https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UPLlVqbdCs
British Council / The best pizza (3:24)
Glossary
No way!
tasty
Just around the corner
cheap
However, ….. // …………….. though // but ….. //
so (good!)
It’s all in (the cheese)!
disgusting
That’s a coincidence!
crispy
Sounds good
amazing
I’ll save you a slice …
bad
I fancied …. (wanted)
(worse, the worst)
// delicious
How about ….?
A speakerphone is a telephone with a microphone and loudspeaker WHICH allow multiple persons to participate in a conversation.
Answer the following questions
Where’s the best place to go according to Alfie?
Why is La Bella Napoli a better place in Daisy’s opinion?
What doesn’t Alfie like about pizzas at La Bella Napoli?
Where’s Oliver and Daisy’s’s mum?
What’s she doing at the moment?
What was the pizza base like?
What doesn’t Mrs G. like about pizzas at La Bella Napoli?
Are they going to eat a pizza after all?
Did you know the old saying Oliver quotes?
Comparing people and things
We use comparative
adjectives to describe people and things:
This car is certainly better but it’s much more expensive.
I’m feeling happier now.
We need a bigger garden
We use than when we want to compare one thing with another:
She is two years older than me.
New York is much bigger than Boston.
He is a better player than Ronaldo.
France is a bigger country than Britain.
When we want to describe how something or someone changes we can use two comparatives with and:
g
g
The balloon got big er and big er.
Everything is getting more and more expensive.
Grandfather is looking older and older.
We often use the with comparative adjectives to show that one thing depends on another:
When you drive faster it is more dangerous
> The faster you drive, the more dangerous it is.
When they climbed higher it got colder
> The higher they climbed, the colder it got.
Superlative adjectives:
We use the with a superlative:
It was the happiest day of my life.
Everest is the highest mountain in the world.
That’s the best film I have seen this year.
I have three sisters, Jan is the oldest and Angela is the youngest .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EENs_S1w0A
comparatives with songs ( JJEnglish – fun with songs)
http://www.azargrammar.com/assets/intermediate/FEGiGrammarSpeaks/chapter9/feg_ca_09_001.swf
(as … as …)
AS + ADJECTIVE + AS
To compare people, places, events or things, when there is no difference, use as + adjective + as:
--> Peter is 24 years old. John is 24 years old. Peter is as old as John.
--> Moscow is as cold as St. Petersburg in the winter.
--> Ramona is as happy as Raphael.
--> Einstein is as famous as Darwin.
--> A tiger is as dangerous as a lion.
NOT AS + ADJECTIVE + AS
Difference can also be shown by using not so/as ...as:
--> Mont Blanc is not as high as Mount Everest.
--> Norway is not as sunny as Thailand
--> A bicycle is not as expensive as a car.
COMPARISONS OF QUANTITY
To show no difference: --> as much as , as many as, as few as, as little as
as many as / as few as countable nouns; as much as / as little as + uncountable nouns
With countable nouns:
--> They have as many children as us.
--> We have as many customers as them.
--> Tom has as few books as Jane.
With uncountable nouns:
--> John eats as much food as Peter.
--> Jim has as little food as Sam.
--> You've heard as much news as I have.
To show difference : more, less, fewer + than
To show no difference : as much as , as many as, as few as, as little as
With countable nouns: more / fewer
--> Eloise has more children than Chantal.
--> Chantal has fewer children than Eloise.
--> There are fewer dogs in Cardiff than in Bristol.
With uncountable nouns: more / less
--> Eloise has more money than Chantal.
--> Chantal has less money than Eloise.
--> I spend less time on homework than you do.
So, the rule is:
MORE + nouns that are countable or uncountable
FEWER + countable nouns
LESS
+ uncountable nouns
http://www.real-english.com/reo/39/unit39.asp
Real English® Unit 39
Comparatives, Superlatives, and The Most Beautiful
Language
Part 1: Comparatives
1.
Adele:
She's my twin, there.
Interviewer:
You're twins!
Keavy:
Yeah.
Girl between
Adele & Keavy: They're twins.
Interviewer:
Come together, let's see if there's a similarity. Who is older than who?
Keavy:
Me. I'm older.
Interviewer:
How much older are you?
Keavy:
20 minutes.
Interviewer:
20 minutes!
2.
Interviewer:
Which is bigger, New York or San Francisco?
Deborah:
New York is probably about 4 times larger than San Francisco.
3.
Interviewer:
Which is bigger, New York or San Francisco?
Neil:
What do you mean by "bigger"?
Interviewer:
Anyway you want to say it. Population, size-wise.
Neil:
