Степени сравнения прилагательных в английском

СТЕПЕНИ СРАВНЕНИЯ ПРИЛАГАТЕЛЬНЫХ

1) Further and father refer to distance:

- London is five miles further/ farther.

     Further (not “father”) can mean “ in addition”:

- There is no further information.

2)  We use elder/ the eldest before a noun only with reference to people in a family:

- My elder brother/son, the eldest child, he’s the eldest

(but not “he is elder than me”)

     We use older/ the oldest for people and things:

- He is older than I am. This book is older.

3) Lesser is formed from less but is not a true comparative. We cannot use than after it. Lesser means “not so great” and we use it in fixed phrases like: the lesser of two evils.

4)  The latest/last:

      - I bought the latest (= most recent) edition of today’s paper.

      - I bought the last (= final) edition of today’s paper.

Запомни!

1.      После прилагательных в сравнительной степени употребляется союз than:

Moscow is larger than Minsk.

2.      Прилагательное в превосходной степени употребляется с определенным артиклем the:

Moscow is the largest city in our country.

3.      Для усиления сравнительной степени употребляются слова much, far (гораздо, намного):

Moscow is much / far larger than Minsk.

4.      При сравнении двух предметов одинакового качества прилагательное ставится между as… as (так(ой) же… как) в утвердительных предложениях и между not so… as (не такой… как) в отрицательных предложениях:

English is as difficult as Russian.

English is not so difficult as Russian.

5.      Степени сравнения наречий образуются так же, как и степени сравнения прилагательных:

      В отличие от превосходной степени прилагательных перед наречием в      превосходной степени определенный артикль не употребляется.

He works hardest of all.

Конструкции.

Exercise 1. Give the comparative and superlative of the following adjectives:

big, heavy, short, dirty, clean, near, bad, famous, little, much, clever, good, expensive, cheap, important, pale, hot, beautiful, large, practical, fat, early, pretty, happy, bright, dark, dry, fresh, full, quick, late, nice, rich, sad, thin, thick, wet, weak, early, funny, easy, lazy, ugly, comfortable, quiet, far.

Exercise 2. Give both comparative or superlative forms where possible.

1.      His brother is talented.

(than he) – His brother is more talented than he.

(person I have ever met) – His brother is the most talented person I have ever met.

2.      His work is careless.

(than mine)______________________________________________________

(in the class) _____________________________________________________

3.      Basketball is popular.

(than tennis) _____________________________________________________

(in the USA) _____________________________________________________

4.      This watch is expensive.

(than that one) ____________________________________________________

(in the shop) _____________________________________________________

5.      Tuesday is convenient for me.

(than Friday) _____________________________________________________

(of all week-days) _________________________________________________

Exercise 3. Choose the right forms in these sentences. In some cases both forms are right.

1.      Is the station much (further/ farther)?

2.      You’ll find the explanation (further/ father) on.

3.      Your record is (worse/ worst) than mine.

4.      It’s the ( less/ lesser) of two evils.

5.      She always wears the (last/ latest) fashion.

6.      We have no (further/ farther) information.

7.      Nick skates (good/ well).

8.      His (latest/ last)words were: “The end.”

9.      She is the (oldest/ eldest) member of our family.

10. My flat is (litter/ smaller) than yours.

11. I’ve got (less/ lesser) patience than you.

12. He is much (older/ elder) than his wife.

13. This is the (more/ most) beautiful picture I’ve ever seen.

14. His English is (best/ better) than mine.

15. She is (better/ best) now.

16. It’s the (furthest/ farthest) point west.

17. It’s the (oldest/ eldest) building in the city.

18. He’s my (older/elder) brother.

19. I’m not hurt in the (least/ less)!

20. It’s the (more/ most) I can do for you.

Exercise 4. Make up sentences according to the model, using “as…as” and the words given below.

Model: This book, the other one, interesting. This book is as interesting as the other one.

1.      Jane, Ann, charming. ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­____________________________________________

2.      He, I, tall. _____________________________________________________

3.      Michael, his brother, strong._______________________________________

4.      Our car, their car, good.__________________________________________

5.      This report, your report, interesting. ________________________________

6.      Her new hat, her skirt, becoming. __________________________________

7.      Your job, his, essential. __________________________________________

8.      The sitting room, the dining room, large. ____________________________

9.      The ice-cream, the cake, delicious._________________________________

10. His stories, his jokes, funny.______________________________________

Exercise 5. Use a bit/ a little/ much/ a lot/ far before comparatives.

Example: You’re driving too fast. Can you drive a bit more slowly? (a bit/ slowly)

1.      His songs are _____________________ than his operas. (much/ famous)

2.      It’s _____________________ in February than in March. (a bit/ windy)

3.      I found the museum _____________________ than I had expected (far/ interesting)

4.      I am_____________________ today than I was yesterday. (a lot/ tired)

5.      I prefer this armchair. It’s _____________________ the other one. (much/ comfortable)

6.      This flat is too small for me. I need something _____________________. (much/ big)

Exercise 6. Translate the words in brackets.

1.      This is _________________________________ (самая интересная  книга) I have ever read on this subject.

2.      Swimming is _________________________________ ( крайне популярный) summer sport.

3.      Shakespeare is _________________________________ (самый выдающийся) English poet and playwright of all the ages.

4.      Coal is _________________________________ (крайне важный) natural resource.

5.      He is _________________________________ (весьма умный) man.

Exercise 7. Fill the gapes using “as…as”, “so… as”.

1.      The temperature today is _____ high _____ it was yesterday.

2.      He is not_____ old _____ he looks.

3.      He is _____ strong _____ his brother.

4.      This street is _____ wide _____the next one.

5.      The trunk is not _____ heavy _____ I expected it to be.

6.      His radio set is not _____ powerful _____ mine.

7.      She is _____ tall _____ her sister.

8.      In Kislovodsk it is not _____ hot _____ in Sochi.

Exercise 8. Translate into English.

1. Россия – самая большая страна в мире. 2. Новое здание Московского Университета – одно из самых высоких зданий Москвы. 3. Этот текст – самый трудный из всех текстов, которые мы когда-либо переводили.

4. Земля больше Луны. 5.Ваш брат старше вас?  Нет, он моложе меня.

6. Сегодня ветер не такой сильный, как вчера. 7. Февраль – самый короткий месяц  в году. 8.Эта книга гораздо интереснее вашей. 9. Моя комната больше вашей. 10. Мое пальто не такое теплое, как ваше. 11. Мы должны обсудить сегодня крайне важные вопросы. 12. Большинство моих приятелей студенты. 13. Большинство людей любит фрукты. 14. Он истратил большую часть своих денег на книги.