long)

EXERCISE № 49.Complete the sentences with a bit, a little, or much + adjective.

Model: Jack's mother is 44. His father is 68. - Jack's father is much older than his mother.

1. My computer costs 950$. Yours costs 960$.

2. Mary is a fantastic tennis player. I am not very good at tennis.

3. Today it is 11 degrees. It was 10 degrees yesterday.

4. I was afraid to jump into the water, but Dan did it. He is very brave.

5. Mrs. Brown always gives us good marks. Mr. Smart asks a lot of questions. He is very strict.

6. It took me 25 minutes to get there. It took my friend 20 minutes. His car is fast.

EXERCISE № 50.Agree with the statements using the superlative degree of the adjectives.

Example: Your boyfriend is very smart. – He is by far the smartest boyfriend in the world.

1. Your father is very strict. 2. She is a good dancer. 3. Melon is a tasty fruit. 4. Krasnoyarsk is a good place to live in. 5. New Orleans is a dangerous city. 6. Your work is very good. 7. Your colleagues are very friendly. 8. Your secretary is very beautiful. 9. You are a very responsible student. 10. This book is very interesting. 11. This task is very challenging. 12. Your sister is very pretty. 13. Your mother is very busy. 14. This doctor is very famous. 15. This actor is very talented. 16. This city is very exciting. 17. His jokes are really funny. 18. Your car is very fast. 19. This girl is very choosy. 20. Your boss is very haughty. 21. I am clumsy. 22. This cat is cute. 23. That sultan is very rich.

EXERCISE № 51. Translate the following phrases into Russian. Fill in the blanks with suitable ones.

three times as wide, four times as deep, five times as narrow, twice as big, ten times as clever, twice as strong, ten times as fascinating, twice as hot, many times as long

1. The lake we have just crossed is … as the one we crossed yesterday. 2. Now the road seemed … , which always happens when you are dead tired. 3. The streets in the new district were … as in the old one. 4. Have you seen the new film? I think it is … as the one you took me to last week. 5. Take care! This cup … as that one. 6. Tom boasted that he was … as me. 7. She was … as her husband. 8. This house is … as that one. 9. The canyon before them was … as the one they had got over the day before.

EXERCISE № 52.Compare things. Say whether they are different or the same.

Model: My mother is beautiful. My sister is beautiful too. - My sister is as beautiful as our mother.

This perfume is very nice. But I don't like that one. - That perfume is not so nice as this one.

1. Our teacher is 35. My mother is 35 too. 2. The test we had today was easy. The test we had yesterday was rather difficult. 3. My friend is a ballet dancer and I am a cook. I am not slim, of course. 4. Our mother is always polite. I try to be like her but … 5. The mother was quiet. So was the child. 6. My elder brother is selfish. My younger brother is different from him.

EXERCISE № 53. Ask questions according to the model. Get your fellow-students answer them

You/ mother/ responsible

Example: Are you as responsible as your mother? - I think my mother is more responsible.

1. screen versions/ books/ interesting

2. cats / dogs / loyal

3. moon / sun / far

4. girls / boys / brave

5. men / women / fussy

6. English / German / easy

7. the Yenisey / the Angara / long

8. the USA / Russia / big

9. train / car / fast

10. washing up / ironing / boring

EXERCISE № 54. Use the correct form of the adjectives in brackets.

1. Our younger son doesn't want to be a teacher like his (older/elder) brother. 2. It is the (farthest/furthest) point west. 3. We have no (farther/further) information. 4. German is not half as (easy/easier) to learn as English. 5. I bought the (latest/last) edition of the book. 6. Have you heard the (latest/last) news? 7. When does the (latest/last) train for Odessa leave? 8. Let's stop (farther/further) argument. Australia is much (farther/further) than Europe. 9. The higher you climb, (farther/further) you fall. 10. He liked both Physics and Maths and the (last/latter) was what he majored in. 11. That was the (latest/last/latter) thing he said before leaving. 12. Is your school much (farther/further)? 13. Who is the (oldest/eldest) in your class? 14. He is my (older/elder) brother. 15. Jane is (older/elder) than I am. 16. He is going to have (farther/further) education.

