comparatives superlatives AND
COMPARATIVE OF EQUALITY
with adverbs and adjectives
as + adjective / adverb + as ; ;
Is she as young as HIM?
She Does not speak as fluently as Inglese her brother.
With nouns (also implied)
much as + + Dep. + uncountable as ;
There isn’t as much traffic as yesterday.
as + many + sost. plurale + as
We don’t know as many people as you do .
Con verbi
verbo + as much + as
I do not smoke as much as you (do).
COMPARATIVE MAJORITY of
With monosyllabic adjectives
With two-syllable adjectives ending in-y,-e,-er,-ow
With adverbs that have the same form of adjectives
adjective / adverb + +-er Than
She's Prettier Than all her school friends.
With all the other adjectives
with adverbs ending in-ly
more + adjective / adverb + Than
The play Was more boring Than I expected.
With singular or plural nouns (also implied)
more + noun + Than ; ;
You’ve got more money than me / than I have.
This library has more books than that one.
Con verbi
verbo + more + than
Paul eats More Than His Brothers.
REMEMBER: the expression reported more time translates to Longer .
COMPARATIVE MINORITY
With adjectives / adverbs
With singular nouns (also implied)
With verbs
less + ... .. + Than ; ;
Betty is less optimistic Than her friends.
There is less traffic Than yesterday.
He earns less than not me / Than I do.
With plural nouns (also implied)
fewer + Dep. plural + Than ;
I made fewer Mistakes in my test Than Jill.
REMEMBER: the second term of comparison is introduced by Than . When the second term of comparison in Italian consists of a personal pronoun, this is made in English with the corresponding personal pronoun complement or with the personal pronoun subject followed with the aid. This structure, however, is very formal.
Study Harder Than You me.
Study Harder Than You I do. (Formal)
ENHANCEMENT OF comparative and superlative
The comparison is reinforced in the majority of English by:
- much / far with adjectives / adverbs, singular nouns, verbs:
're much / Thinner Than to me. (you are much thinner than me) She's
much / far less charming Than her mother. (it is much less fascinating than his mother)
Lucy much drinks / tea making More Than Nick.
- many / far with plural nouns:
France has got many / far more Inhabitants Than Spain.
- If there are fewer can only be used to:
Spain has got to fewer Inhabitants Than France.
expressions increasingly and become less and less with the doubling of the comparative:
This book is selling more and more copies. (this book is selling more copies)
Mark is taller and Becoming taller. (Mark is getting higher)
The plot of this novel Becoming less and less is amusing. (... .. less and less fun)
The comparative relationship are always preceded by the definite article
The more I know HIM, the better I like HIM. (most know him, the more I like it)
The older she gets, the less friendly she Becomes. (more older, becomes less sympathetic)
superlative MAJORITY of
With adjectives monosilabici
With two-syllable adjectives ending in-y,-e,-er,-ow
With adverbs that have the same form as adjectives
the + adjective / adverb + +-east of / in
She's the prettiest in her class .
With all the other adjectives
with adverbs ending in-ly
The Most + adjective / adverb + of / in ; ;
Jane is The Most intelligent girl in her class.
With singular or plural nouns (also implied)
The Most + of + noun / in
This is the library which has the most foreign books in the city.
Con verbi
verbo + the most + of/in
Paul eats The Most in my family.
REMEMBER: Most without the article has the meaning of most of / the most :
OUTSTANDING MINORITY
With adjectives / adverbs
With singular nouns (also implied)
With verbs
the least ... .. + Of + / in . ;
Ross is the least optimistic of Jane's friends.
(Ross is the least optimistic of the Friends of Jane)
With plural nouns (also implied)
the fewest + Dep. Plural + of / in
Bill made the fewest Mistakes of all in the class.
(Bill made fewer errors in all class)
Superlatives can be followed by
- of / Among when the comparator is represented by a number or a Group
Toby is the laziest of / Among my students.
- in / on when the comparator is represented by a place:
Ben Nevis is the Highest mountain in Great Britain. Which is the coldest place on Earth ?
- That by the relative pronoun that introduces a relative clause (the can be omitted when it is not the subject)
She's The Most sincere girl (that) I know .
REMEMBER:
- the superlative is reinforced by to .
He's by to The Most Intelligent That boy in class. (it's by far the most intelligent guy ...)
- The superlative refers to two entities is expressed in English with a comparative.
The twins are clever, But Certainly Theo is the more intelligent of the two.
(The twins are smart, but Theo is definitely the smarter of the two)
Comparative and superlative IRREGULAR
Good (good) better (migliore/meglio) the best (il migliore)
Well (bene) worse (peggiore/peggio) the worst (the worst)
Bad (bad) worse ; ; the worst
Old (old) older (older) ; the oldest (the oldest)
elder (more) the eldest (the magggiore)
late (late) later (the latest) the latest (most recent)
; ; ; the last (the last)
far (away) Further / farther (further) the furthest / the farthest (furthest)
further (ulteriore)
near (vicino) nearer (più vicino) the nearest (il più vicino)
the next (next, next)
OLD
forms elder and the eldest is only used to refer to members the same family; elder is never followed by the second term of comparison ( elder sister : sister ):
My elder brother is 20. He's three years older Than Me.
This is my eldest son .
LATE
The latest means the most recent . ;
This is our latest model
(this is our latest fashions llo)
The last indicates the latest in a series or a chronological order
This is the last bottle of wine we've got.
(this is the last bottle of wine we have)
The Latter latter means, the second , and is used in opposition to the former (the first ), referring to two entities previously appointed.
Mrs. Pritt has got two sons: the is a former dentist, The Latter is serving the Army.
(Mrs. Pritt had two sons: the first is dental, the second is doing his military service)
FAR
forms of comparative Further / farther are both used in relation to distance
Further means further additional , and in this sense not is interchangeable with farther :
Do You Need Any Further explanation? (needs further explanation?)
NEAR
The superlative form of the nearest means the nearest related to space:
The nearest pub , the Red Lion, is over there.
The next corresponds to the next, the following With regard to space and time:
We got off at the next stop .
What did you do the next morning?
EXPRESSIONS WITH SPECIAL Comparative and superlative
At least At least
At the latest: the latest
From bad to worse: from bad to worse
Sooner or later, sooner or later
Not any longer / not anymore: no more
As soon as possible: as soon as possible
As cheap as you can: the cheapest you can (can be used with all the adjectives)
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