Ступені порівняння прикметників і прислівників
| Види | Основна форма | Вищий ступінь | Найвищий ступінь | |
| Односкладові та деякі двоскладові | big easy | bigger easier | biggest easiest | |
| soon | sooner | soonest | ||
| Багатоскладові | interesting difficult | more interesting more difficult | most interesting most difficult | |
| slowly | more slowly | most slowly | ||
| Але: | good bad many, much little | well badly much little | better worse more less | best worst most least |
7 Give the comparatives and the superlatives:
Cheap, fine, late, funny, good, boring, hard, handsome, honest, interesting, lazy, light, old, nervous, sad, soft, far, violent, wet, silly, stupid, uncomfortable, useful, little, young, bad, fresh, important, many/much, pretty, gifted.
8 Form the comparatives and the superlatives:
Example: John, Bob, Henry – strong.
John is strong, Bob is stronger and Henry is the strongest of all the three.
1 George, Nick, Mike – young. 2 Sam, Tom, Charles – lucky. 3 Ann, Betty, Kate – pretty. 4 My answer, his answer, her answer at the exam – good. 5 Fred, David, Ben – tall. 6 My task, your task, his task - easy. 7 John, his brother, his father – clever. 8 Mary’s dress, Ann’s dress, Kate’s dress – fashionable. 9 Tom, his friend, George – brave. 10 The Volga, the Danube, the Nile – long. 11 English, Russian, Chinese – difficult. 12 May, June, July – hot. 13 Peter’s flat, Nina’s flat, Mark’s flat – comfortable. 14 Ben’s car, Jim’s car, Fred’s car – bad. 15 The performance, the film, the book – interesting.
9 Use the comparative degree of the adjectives in the following:
Example: The … (much) I read the … (much) I know. The more I read the more I know.
1 The … (cold) the day the … (good) I feel. 2 The … (warm) the day the … (bad) I feel. 3 The … (difficult) the exercise the … (much) time I need. 4 The … (beautiful) the day the … (little) I can do. 5 The … (high) the fever the … (dangerous) the case. 6 The … (hard) she works the … (soon) she can become a ward sister.
10 Complete the sentences with “the … the”. Use the expressions given after the model:
Model: … Mark gets, he ... looks like his Grandpa. The older Mark gets, the more he looks like his Grandpa.
older/more, more/more, older/darker, more/less, warmer/more, longer/more, faster/more, more/more/less, dangerous/more
1 … he drove, … we laughed. 2 … I live here, … I like it. 3 … I get, … my hair gets. 4 … it is, … I like it. 5 … money he lost, … it made him unhappy. 6 … I learn, … I forget and … I know. 7 … I get to know you, … I understand you. 8 … clothes she buys, … clothes she wants to buy. 9 … money he has, … useless things he buys. 10 … it got, … time we spent on the beach. 11 … he reads, … forgets. 12 … she ignores him, … he loves her. 13 ... he drives, … nervous he gets. 14 … money we spend, … friends we have. 15 … I sleep, … tired I am.
11 Translate the following:
1 Хіба здоров'я не важливіше, ніж гроші? 2 Вона набагато талановитіша, ніж її сестра. 3 Вона виглядає набагато старшою за свою сестру, чи не так? 4 Контрольна робота була легшою, ніж ми думали. 5 Сьогодні холодніше, ніж учора. 6 Ця кімната більша, ніж та? 7 Наш новий дім набагато кращий, ніж старий. 8 Цей велосипед дорожчий, ніж той. 9 Мій брат набагато старший за мене. 10 Чому зелена сукня дешевша за синю?
