English Grammar and Composition chapter 4: Degrees of Adjectives

UNIT 4 Degrees of Adjectives

Lesson 1: Introducing Degrees

Look at the picture and read the dialogue:

Figure

Labels: I am tall, I am short, I am taller than you, I am shorter than you

Description: Two men in dark suits stand side by side. The taller man on the right and the shorter man on the left; four speech bubbles point to them with pointers: "I am tall" and "I am short" to the two men respectively, "I am taller than you" to the taller man, and "I am shorter than you" to the shorter man.

The words 'short' and 'tall' qualify the two persons. These two qualifying words tell us one of the men is tall and the other is short. On the other hand, the other forms of the words, 'taller' and 'shorter' compare their height. The words 'short', 'tall' are called adjectives. Different forms of these adjectives are used to compare two or more things or to compare their qualities. Look at the following picture and sentences to see comparison between more than two things or their qualities.

Figure

Labels: I am the shortest of all, I am the tallest girl

Description: Three girls stand together outdoors in a photograph. The girl on the left is pointed to by a bubble reading "I am the tallest girl"; the girl on the right is pointed to by a bubble reading "I am the shortest of all".

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Now, underline the different forms of the qualifying words used in the bubbles above. Then discuss the following questions with your classmates:

1. What are the different forms of the words 'short' and 'tall'?
2. What forms of the words have been used to compare two persons?
3. What forms of the words have been used to compare three or more persons or things?

Remember that, the base form of the words 'short' and 'tall' is called positive degree or positive degree of adjectives. When they are used to compare between two, the base words become 'shorter' and 'taller' respectively. This form of adjectives is called comparative degree. If we compare between three or more, the base forms change to 'shortest' and 'tallest' respectively and this form of the adjectives is superlative degree.

Formation of Comparatives and Superlatives

i) Adjectives of one syllable take 'er' to form comparatives and 'est'/'st' to form their superlative degrees.

Now, work in pairs and try to make the comparative and superlative forms of the following adjectives:

big, small, fast, slow, wise

Read the following list individually first and then discuss the adjectives and their comparative and superlative forms with your partners:

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Now, practise the following conversation with your partner. Change your role while practising. After the first round of practice, use your own names and your own qualities:

Alim : Sarwar, you are short.

Sarwar : Probably I am not shorter than you.

Alim : Sorry Sarwar, I am taller than you.

Sarwar : But you are not the tallest student in the class.

Alim : I agree, Riad is the tallest boy in our class. Who is the shortest student in our class?

Sarwar : I am sure, it is not me. Probably Raihana is the shortest student in our class.

Alim : Sorwar, we should not label one as tall, taller, tallest or, short, shorter, shortest without measuring their heights.

Sarwar : You are quite right, Alim.

ii) If a one syllable adjective ends in a vowel followed by a consonant, the consonant becomes double when any suffix (er, est) is added. If there are two vowels before the last consonant of the adjective, the last consonant will not be doubled (sweet, sweeter, sweetest). Read the adjectives from the following table and notice their comparative and superlative forms:

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Lesson 2: More about degree

Read the following positive, comparative and superlative forms of adjectives. Discuss with your partner how they are different from the previous ones.

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Note: If one syllable adjectives end in consonant followed by 'y', 'y' is changed into 'i' and 'er/est' is added to comparative and superlative forms. Remember that, if the last 'y' is preceded by a vowel, the 'y' remains unchanged and 'er', 'est' are used to make comparative and superlative forms respectively. For instance, grey, greyer, greyest.

Now, read the positive, comparative, and superlative forms of adjectives from the list below and discuss with your friends how the positive forms of the adjectives have been changed into comparative and superlative.

Note: Comparatives and superlatives of adjectives made of more than two syllables are made adding 'more' and 'most' before the adjectives respectively.

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Now, read the following list of adjectives and look at the comparative and superlative forms of them:

Exercise 1

Now, read the weather forecast and underline the adjectives. Write all the three forms (positive, comparative, and superlative) of all the adjectives you find in the forecast. Then compare your answers with your partners.

Weather is likely to remain dry with cloudy sky over the country. Mild cold wave is sweeping over the regions of Madaripur, Rajshahi, Pabna, Sayedpur, Jashore, Kushtia and Srimangal, and it may continue and spread elsewhere over Rangpur division. Moderate to thick fog may occur over the river basins and light to moderate fog elsewhere over the country during midnight till morning. Night temperature may fall slightly over Rangpur division and it may remain nearly unchanged elsewhere over the country. However, between late December and early January, coldest weather in the last five years is predicted. After some good winters since 2010, we may feel the biting of winter. In that period of time, temperature may be less than 10 degrees Celsius in a few places. Poor and elderly people, and little babies may suffer more for want of warm clothes.

(adapted)

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Read the following sentences to experience how to transform sentences containing the degrees of comparison to each other:

A) Positive to comparative

i) Positive: Faridul is as tall as Riad Comparative: Riad is not taller than Faridul.

ii) Positive: Khorshed is as handsome as Subrato. Comparative: Subrato is not more handsome than Khorshed.

B) Comparative to superlative

i) Comparative: My father is older than any other man in the village. Superlative: My father is the oldest man in the village.

ii) Comparative: Milk is more nutritious than any other drink. Superlative: Milk is the most nutritious drink.

C) Superlative to positive

i) Superlative: Atanu is the best boy in class eight. Positive: No other boy in class eight is as good as Atanu.

ii) Superlative: Shamsur Rahman is the most famous modern poet of Bangladesh. Positive: No other modern poet of Bangladesh is so famous as Shamsur Rahman.

iii) Superlative: Sraboni is one of the most intelligent girls in the class. Positive: Very few girls in the class are as intelligent as Sraboni.

D) Interchange of Degrees

i) Positive: Very few airlines are as good as Apollo Airlines. Comparative: Apollo Airlines is better than most other airlines. Superlative: Apollo Airlines is one of the best airlines.

ii) Positive: No other man in the locality is so active as Mr. Anwar. Comparative: Mr. Anwar is more active than any other man in the locality. Superlative: Mr Anwar is the most active man in the locality.

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Note: Superlative degrees always take definite article before them. For instance: the best boy; the greatest dramatist; the most handsome man; and the happiest man.