Unit 06: Comparisons – Chapter 1: Grammar Practice – Starter TOEIC – Third Edition – Building TOEIC Test-taking Skills – Anne Taylor – Casey Malarcher

🎯Target:

📏 Correct form of short and long comparatives
🔄 Correct form of irregular comparatives
⚖️ As ~ as comparison
✨ Modification of comparatives and superlatives
🥇 Choosing between comparatives and superlatives

A. Regular Comparison

1. With Short Adjectives:
Short adjectives are adjectives with one or two syllables.
When comparing:
📝 Comparative: Add -er to the end of the adjective.
📝 Superlative: Add -est to the end of the adjective.
📎 If the adjective ends with “y”, change “y” to “i” before adding -er or -est.
📎 If the adjective ends with a consonant preceded by a vowel, double the final consonant before adding -er or -est.
Examples:
dark → darker → darkest
happy → happier → happiest
hot → hotter → hottest
scary → scarier → scariest

2. With Long Adjectives:
Long adjectives are adjectives with three or more syllables.
When comparing:
📝 Comparative: Add more (for more) or less (for less) before the adjective.
📝 Superlative: Add most (for the most) or least (for the least) before the adjective.
📎 The form of the adjective does not change.
Examples:
beautiful → more beautiful → most beautiful
expensive → less expensive → least expensive

B. Irregular Comparison

1. Definition:
Some adjectives and adverbs have comparative and superlative forms that are completely different from the regular forms (not using -er or -est, or more and most). These words are called irregular because they do not follow the regular rules of comparison.

2. Common Cases:
a. Good and Well → Better → The best
Example: She is a good student. → She is a better student than her brother. → She is the best student in the class.
b. Bad and Badly → Worse → The worst
Example: This weather is bad. → Today’s weather is worse than yesterday’s. → This is the worst weather I’ve ever seen.
c. Much and Many → More → The most
Example: I have much work to do. → She has more work than I do. → She has the most work of all.
d. Little → Less → The least
Example: I have little time to study. → She has less time than me. → He has the least time of all.
e. Far
Used for physical distance → Farther → The farthest
Used for distance or as a metaphorical sense: additional → Further → The furthest
Example: He walked far. → She walked farther than him. → They walked the farthest.
Let’s discuss this further. → Let’s explore this in more detail.
📌 Important Notes:
☑️ Further: Used for both physical distance and additional meaning.
Example: Let’s go further into the details. → Let’s explore the details more deeply.
☑️ Farther: Only used for physical distance.
Example: The next city is farther than I thought. → The next city is farther away than I expected.

C. As ~ As Comparison

1. Definition:
The structure “as ~ as” is used to compare two subjects that are equal in a particular quality or degree.
As + adjective/adverb (base form) + as: Indicates equality or equivalence.
Not as/so + adjective/adverb (base form) + as: Indicates inequality

2. Structure and Usage:
a. With Adjectives: Used to compare qualities of two people or things.
Structure: S + to be + as + adjective (base form) + as + comparison target
Examples: He is as old as me. → He is the same age as I am.
“Old” is the base form of the adjective placed between as and as.
This car is as fast as that one. → This car is as fast as that car.
b. With Adverbs: Used to compare how actions are performed or to what degree.
Structure: S + verb + as + adverb (base form) + as + comparison target
Examples: He speaks English as fluently as his brother does. → He speaks English as fluently as his brother.
“Fluently” is the base form of the adverb placed between as and as.
📍Notes:
👉 The adjective or adverb in the as ~ as structure is always in its base form (not with -er or more).
Incorrect: He is as older as me.
Correct: He is as old as me.
👉 For negative comparisons, use not as ~ as or not so ~ as to express inequality:
This book is not as interesting as that one. → This book is less interesting than that one.

D. Modification of Comparatives

1. Definition & Structure:
In comparative sentences, certain words or phrases can be used to modify the degree of comparison.
These words help emphasize, tone down, or indicate the level of difference.
Structure: Modifier (much, a bit, far, etc.) + comparative adjective/adverb + than

2. Common Modifiers:
Below is a list of common modifiers used with comparatives:
a. much / very much / far: Emphasize a significant difference.
Example: He is much taller than me. → He is significantly taller than I am.
This problem is far more serious than we thought. → This issue is much more serious than we had expected.
b. a little / a bit: Soften the degree of difference.
Example: He is a bit taller than me. → He is slightly taller than I am.
This bag is a little cheaper than the other one. → This bag is slightly less expensive than the other.
c. a lot: Emphasize a large degree of difference.
Example: This car is a lot faster than the old one. → This car is significantly faster than the previous model.
d. any: Used in negative or interrogative sentences to indicate even a small degree of change.
Example: Is this any better than the previous one? → Is this slightly better than the previous one?
He isn’t any taller than his brother. → He is not even slightly taller than his brother.
e. no: Used to completely negate the difference.
Example: He is no taller than me. → He is not taller than I am at all.
f. even: Emphasizes a degree higher than expected.
Example: This is even worse than I expected. → This is worse than I had imagined.
g. still: Indicates that the degree of difference continues to increase.
Example: This city is still larger than the others. → This city remains larger than the others.

📌 Notes: Do not use words like very to modify comparatives.
Incorrect: He is very taller than me.
Correct: He is much taller than me.

E. Choice Between Comparatives and Superlatives

1. When to Use Comparatives:
a. With Adjectives: Used when comparing two subjects regarding a specific quality.
Key Indicator: The sentence contains than to show the comparison.
Structure: S + to be + comparative adjective + than + comparison target
Examples: He is taller than his brother.
b. With Adverbs:
Used when comparing the way an action is performed or the degree of an action between two subjects.
Key Indicator: The sentence contains than to indicate the comparison.
Structure: S + V + comparative adverb + than + comparison target
Examples: She runs faster than me. → She runs faster than I do.
He speaks more fluently than his brother. → He speaks English more fluently than his brother does.

2. When to Use Superlatives:
a. With Adjectives: Used to identify the subject that is superior in a specific quality within a group or range.
Key Indicators: The sentence contains words or phrases like ever, (of) all, possible, in the world, indicating the highest degree.
Structure: S + to be + the + superlative adjective + (noun/phrase)
Examples: This is the highest mountain in the world. → This is the tallest mountain on Earth.
He is the smartest student in the class. → He is the most intelligent student in the class.
b. With Adverbs: Used when comparing how an action is performed or the degree of an action, identifying the most superior case.
Key Indicators: The sentence contains words or phrases like ever, of all, possible, in the world.
Structure: S + V + the + superlative adverb + (additional phrase)
Examples: She dances the best of all the competitors. → She dances better than anyone else in the competition.
This machine works the most efficiently of all the models. → This machine operates more efficiently than any other model.