Lesson 13 - Comparisons
المقدمة
In this lesson you'll learn how to make comparisons in English, including how to use the comparative and superlative forms of adjectives. You'll also learn some common English phrases that are used when making plans.
محادثة
English
Alice and Mary are at a cafe. Mary goes up to the counter to order.
Barrista: Good morning. What would you like?
Mary: Good morning. I'd like a large coffee and a blueberry muffin.
Barrista: That'll be five dollars and fifty cents. How would you like to pay?
Mary: With my credit card.
Mary pays then takes her coffee and muffin and sits down at a table by the window. A couple minutes later Alice sits down as well.
Mary: What did you get?
Alice: I got a lemon-mint green tea and a cinnamon coffee cake.
Mary: The coffee cake looks very good. I wish I had have gotten one of those.
Alice: I had one last week and I really like it. What are your plans for the weekend?
Mary: I'm going to the beach with my sister and nephew on Saturday. Do you want to come along?
Alice: I can't. I'm going to visit my parents on Saturday. What are you up to on Sunday?
Mary: I don't have any plans.
Alice: Do you want to go for a bike ride.
Mary: Sure.
المفردات والعبارات
Here are some common English phrases related to making plans. To help you learn these phrases, try creating your own conversations using them.
| What are your plans for the weekend? | |
| What are you up to tonight? | |
| What are you doing tomorrow? | |
| Not much. | |
| I'm not sure yet. | |
| Do you have any plans for the weekend? | |
| I'm going to go to the beach. | |
| I'm planning to go camping on the weekend. | |
| I don't have any plans. | |
| I'm just going to stay home and relax. | |
| What time do you want to go? | |
| When should we meet? | |
| Where should we meet. | |
| Would you like to go to a movie tonight? | |
| Do you want to go to the beach tomorrow? |
الإعلانات
قواعد
Comparing Adjectives
Adjectives are used to describe a quality or attribute of a noun. This lesson covers how to compare a quality of two or more nouns.
Indicating Equality
To indicate that a noun has the same quality as another noun, the following construction is used:
as <adjective> as
| Today is as cold as yesterday. | اليوم بارد مثل أمس. |
| You are as smart as I am. | كنت ذكيا كما أنا. |
| Your house is as big as my house. | بيتك هو كبير مثل بيتي. |
Indicating Less of a Quality
To indicate that a a noun has less of a quality than another noun, the following construction is used.
not as <adjective> as
The following construction can also be used:
less <adjective> than
For example:
| Today is less cold than yesterday. | اليوم هو أقل البارد من أمس. |
| Today is not as cold as yesterday. | اليوم ليست باردة كما بالأمس. |
| Your house is not as big as my house. | منزلك ليست كبيرة مثل بيتي. |
Comparative
There are two ways to indicate that a noun has a greater quality than another noun. The first way is to add "er" to the end of the adjective. This is called the comparative form of the adjective. The second way is to add the word "more" before the adjective. The following rules are used to determine which form to use.
- If the adjective has one syllable and ends in a consonant, er is added to the end of the adjective. Sometimes the final consonant is also doubled.
- If the adjective has one syllable and ends in e, then r is added to the end of the adjective.
- If the adjective is two syllables and ends in y, the y is changed to an i and er is added to the end of the adjective.
- If the adjective is two syllables and ends in ow, then er is added to the end of the adjective.
- If the adjective is two syllables and does not end in y or ow, then the word more is added before the adjective. Some of these two syllable adjectives can use the er suffix instead.
- For adjectives with three or more syllables always use the word more with the adjective. The suffix er is never used with these adjectives.
| Adjective | Comparative |
|---|---|
| big | bigger |
| great | greater |
| happy | happier |
| narrow | narrower |
| intelligent | more intelligent |
| quiet | quieter or more quiet |
| white | whiter |
| broken | more broken |
Superlative
To indicate that a noun has the most of a quality within a group, either the superlative form of the adjective is used, or the word most is added before the adjective. The following rules are used to determine which form to use.
- If the adjective has one syllable and ends in a consonant, est is added to the end of the adjective. Sometimes the final consonant is also doubled.
- If the adjective has one syllable and ends in e, then st is added to the end of the adjective.
- If the adjective is two syllables and ends in y, the y is changed to an i and est is added to the end of the adjective.
- If the adjective is two syllables and ends in ow, then est is added to the end of the adjective.
- If the adjective is two syllables and does not end in y or ow, then the word most is added before the adjective. Some of these two syllable adjectives can use the est suffix instead.
- For adjectives with three or more syllables always use the word most with the adjective. The suffix est is never used with these adjectives.
| Adjective | Comparative | Superlative |
|---|---|---|
| big | bigger | biggest |
| great | greater | greatest |
| happy | happier | happiest |
| narrow | narrower | narrowest |
| intelligent | more intelligent | most intelligent |
| quiet | quieter or more quiet | quietest or most quiet |
| white | whiter | whitest |
| broken | more broken | most broken |
الإعلانات
Examples
| That's the biggest dog I've ever seen. | وهذا هو أكبر كلب رأيت من أي وقت مضى. |
| That's the oldest house in the neighborhood. | هذا هو أقدم بيت في الحي. |
| Your house is bigger than our house. | بيتك هو أكبر من منزلنا. |
| His car is more expensive than mine. | سيارته هي أكثر تكلفة من الألغام. |
| She is the most intelligent person I have ever met. | وقالت انها هي الأكثر ذكاء. |
Irregular Forms
Some adjectives have irregular comparative and superlative forms. The following table shows the irregular forms.
| Adjective | Comparative | Superlative |
|---|---|---|
| good | better | best |
| bad | worse | worst |
| little | less | least |
| many | more | most |
| much | more | most |
Comparing Adverbs
The comparative form of adverbs is created by adding the mord more before the adverb the superlative form of adverbs is created by adding the word most before the adverb.
| Adverb | Comparative | Superlative |
|---|---|---|
| quietly | more quietly | most quietly |
| frequently | more frequently | most frequently |
| carefully | more carefully | most carefully |
الاختبار
اختبر معلوماتك