Well, New York clearly has a larger population.
4.
Shannon:
New York has a lot more suburbs than San Francisco does.
5.
Kelly:
I think San Francisco's bigger. I don't know.
6.
Interviewer:
Which is bigger, New York or San Francisco?
Randee:
Bigger, uh, in geography, I think New York. Possibly
bigger in spirit, it may be San Francisco.
7.
Interviewer:
Can, uh, he cook better than you, or can you cook better than he can?
Maureen:
I can cook better than he can.
Raphael:
That's ridiculous. That's ridiculous. That's not true.
8.
Interviewer:
Can he cook better than you, or can you cook better than he can?
Deborah:
I'm sure I can cook better than you.
(speaking to Neil)
9.
Interviewer:
Debra:
Laura:
10.
Interviewer:
Mia:
11.
Interviewer:
Helen:
Can she cook better than you, or can you cook better than she can?
She can definitely cook better than me.
True.
And, can she cook better than you, or can you, or do you cook better than she can?
Well, I don't cook, so I guess she cooks better than I do.
Can he cook better than you?
Oh, much better than me. And he irons better than me, and he also cleans the house better than me.
I encourage it.
Part 2: Superlatives
1.
Interviewer:
What's the most beautiful city in the USA?
Michael:
2.
Interviewer:
Mary:
3.
Patty:
4.
Interviewer:
Kevin:
5.
Interviewer:
June:
Josie:
6.
Interviewer:
Eoin:
Interviewer:
Eoin:
7.
Interviewer:
Dermot:
8.
Interviewer:
Marie Louise:
9.
Interviewer:
Ken:
10.
Interviewer:
Hayles:
11.
Interviewer:
Rupert:
12.
Jackie:
New York, to me. The most diversified, so it's the best.
What do you think the most beautiful country in the world is?
The most beautiful country in the world is Greece.
The, uhm, coldest country in the world is Antartica? No, uh, is that a country? is Antartica.
Is Edimburg bigger than Glasgow?
No, Glasgow is the biggest city in Scotland.
Which is the most beautiful part of Scotland.
I think Perth is.
It's the cleanest.
Which is the biggest town in Ireland?
Dublin is by far the biggest, yeah.
And which is the most beautiful town in Ireland?
The most beautiful town in Ireland? Uhm, I don't think it's Dublin, anyway. Galway, maybe. Galway.
And which is the longest river in Ireland?
The Shannon River is the longest river in Ireland.
And what was your favourite place in Europe?
The most comfortable place for us to visit was England because there's no language barrier.
And which country did you like the best?
I think I liked France the best.
Can you tell me, what are the French like?
The French are delightful people. The most civilized in the world.
What do the English spend most money on?
I, spend most money on music, uhm.
I think the most unfair thing is that the English think the Scots are mean, but in fact they're sensible
with their money,and in my experience, the English are mean.
Part 3: The Most Beautiful Language
1.
Interviewer:
Ada:
2.
Interviewer:
Laura:
3.
Keesha:
Celeste:
Mary:
4.
Cheryl:
Interviewer:
Robert:
5.
Interviewer:
Deborah:
Interviewer:
Neil:
6.
Jim:
Robin:
7.
Interviewer:
Rebecca:
In your opinion, what is the most beautiful language?
French, to me, is the most beautiful language.
In your opinion, which is the most beautiful language?
French.
French.
French.
Uhm, French, yeah.
Uh, French. I love French. I think it's…
In your opinion, what's the most beautiful language?
I think French, but I also, believe it or not, think German is very nice. A lot of people DON'T think that.
Which is the most beautiful language?
French.
Beautiful. In your opinion, what's the most beautiful language?
Oh, by far, Italian.
Ah, French.
No, I can't believe you said (that). Italian is the most beautiful language.
Which is the most beautiful language?
Italian.
8.
Maureen:
Raphael:
9.
Sue:
Interviewer:
Emma:
Interviewer:
Richard:
10.
Sheri:
Interviewer:
Sheri:
11.
Yale:
12.
Alexander:
13.
Interviewer:
Debra:
Laura:
14.
Kelly:
Italian.
Latin.
I think all languages are beautiful.
That's a good answer. In your opinion, what's the most, which is the most beautiful language?
I like American.
All right. Anything different?
I think Spanish is a beautiful language.
I like Hebrew.
Cool.
Yeah.
Russian.
Japanese.
Which is the most beautiful language?
The English language.
English, yeah.
I like English 'cause I understand it.
Extra-grammar tables
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/grammar/partsofspeech/adjectives/comparatives.shtml
FORMING COMPARATIVE AND SUPERLATIVE ADJECTIVES
One-syllable adjectives.
Form the comparative and superlative forms of a one-syllable adjective by adding –er for the comparative form
and –est for the superlative.
One-Syllable Adjective
Comparative Form
Superlative Form
tall
taller
tallest
old
older
oldest
long
longer
longest

