Learn: who’s taller? Who’s kinder? Who’s more talented? Whether you’re talking about your best friend, a famous athlete, or even yourself, comparative adjectives help us show how people are different — or sometimes how they’re the same. From saying someone is more patient than their brother to claiming your teacher is funnier than anyone else, comparatives bring conversations to life. Do you remember how to form such sentences? You studied it in grade 5. Let’s revise in the beginning:
Comparison degrees - basics
Forming rules
Comparison in the sentence
As you understand, to make the comparison correctly, it is important to know how many syllables there are in a word. How to know that? Watch the video: What are syllables and how to count them
To sum everything you have already learned: when we want to show how two people, things, or places are different, we use comparative forms. However, there’s more than one way to make comparisons in English. Now you know the basics, but these new structures will help you talk about small or big changes, compare groups and time periods, and make your English sound more natural and precise. Let’s explore how to do that.
Comparison degrees - basics
Forming rules
Comparison in the sentence
As you understand, to make the comparison correctly, it is important to know how many syllables there are in a word. How to know that? Watch the video: What are syllables and how to count them
To sum everything you have already learned: when we want to show how two people, things, or places are different, we use comparative forms. However, there’s more than one way to make comparisons in English. Now you know the basics, but these new structures will help you talk about small or big changes, compare groups and time periods, and make your English sound more natural and precise. Let’s explore how to do that.
1. Structures with the comparative degree
Sometimes we want to say that something is not as strong, big, or important as something else. In this case, we can use the structure: less + adjective + than
less — [les] — is the opposite of "more," and it shows that something has a lower amount or degree of a quality; mazāk, ne tik
He is less tall than his brother. (= His brother is taller.)
How to compare if something is the same? Use the following constructions:
as + adjective + as
or a negative
not + as + adjective + as
as + adjective + as
or a negative
not + as + adjective + as
as — [æz] — used in comparisons to refer to the degree of something; kā
We arrived at the same time as our friends. (= They arrived together.)
as ... as — we use this structure to make comparisons when the things we are comparing are equal in some way; tikpat ... kā
She is as tall as her brother. (= They are the same height.)
not as ...as — to show that something has less of a quality than something else. It’s the opposite of saying “as ... as”, which shows equality; nav tik ... kā
Jack is not as old as Mike. (= Jack is younger.)
When we compare people using than (or as … as), we can continue the sentence in two ways:
1. using an object pronoun: me, you, him, her, it, us, you, them
2. using a subject pronoun + auxiliary verb: I am, he is, she was, they do, etc.
1. using an object pronoun: me, you, him, her, it, us, you, them
2. using a subject pronoun + auxiliary verb: I am, he is, she was, they do, etc.
Piemērs:
She is taller than me. (= “Me” is an object pronoun.)
She is taller than I am. (= Full sentence with a subject pronoun and the auxiliary verb.)
Both mean the same thing — the second one is more formal or complete, the first is more common in everyday conversations.
She is taller than I am. (= Full sentence with a subject pronoun and the auxiliary verb.)
Both mean the same thing — the second one is more formal or complete, the first is more common in everyday conversations.
When we compare two things, we don’t always just say what’s different. Sometimes we also want to say how big or small the difference is. To do this, we can use the following structure: much / a lot / a bit + the comparative form of an adjective (like more, taller, better, etc.). These words help us describe the size of the difference.
You studied about some of these determiners in grade 4. Revise here: Many, much, a lot of
much — [mʌtʃ] — in comparative sentences, “much” is used to show that there is a big difference between two things. It means “a lot more.” It’s very similar in meaning to "a lot" but is often used in more formal or written English; daudz
This bag is much more expensive than that one. (= There is a big difference in price. It (=this bag) costs a lot more.)
a lot — [ə lɒt] — in comparisons, “a lot” is used to show that there is a big difference between two things. It means “much more”; daudz
This bag is a lot more expensive than that one. (= This bag is much higher in price.)
a bit — [ə bɪt] — in comparative sentences, “a bit” expresses a small difference. We use it to show that one thing is only slightly more or better than the other. It’s the opposite of "much" or "a lot", which show a big difference; nedaudz
He is a bit taller than his brother. (= There is a small difference in height.)
When we use comparative forms, we can also add any / no + the superlative degree of the adjective to show if something has changed — or not.
You studied about these determiners in grade 4. Revise here: Use of Some, Any, No
any — [ˈen.i] — in comparative sentences, “any” is used to show that there is no difference between two things. It’s used in negative sentences to say that something is not better, faster, easier, etc. — not even a little bit; jebkurš, ikviens
This phone isn’t any better than my old one. (= It’s not better at all.)
no — [nəʊ] — in comparative sentences, “no” is used to show that something has not improved or changed. It means the quality is exactly the same as before — not more, not better, not faster, etc. We use it in positive sentences; nemaz; ne mazāk; ne labāks; ne vairāk; nekā labāks (vadoties pēc teikuma satura)
He is no more patient than he was last year. (= His patience is the same as last year.)
2. Structures with the superlative degree
When we want to say that someone or something has the lowest amount of a quality, we use "the least + adjective."
least — [liːst] — is used to show that someone or something has the lowest level of a quality — less than everyone or everything else. It’s the opposite of "the most"; vismazāk
He is the least hardworking student in the class. (= All the others work more than he does.)
When we use a superlative form (like the best, the worst, the most beautiful, etc.), we always need to put a word before it — something to show who or what we’re talking about. That word is usually either: a definite article “the”; a possessive adjective (like my, your, his, her, its, our, their); a possessive proper noun (like Tom’s, Jenny’s). You learned about the possessive case in grade 4. Revise it here: Possessive Case of Nouns
Piemērs:
He is the best. (= "The" is used because we’re talking about one person who is better than all the others.)
This is my most expensive jacket. (= "My" tells us who the jacket belongs to.)
Paul’s best friend lives in Canada. (= "Paul’s" shows that the friend belongs to Paul.
This is my most expensive jacket. (= "My" tells us who the jacket belongs to.)
Paul’s best friend lives in Canada. (= "Paul’s" shows that the friend belongs to Paul.