12 Translate the following sentences:
1 The earlier the diagnosis, the more likelihood of the successful cure. 2 The smaller the loss, the quicker the patient recovers. 3 The more primitive an organism, the greater its ability of regeneration. 4 The sooner the patient is operated on, the better for him. 5 The larger the heart, the lower the position which it occupies in the thorax. 6 The more fresh air, the better for patients. 7 The earlier the diagnosis is made, the simpler and more conservative is successful treatment. 8 The sicker the patient with a fractured hip is, the sooner surgery should be carried out. 9 The greater the viscosity of a sludge flowing through a pipeline the greater will be the head loss for the same rated flow. 10 As water vapour is lighter than dry air, the larger the moisture content the lighter the moist air and the less the pressure. 11 The better the condition of the patient and the younger he is, the greater the delay that may be accepted.
13 Note the use of degrees of comparison of adjectives and adverbs in the following sentences. Translate these sentences:
1 More than 60 million people around the world have quit smoking. 2 When you stop smoking, your cough becomes less and less severe. 3 Food starts to taste better. 4 Your sense of smell gets sharper. 5 Your clothes smell laundry-fresher. 6 If you feel more short-tempered or distracted or sleepier than usual, don't worry because these feelings will pass. 7 When you feel tense, tell yourself that smoking won't make it any better, and do something else. 8 The hottest area of the current research on smoking is the study of the population distribution of the genes for smoking. 9 The genetic factors appear to play a larger role in nicotine dependence than in smoking initiation. 10 The most common side effects with gums are aching jaws or soreness of the gums, changes in taste, abdominal discomfort, hiccups, nausea, vomiting, and belching.
14 Translate the following sentences:
1 The most common side effects with patches are burning, itching, or redness at the site of the patch, headache, insomnia, nervousness, dizziness, cough, rash, joint aches, painful menstruation, and changes in taste. 2 Although some agents appear to be less effective than NRT, they may be promising for some patients. 3 Smoking around babies increases the risk of SIDS, and the more cigarettes the parents smoke the higher the risk. 4 The harmful effects of tobacco smoking include the direct action on the respiratory tract, as well as more indirect action on other organs. 5 The more risk factors the individuals have, the greater is their likelihood of developing heart disease. 6 Generally, the least controversial and most widely accepted coronary risk factors are considered to be smoking, levels of cholesterol in the blood, and high blood pressure. 7 The fewer the number of activities that greatly harm human health, the better it would be for the health of all humanity. 8 Soya beans are widely known for their anti-cancer potential, and the latest discoveries are encouraging. 9 Numerous studies have shown associations of higher dietary fruit and vegetable intake with lower risks of a whole range of cancers. 10 The longer you smoke, the worse the damage becomes. 11 Good health is better than the best medicine.
15 Complete the sentences with:
a) a comparative and than:
1 She’s much … her husband (young). 2 It’s a … day ... yesterday (warm). 3 The vegetables in this shop are … the ones in the supermarket (fresh). 4 The train is … the bus (expensive). 5 This new TV programme is much … the old one (funny). 6 Mrs. Dais is a … teacher ... Mr. Andrews (good). 7 My office is … Helen’s (near). 8 The traffic is … it was last year (noisy). 9 You have a … life … I have (busy). 10 Drivers in this country are … drivers in my country (careless). 11 The exam today was … last year’s exam (difficult). 12 She’s much … her sister (kind). 13 The North is … the South (rich). 14 The students ask … questions … they did before (intelligent). 15 Her second book is … her first (interesting).
b) a superlative:
1 This is … case in the shop (string). 2 You’re the … person here (friendly). 3 She’s the … student in the group (intelligent). 4 This is the … day of my life (happy). 5 This is the … hotel in town (cheap). 6 It’s the … place in the world (wonderful). 7 It’s the … film I’ve ever seen (sad). 8 It’s the … capital city in the world (dirty). 9 The people in this area are the … in the country (poor). 10 She was the … speaker of the evening (amusing). 11 This shop sells the … vegetables (fresh). 12 It’s the … programme on television (boring). 13 This is the … road in the country (dangerous). 14 She’s the … person I’ve ever met (honest). 15 It was the … time of my life (bad).