Mary is taller than Max.

Mary is the tallest of all the students.

Max is older than John.

Of the three students, Max is the oldest.

My hair is longer than your hair.

Max's story is the longest story I've ever heard.
If the one-syllable adjective ends with an e, just add –r for the comparative form and –st for the superlative form.
One-Syllable Adjective with
Comparative Form
Superlative Form
large
larger
largest
wise
wiser
wisest
Final -e

Mary's car is larger than Max's car.

Mary's house is the largest of all the houses on the block.

Max is wiser than his brother.

Max is the wisest person I know.
If the one-syllable adjective ends with a single consonant with a vowel before it, double the consonant and add –
er for the comparative form; and double the consonant and add –est for the superlative form.
One-Syllable Adjective
Ending with a Single
Comparative Form
Superlative Form
big
bigger
biggest
thin
thinner
thinnest
fat
fatter
fattest
Consonant with a Single
Vowel before It

My dog is bigger than your dog.

My dog is the biggest of all the dogs in the neighborhood.

Max is thinner than John.

Of all the students in the class, Max is the thinnest.

My mother is fatter than your mother.

Mary is the fattest person I've ever seen.
Two-syllable adjectives.
With most two-syllable adjectives, you form the comparative with more and the superlative with most.
Two-Syllable Adjective
Comparative Form
Superlative Form
peaceful
more peaceful
most peaceful
pleasant
more pleasant
most pleasant
careful
more careful
most careful
thoughtful
more thoughtful
most thoughtful

This morning is more peaceful than yesterday morning.

Max's house in the mountains is the most peaceful in the world.

Max is more careful than Mike.

Of all the taxi drivers, Jack is the most careful.

Jill is more thoughtful than your sister.

Mary is the most thoughtful person I've ever met.
If the two-syllable adjectives ends with –y, change the y to i and add –er for the comparative form. For the
superlative form change the y to i and add –est.
Two-Syllable Adjective
Comparative Form
Superlative Form
happy
happier
happiest
angry
angrier
angriest
busy
busier
busiest
Ending with -y

John is happier today than he was yesterday.

John is the happiest boy in the world.

Max is angrier than Mary.

Of all of John's victims, Max is the angriest.

Mary is busier than Max.

Mary is the busiest person I've ever met.
Two-syllable adjectives ending in –er, -le, or –ow take –er and –est to form the comparative and superlative
forms.
Two-Syllable Adjective
Comparative Form
Superlative Form
narrow
narrower
narrowest
gentle
gentler
gentlest
Ending with -er, -le, or -ow

The roads in this town are narrower than the roads in the city.

This road is the narrowest of all the roads in California.

Big dogs are gentler than small dogs.

Of all the dogs in the world, English Mastiffs are the gentlest.
Adjectives with three or more syllables.
For adjectives with three syllables or more, you form the comparative with more and the superlative with most.
Adjective with Three or
Comparative Form
Superlative Form
generous
more generous
most generous
important
more important
most important
intelligent
more intelligent
most intelligent
More Syllables

John is more generous than Jack.

John is the most generous of all the people I know.

Health is more important than money.

Of all the people I know, Max is the most important.

Women are more intelligent than men.

Mary is the most intelligent person I've ever met.
Exceptions.
Irregular adjectives.

Irregular Adjective
Comparative Form
Superlative Form
good
better
best
bad
worse
worst
far
farther
farthest
little
less
least
many
more
most
Italian food is better than American food.

My dog is the best dog in the world.

My mother's cooking is worse than your mother's cooking.

Of all the students in the class, Max is the worst.
Two-syllable adjectives that follow two rules. These adjectives can be used with -er and -est and with more and
most.
Two-Syllable Adjective
Comparative Form
Superlative Form
clever
cleverer
cleverest
clever
more clever
most clever
gentle
gentler
gentlest
gentle
more gentle
most gentle
friendly
friendlier
friendliest
friendly
more friendly
most friendly
quiet
quieter
quietest
quiet
more quiet
most quiet
simple
simpler
simplest
simple
more simple
most simple

Big dogs are gentler than small dogs.

Of all the dogs in the world, English Mastiffs are the gentlest.

Big dogs are more gentle than small dogs.

Of all the dogs in the world, English Mastiffs are the most gentle.