Exercise 5A, page 3 - English File Studetn's book, pre-intermediate, Oxford

3 GRAMMAR & PRONUNCIATION

comparative adjectives and adverbs, as...as; /ə/

a Look at the highlighted words in the sentences. Are they adjectives or adverbs?

1 My husband's life is very busy, and he's sometimes stressed.

2 My sister walks and talks very quickly.

3 Some young people eat a lot of fast food.

4 If things don't happen as fast as I want them to, I get impatient.

5 Some people don't think living faster is a bad thing.

6 I think in general I live well.

b Circle the correct form.

1 Life is faster / more fast than before.

2 Traffic in cities is more bad / worse than it was.

3 Everybody is busyer / busier than they were five years ago.

4 We are more stressed / stresseder than our grandparents were.

5 We do everything more quickly / quicklier.

6 People aren't as patient as / as patient than they were before.

c G p.134 Grammar Bank 5A

d 5.6 Listen to the sentences in b. What is the vowel sound for...?

1 final -er in a comparative adjective, e.g. faster

2 as and than

e Listen again and repeat the sentences. Copy the rhythm and try to get the /ə/ sound right.

5A comparatives

adjectives

1 I'm busier than I was five years ago.

People are more impatient today than in the past. 5.4

2 I'm less relaxed this year than I was last year.

3 The service in this restaurant isn't as good as it was.

• To compare two people, places, or things we use:

1 comparative adjectives.

2 less + adjective.

3 (not) as + adjective + as.

comparative adjectives

adverbs

1 People walk more quickly than in the past. 5.5

2 My brother speaks French, but less fluently than me.

3 She doesn't drive as fast as her brother.

• To compare two actions we use:

1 comparative adverbs.

2 less + adverb.

3 (not) as + adverb + as.

comparative adverbs

Q Comparatives with pronouns

After comparative + than or as...as we use an object pronoun (me, her, etc.) or a subject pronoun + auxiliary verb, e.g.

My brother's taller than me. My brother's taller than I am.

He's not as intelligent as her. He's not as intelligent as she is.

5A

a Write sentences with a comparative adjective or adverb + than.

New York is more expensive than Miami. (expensive)

1 Modern computers are much __________ the early ones. (fast)

2 My sister is __________ me. (short)

3 This exercise is __________ the last one. (easy)

4 Newcastle is __________ from London Leeds. (far)

5 I thought the third Bridget Jones film was __________ the first two. (bad)

6 Manchester United played __________ Arsenal. (good)

7 I'm __________ this year __________ I was last year. (stressed)

8 I'm working __________ this year __________ last year. (hard)

9 The new airport is __________ the old one. (big)

10 I'm not lazy - I just work __________ you! (slowly)

b Rewrite the sentences so they mean the same. Use as...as.

Luke is stronger than Peter. Peter isn't as strong as Luke. Luke Peter

1 Adam is shorter than Jerry. Jerry isn't __________ Adam.

2 Your bag is nicer than mine. My bag isn't __________ yours.

3 Tokyo is bigger than London. London isn't __________ Tokyo.

4 Tennis is more popular than cricket. Cricket isn't __________ tennis.

5 Children learn languages faster than adults. Adults don't __________ children.

6 I work harder than you. You don't __________ me.

7 England played better than France. France didn't __________ England.

3. ГРАММАТИКА И ПРОИЗНОШЕНИЕ

a. Посмотрите на выделенные слова в предложениях. Это прилагательные или наречия?

Ответ:

1. busy (занятой), stressed (напряженный) - adjectives / прилагательные

2. quickly (быстро) - adverb / наречие

3. fast (быструю) - adjective / прилагательное (в сочетании fast food)

4. fast (быстро) - adverb / наречие

5. bad (плохая) - adjective / прилагательное

6. well (хорошо) - adverb / наречие

b. Обведите правильную форму.

Ответ:

1. Life is faster than before. / Жизнь быстрее, чем раньше.

2. Traffic in cities is worse than it was. / Движение в городах хуже, чем было.

3. Everybody is busier than they were five years ago. / Все более заняты, чем пять лет назад.

4. We are more stressed than our grandparents were. / Мы более напряжены, чем были наши бабушки и дедушки.

5. We do everything more quickly. / Мы делаем все быстрее.

6. People aren't as patient as they were before. / Люди не так терпеливы, как были раньше.

d. Прослушайте предложения из пункта b. Какой гласный звук в...?

Ответ:

Для ответа на вопрос недостаточно данных.

e. Прослушайте еще раз и повторите предложения. Скопируйте ритм и постарайтесь правильно произнести звук /ə/.

Ответ:

Для ответа на вопрос недостаточно данных.

5A. СРАВНИТЕЛЬНАЯ СТЕПЕНЬ

a. Напишите предложения, используя сравнительную степень прилагательного или наречия + than.

Ответ:

1. Modern computers are much faster than the early ones. / Современные компьютеры намного быстрее, чем ранние.

2. My sister is shorter than me. / Моя сестра ниже меня.

3. This exercise is easier than the last one. / Это упражнение легче, чем предыдущее.

4. Newcastle is further from London than Leeds. / Ньюкасл дальше от Лондона, чем Лидс.

5. I thought the third Bridget Jones film was worse than the first two. / Я думал, что третий фильм о Бриджит Джонс был хуже, чем первые два.

6. Manchester United played better than Arsenal. / «Манчестер Юнайтед» играл лучше, чем «Арсенал».

7. I'm more stressed this year than I was last year. / В этом году я более напряжен, чем в прошлом.

8. I'm working harder than last year. / Я работаю усерднее, чем в прошлом году.

9. The new airport is bigger than the old one. / Новый аэропорт больше, чем старый.

10. I'm not lazy - I just work more slowly than you! / Я не ленивый - я просто работаю медленнее, чем ты!

b. Перепишите предложения так, чтобы они имели то же значение. Используйте as...as.

Ответ:

1. Adam is shorter than Jerry. Jerry isn't as short as Adam. / Адам ниже Джерри. Джерри не такой низкий, как Адам.

2. Your bag is nicer than mine. My bag isn't as nice as yours. / Твоя сумка красивее моей. Моя сумка не такая красивая, как твоя.

3. Tokyo is bigger than London. London isn't as big as Tokyo. / Токио больше Лондона. Лондон не такой большой, как Токио.

4. Tennis is more popular than cricket. Cricket isn't as popular as tennis. / Теннис популярнее крикета. Крикет не так популярен, как теннис.

5. Children learn languages faster than adults. Adults don't learn languages as fast as children. / Дети учат языки быстрее взрослых. Взрослые не учат языки так быстро, как дети.

6. I work harder than you. You don't work as hard as me. / Я работаю усерднее, чем ты. Ты не работаешь так же усердно, как я.

7. England played better than France. France didn't play as well as England. / Англия играла лучше, чем Франция. Франция играла не так хорошо, как Англия.