Unit 87 old/older expensive / more expensive old older heavy heavier expensive more expensive Older / heavier / more expensive are comparative forms. The comparative is -er (older) or more ... (more expensive). older/heavier etc. Short words (1 syllable) —> -er: old —> older slow —> slower nice —■> nicer late —» later Spelling (—» Appendix 5): big —> bigger cheap —> cheaper 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) □ Is it cheaper to go by car or by train? (not more cheap) □ Helen wants a bigger car. □ This coat is OK, but I think the other one is nicer. □ Don't take the bus. It's easier to take a taxi, (not more easy) far —> further: □ 'How far is it to the station? A mile?' 'No, it's further. About two miles.' more Long words (2/3/4 syllables) —> more careful —> more careful expensive —> more expensive polite —> more polite interesting —» more interesting mal □ You must be more careful. □ I don't like my job. I want to do something more interesting. □ Is it more expensive to go by car or by train? good/well —> better bad —» worse □ The weather wasn't very good yesterday, but it's better today. □ 'Do you feel better today?' 'No, I feel worse.' □ Which is worse — a headache or a toothache? 184 older than ... / more expensive than Unit 88 the oldest / the most expensive —> Unit 90 Exercises Unit 87 87.1 Look at the pictures and write the comparative (older / more interesting etc.). 87.2 Write the comparative. 1 old .......QUler................................................................. 6 good 2 strong ....................................................................................... 7 large 3 happy ....................................................................................... 8 serious 4 modern ....................................................................................... 9 pretty 5 important ...................................i................................................... 10 crowded 87.3 Write the opposite. 1 younger ........older........................................................................ 4 better .... 2 colder .............................................................................................. 5 nearer .... 3 cheaper .............................................................................................. 6 easier .... 87.4 Complete the sentences. Use a comparative. 1 Helen's car isn't very big. She wants a...............one. 2 My job isn't very interesting. I want to do something.......mere mteref^ng 3 You're not very tall. Your brother is............................................................................................ . 4 David doesn't work very hard. I work............................................................................................. 5 My chair isn't very comfortable. Yours is........................................................................................... 6 Your idea isn't very good. My idea is............................................................................................. 7 These flowers aren't very nice. The blue ones are................................................................... 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 was............................................................................................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 were............................................................................... 16 The weather isn't too bad today. Often it is much........................................................................................ 185 older than ... more expensive than She's taller than him. The Europa Hotel is more expensive than the Grand. We use than after comparatives (older than ... / more expensive than ... etc.): □ Athens is older than Rome. □ Are oranges more expensive than bananas? □ Its easier to take a taxi than to take the bus. □ 'How are you today?' 'Not bad. Better than yesterday.' □ The restaurant is more crowded than usual. We usually say: than me / than him / than her / than us / than them. You can say: □ I can run faster than him. or I can run faster than he can. □ You are a better singer than me. or You are a better singer than I am. □ I got up earlier than her. or I got up earlier than she did. more/less than ... □ A: How much did your shoes cost? £50? b: No, more than that. (= more than £50) □ The film was very short — less than an hour. □ They've got more money than they need. □ You go out more than me. 35- 30- 25- MORE THAN 30 LESS THAN 30 a bit older / much older etc. Box A is a bit bigger than Box B. a bit much bigger older better more difficult more expensive than Box C is much bigger than Box D. □ Canada is much bigger than France. □ Sue is a bit older than Gary — she's 25 and he's 24. □ The hotel was much more expensive than I expected. □ You go out much more than me. old —> older, expensive —> more expensive —> Unit 87 not as ... as —> Unit 89 Exercises Unit 88 88.1 Write sentences about Liz and Ben. Use than. Liz 88.2 88.3 Ben 1 I'm 26. 2 I'm not a very good swimmer. 3 I'm 1 metre 68 tall. 4 I start work at 8 o'clock. 5 I don't work very hard. 6 I haven't got much money. 7 I'm a very good driver. 8 I'm not very patient. 9 I'm not a very good dancer. 10 I'm very intelligent. 11 I speak French very well. \12 I don't go to the cinema very much. 1 Liz is p!^er than Ben................................................... 2 Ben is a better swuYiwer than Liz......... 3 Liz is.......................................................................................................... 4 Liz starts....................................................................................Ben. 5 Ben.............................................................................................................. 6 Ben has sot ...................................................................................... 1 I'm 24. 2 I'm a very good swimmer. 3 I'm 1 metre 63 tall. 4 I start work at 8.30. 5 I work very hard. 6 I've got a lot of money. 7 I'm not a very good driver. 8 I'm very patient. 9 I'm a good dancer. 10 I'm not very intelligent. 11 I don't speak French very well. 12 I go to the cinema a lot. 7 Liz is a 8 Ben ...... 9 Ben ...... 10 Liz........... 11 Liz........... 12 Ben ...... Complete the sentences. Use than. 1 He isn't very tall. You're taU.er than him(OR toU^ J^a-n he- is) 2 She isn't very old. You're.............................................................................................................................................................. 3 I don't work very hard. You work..................................................................................................................................... 4 He doesn't watch TV very much. You......................................................................................................................... 5 I'm not a very good cook. You............................................................................................................................................. 6 We don't know many people. You.................................................................................................................................... 7 They haven't got much money. You............................................................................................................................... 8 I can't run very fast. You can................................................................................................................................................... 9 She hasn't been here very long. You ............................................................................................................................... 