The Degrees of Comparison

1.      Positive

As …  As is used to say that the two parts of comparison are equal or the same in some way.

For example: Erick is 14 years old. Windy is also 14.         Erick is as old as Windy.

2.      Comparative

It is used to show the differences between two objects

Ø  If adj/adv consist of one syllable:

Formula :      S1 + to be/V + adj/adv. + -er + than+S2

Ø  If adj./adv consists of two or more syllables

Formula :  S1 + to be/V+ more + adj/adv +than + S2

Examples  :

• I am older than you
• A dog runs faster than a cat
• My mother drives a car more carefully than my brother

3. Superlative

The Superlative compares one part of a whole group to all the rest of the group.

Form : -est or most.

Notice : A superlative begins with the.

The + adj (adv) + est + noun + in/of

The + most + adj (adv) + noun + in/of

Examples :

•      Fatimah is the smartest student in my class

•      Elvis Presley is the greatest musician in the world

•      Clara,Mary and Alice were nervous, but Mary was the most nervous of all

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lesson 4 A3

A.3 Notice the use of the expression do what.

STATEMENT		John	Studies	English	Every day
YES/NO QUESTION:	does	John	Study	English	Every day?
NEW			Do	what
PATTERN	What does	John	Do		Every day?

COMMENTS

Do what is a substitute for the verb and any other essential parts of the verb phrase. In the example, do what  corresponds to the verb phrase study english.

Exercise 9. Make wh-questions using the expression do what

John eats breakfast at 7 o’clock	WHAT DOES JOHN DO AT 7 O’CLOCK?
John goes to class at  o’clock	WHAT DOES JOHN DO AT 8 O’CLOCK?

1.       John has coffee at 10 o’clock

2.       John eats lunch at noon

3.       John studies in the afternoon

4.       John studies english in the library

5.       John has dinner at 6 P.M

6.       John usually watches television in the evening

7.       Mr. And Mrs. Miller have dinner at 6:30

8.       Mr. Miller usually studies in the evening

9.       Mrs. Miller often reads in the evening

10.   Mr. And Mrs. Miller sometimes visit friends in the evening

(continue, using the PAST tense)

11.   They visited friends yesterday

12.   They talked

13.   They played cards after dinner

14.   They watched television at nine 0’clock

 Taken from: English sentence structure by Robert Khrohn

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Lesson 2 (part B3)

B.3 Notice the position of always in questions

STATEMENT		john	Always	Studies	At night
		john	Always	Studies	At night
QUESTIONS	does	john	Always	Study	At night?
STATEMENT		Mary	is	Always	Busy
		Mary	is	Always	Busy
QUESTIONS	is	Mary		Always	Busy

COMMENT

Adverbs like always come before the main verb (study, arrive, etc) in questions as well as in statements. With forms of be (am, are, is) the adverb of frequency remains with the rest of the predicate when the verb is put before the subject to make a question.

Exercise 12. Change the teacher’s statement into a question. The next student will answer the question.

The teacher is usually busy                                      STUDENT A: IS THE TEACHER USUALLY BUSY?

                                                                                            STUDENT B: YES, HE IS

You Are Often Busy                                                    STUDENT B: ARE YOU OFTEN BUSY?

                                                                                            STUDENT C: YES, I AM OR NO, I AM NOT

1.       You are sometimes tired

2.       You are sometimes hungry

3.       You always eat breakfast in the morning

4.       The windows are always open

5.       The teacher is usually in the room

6.       You usually have coffee for breakfast

7.       You usually eat lunch at noon

8.       The door is sometimes open

9.       The windows are often closed

10.   You sometimes read at night

11.   You usually understand the lessons

12.   Pencils are usually light

13.   Shoes are always white

14.   Shirts are often white.

Taken from: English sentence structure by Robert Krohn 

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Lesson 2 (part B1)

B.1 Notice the position of words like always and compare the meaning.

	SINGLE-WORD ADVERB OF FREQUENCY	MAIN VERB
John	Always	studies	At night
Mary	Usually	Studies	At night
Bob	Often	Studies	At night
Bill	Sometimes	Studies	At night
Alice	Seldom	Studies	At night
tom	never	studies	At night
	Always	100%	All of the time
	Usually		Most of the time
	Often	50%	Much of the time
	Sometimes		Some of the time
	Seldom		Almost never
	never	0%	Not at any time

COMMENTS

Adverbs like always (SINGLE-WORD ADVERB OF FREQUENCY) come before the main verb of a sentence. (See section B.2 for sentences with be)

Note:  Some of these adverbs are also used in other positions, as in the sentence Sometimes I study at night.

Exercise 9. Substitute a word like always for the multi-word adverbials of frequency.

Mary drinks milk all of the time                  MARY ALWAYS DRINKS MILK

John drinks milk most of the time             JOHN USUALLY DRIKNS MILK

1.       John drinks coffee some of the time

2.       He almost never drink tea

3.       Mr. Allen drinks coffee much of the time

4.       Mrs. Allen almost never drinks coffee

5.       She drinks tea most of the time

6.       Mr. Miller has coffee at 10 A.M all of the time

7.       Mrs. Allen has coffee at 10 A.M some of the time

8.        Mrs. Miller almost never drinks milk in the morning

9.       She has coffee in the morning most of the time

10.   Mr. and Mrs. Miller eat in restaurant some of the time

11.   John eats in restaurants all of the time

12.   Mary almost never eats in a restaurant

13.   She eats at home most of the time

14.   Mr. and Mrs. Miller eat in a restaurant much of the time

Taken from: English sentence structure by Robert Krohn 

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