EXERCISE № 55. Finish the sentences.

1. The more you work … 2. The less you know … 3. The more you have … 4. The older you get … 5. The earlier you come …

EXERCISE № 56. Read the dialogue. Find all the comparative constructions. Follow the model to speak about some amazing Guinness World record. Search the Net.

'Is it true that Wonka's Chocolate Factory is the biggest in the world?'

'True?' cried all four grandparents at once. 'Of course it's true! Good heavens, didn't you know that? It's about fifty times as big as any other!'

'And is Mr Willy Wonka really the cleverest chocolate maker in the world?'

'My dear boy,' said Grandpa Joe, raising himself up a little higher on his pillow, 'Mr Willy Wonka is the most amazing, the most fantastic, the most extraordinary chocolate maker the world has ever seen! I thought everybody knew that!'

EXERCISE № 57. Use the required form of the adjective. Put the in front of the adjective where necessary.

1. He is ______ (amusing) guy I have ever seen. 2. He's a far ______ (intelligent) person than my brother. 3. She was ______ (practical) of the family. 4. I was ______ (afraid) than glad to hear that I could go home. 5. I wanted to ask you both what you thought of my ______ (late) films. 6. He is ______ (talkative) than his sister. He won't tire you so much. 7. He turned out to be _____ (angry) than I had expected. 8. Today I am no ______ (wise) than yesterday. 9. This wine is ______ (bad) I have ever tasted. 10. Autumn is ______ (pleasant) of the four seasons. It is wet and dull. 11. Jack is ______ (clever) of the three brothers. 12. I don't think it matters in the _____ (little) which seat I choose. 13. The ______ (near) house is three miles away. 14. He was ______ (late) to come. 15. The (near) item in the programme is a piano sonata. 16. He is ______ (tall) of the two. 17. She is ______ (self-conscious) in a smaller company. 18. I am ______ (old) son of the family. 19. Dolphins are among ______ (intelligent) mammals in the world. 20. Mars and Venus seem ______ (likely) to have live than Earth. 21. The results of the experiments with the AIDS treatment are ______ (bad) than expected. 22. This wonderful sun-powered engine is ______ (promising) of all that have been designed so far. 23. Peter is ______ (bright) of the two brothers. 24. Emotional intelligence is probably ______ (trendy) term in modern psychology.

EXERCISE № 58.Translate the sentences into Russian

1. This is Mrs Steel. - Oh! I thought she was his daughter. She is half his age. 2. It is a most interesting book. 3. After the illness he seemed half as strong as he used to be. 4. She is very touchy like her mother. 5. She is very reserved unlike her parents. 6. She is as talkative as her mother. 7. This pen is a bit cheaper than that one. 8. I think he is less talented than you think. 9. The youngest one is the least attractive of the boys. 10. This car is three times as old as you are. 11. How many kilometers is this road longer? 12. She is not as naïve as she may seem. 13. I've tried all sorts of soaps and things but the rug is still no cleaner than when I started.

EXERCISE № 59.Complete the sentences with the missing parts (a,b,c,d,e,f,g). There is one extra letter.

a) half; b) than; c) like; d) as; e) not so; f) half as; g) twice as

1. I am getting old. I can't work … hard as I used to. 2. The bus was … quick as the train. It took us two hours more to get there. 3. What a huge apple! An average apple is … the size. 4. I have only 5 nuts and you have 10. I have … many nuts as you have. 5. Actions speak louder … words. 6. Our house is much smaller than yours. You have … many bedrooms as we have.

EXERCISE № 60. Translate the italicized words using a little, most of, much, far, most, a most

1. Это весьма интересный доклад. 2. Большую часть времени мужчины проводят на работе. 3. Нил гораздо длиннее Днепра. 4. Эта задача намного сложнее. 5. Большинство людей предпочитают жить в городе. 6. Это крайне важный вопрос. 7. Эта дорога немного длиннее.

EXERCISE № 61. Complete the book review with adjectives below. Use comparatives and superlatives.

beautiful, dark, influential, witty, good, expected, good-looking, interesting, lively