Inglese I - adjectives

Complete the table below

positive comparative

cold

warm

cheap

beautiful

expensive

heavy

thin

bad

good

early

much/many + noun + noun

1. I have as many books as Laura. I have more books than Laura.

2. I have as much sugar in my coffee as Laura. I have more sugar in my coffee than Laura.

* You can modify comparatives with a lot/much/far/slightly/a bit.

Write comparative sentences with the words given.

1. Lisa / trendy / Clare………………………………………………………

2. Scooters / expensive / bicycles…………………………………………….

3. It / hot / today / yesterday…………………………………………………

4. History / interesting / geography…………………………………………..

5. George Clooney / old / Brad Pitt……………………………………………

6. Football / popular / basketball / in Italy…………………....................

7. Jane / young / Maria………………………………………………………….

8. Benevento / small / Rome…………………………………………………….

9. Rome / big / Naples……………………………………………………...........

10. Rome / exciting / Benevento………………………………………..............

11. There’s / much /traffic / in Rome / in Benevento……………..……....

12. Italian food / good / English food……………...…………………………….

13. Italian food / healthy / English food………………..……………………….. 2

14. There’s / far / crime / in Naples / in Benevento………………………..

15. There’s / a lot / nightlife / in Rome / in Benevento………………………

3) Superlative Adjectives

We use superlative adjectives when we are comparing more than two people, places, or

things.

One-syllable adjectives form their superlative by adding “est” to the positive form.

short shortest

Adjectives ending in “e” add “st” nice nicest

Adjectives ending in a consonant + y the “y” changes into “i” and you add “est”

heavy heaviest vowel, you

One-syllable adjectives that end with a final consonant preceded by one final

double the last consonant before adding “est”

thin thinnest

fat fattest

Adjectives of three or more syllables form their superlative by putting “most” before the

positive interesting most interesting

aggressive most aggressive

Some adjectives are irregular;

positive comparative superlative

much / many more most

little less least

good better best

bad worse worst

far farther/further farthest/furthest

Superlative adjectives are preceded by “the,” and we use the preposition “in”

Venice is the most beautiful city in the world.

We use “of” before time expression; of the year/month /week

Write superlative sentences with the words given. Use “the,” “of” or “in” when necessary.

1. Who / tall / the class?....................................................................

2. Alaska / large / state / the USA?……………………...…………….

3. It / was / cold / day / the year…………………………………………

4. It / old/ building / this town…………………………………………….

5. He / boring/ person, / I know…………………………………….

6. Excuse me! / Where / near / bank?...........................................

7. Julia / attractive / girl / this school…………………………………….

8. Who / wealthy / man / the world? …………………………………… 3

9. Shrimp’s / good / restaurant / this area……………………....…………

10. John’s / expensive / shop / this town………………………..…........…

11. What / popular / sport / your / country?.......................................

12. Who / good / football player/ the Italian Championship?...............

13. Milan / busy / city / Italy?………………………............…………………

14. The Nile / long / river / Africa……………………………….............……

15. For me, / Friday / busy / day / the week………………….....…………

16. In Australia, January / hot / month / the year ………….....…………

*Most adjectives are gradable because they express qualities which can exist in different

degrees, but some are ungradable. Ungradable adjectives express extreme qualities such

as perfection and we can’t use adverbs like very or fairly to modify them. Adverbs such as

absolutely, completely, totally or really can be used to modify extreme adjectives. It’s

absolutely freezing today NOT It’s very freezing today.

Sentence transformation

Complete the second sentence so that it means the same as the first. Use no more than three words.

1) Jane had a worse seat than Dave.

David had……………………. than Jane.

2) Farms weren’t as big as they are today.

Farms today are…………………..they used to be.

3) There are fewer tigers today than there were fifty years ago.

Fifty years ago………………………. tigers than there are now.

4) Everyone in my class is older than me.

I’m the………………………….. in my class.

5) People work much harder than they need to.

People don’t need to work……………….. they do.

6) It was smaller than all the other phones in the shop.

It was………………………….. phone in the shop.

7) Italian food is better than English food.

English food isn’t…………………………………. Italian food.

8) John isn’t as tall as Mark.

Mark …………………………. John.

9) Other sports aren’t so popular as football in Italy

Football is……………………………….sport in Italy.

10) The ring I bought was more expensive than the others in the shop.

I bought ……………………………… ring in the shop.

12) The moon is smaller than the earth.

The moon is not………………………………. as the earth. 4