10 They didn't get up very early. You.................................................................................................................................... 11 He wasn't very surprised. You .............................................................................................................................................. Complete the sentences with a bit or much + comparative (older/better etc.). 1 Emma is 25. Gary is 24 \. Emma a b'd ol Unit 88 Exercises Unit 89 89.1 Look at the pictures and write sentences about A, B and C. 89.2 89.3 6( I don't \riork\( I work ^ V very hard. J\ very hard,. J I ve got \-1 u_-. $3000. J( I work hard, but not too hard. J 1 A is bi^ge-r Ihari C, but not as big as B 2 A is..............................................................................................B, but not 3 C is.........................................................................................................A, but 4 A is......................................................................................................... , but..... 5 B has got............................................................................................................... 6 C works................................................................................................................. C Write sentences with as ... as .. 1 Athens is older than Rome. 2 My room is bigger than yours. 3 You got up earlier than me. 4 We played better than them. 5 I've been here longer than you. 6 She's more nervous than him. Rome !^y}>.k..^....9!^...^....h^.^^... Your room isn't..................................................... I didn't............................................................................ They.................................................................................. You...................................................................................... He........................................................................................ Write as or than. 1 Athens is older.......s3*£.......Rome. 2 I don't watch TV as much............................you. 3 You eat more............................me. 4 I'm more tired today............................I was yesterday. 5 Joe isn't as intelligent...........................he thinks. 6 Belgium is smaller...........................Switzerland. 7 Brazil isn't as big............................Canada. 8 I can't wait longer............................an hour. 89.4 Complete the sentences about Julia, Andy and Laura. Use the same age / the same street etc. I'm 22. I live in Hill Street. got up at 7.15. I haven't got a car. I'm 24. live in Baker Street, got up at 7.15. My car is dark blue. I'm 24. ive in Hill Street. I got up at 7.45. I've got a car. It's dark blue. Julia Andy Laura 1 (age) Andy is the some age as Laura. 2 (street) Julia lives................................................................................ 3 (time) Julia got up......................................................................... 4 (colour) Andys....................................................................................... Unit 90 the oldest the most expensive Box A is bigger than Box B. Box A is bigger than all the other boxes. Box A is the biggest box. HOTEL PRICES IN KINTON (Per room per night) Europa Hotel £140 Grosvenor £100 Grand Hotel £125 Bennets £90 Royal £120 Carlton £85 Astoria £115 Star £?5 Palace £110 Station £75 The Europa Hotel is more expensive than the Grand. The Europa Hotel is more expensive than all the other hotels in the city. The Europa Hotel is the most expensive hotel in the city. Bigger / older / more expensive etc. are comparative forms (—> Unit 87). Biggest / oldest / most expensive etc. are superlative forms. The superlative form is -est (oldest) or most ... (most expensive). 190 Short words (old/cheap/nice etc.) —> the -est: old —> the oldest cheap —> the cheapest but good —> the best bad —» the worst Spelling (—> Appendix 5): big —> the biggest nice —> the nicest 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 most ... : careful —> the most careful interesting —> the most interesting We say the oldest ... / the most expensive ... etc. (with the): □ The church is very old. It's the oldest building in the town. (= it is older than all the other buildings) □ What is the longest river in the world? □ Money is important, but it isn't the most important thing in life. □ Excuse me, where is the nearest bank? You can use the oldest / the best / the most expensive etc. without a noun: □ Ken 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 ... etc. : □ The film was very bad. I think it's the worst film I've ever seen. □ What is the most unusual thing you've ever done? present perfect + ever —> Unit 17 older / more expensive —» Units 87-88 Exercises Unit 90 90.1 Write sentences with comparatives (older etc.) and superlatives (the oldest etc.). 1 big/ small (A/D) .......A. is .bigger.jHh(«x p, (A) .......A is tHe biggest........... (13) .......B....^.,.,^.e.,5m,i^e5t,...... long/short (C/A) C is............................................................................................A. (D) D is................................................................................................... (B) B.......................................................................................................... (ľm Z3.)(ľm Z4.)(ľtm Z1. ) young/oid V^© ^P/"^ (D/C) D . RESTAURANT A e-xceäevt RESTAURANT B not bad RESTAURANT C gocd but not Honder-fuL RESTAURANT D ajJuL (D/C) D (B) (C) expensive/cheap (D/A) .......................... (C) .......................... (A) .......................... good/bad (A/C) ....... (A) ....... (D) ....... 90.2 Complete the sentences. Use a superlative (the oldest etc.). 1 This building is very old. It's.......tke oUie^t building........ m the town. 2 It was a very happy day. It was.............................................................................................................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 was.............................................................................................................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 was............................................................................................................. of the year. 8 He's a very boring person. He's.............................................................................................................I've ever met. 90.3 Write sentences with a superlative (the longest etc.). Choose from the boxes. Sydney Alaska high country river Africa South America Everest the Nile large City state Australia the world Brazil Jupiter long mountain planet the USA the solar system \ Sydney is tne largest city In Australia.. 2 Everest 3 ...................... 4 ...................... 5 ...................... 6 ...................... 191