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Unit 3
LILIAN DEL CARMEN RAMÍREZ RIVAS- UNIT 3
BY:
SEMESTER: 3°
PROGRAM:
SUBJECT:
ENGLISH GRAMMAR
TEACHER:
Unit 3
Adjectives, adverbs, comparisons
Presentation
In this unit you will have the opportunity to study in more detail what are and how to use
adjectives and adverbs to make comparisons using comparatives and superlatives. You will
have the opportunity to read about the different rules that exist to make comparisons using
comparative and superlatives taking into account the number of syllables of adjectives. The
information presented in this unit is organized similarly to the information presented in unit
1. All the theory will be presented first, and at the end a workshop related to the content
of the unit will be presented.
The different exercises that you will develop in this unit will be at the end of the unit. At
the end you will also find a self-check exercise that will allow you identify if you need
to reinforce something about comparatives, superlatives, adjectives or adverbs.
Problem statement
LILIAN DEL CARMEN RAMÍREZ RIVAS- UNIT 3
Specific competences
This activity is related to the exploration of previous knowledge about the content of the
unit. For this reason, it is important that before going to the content of the unit to think
about:
1) What do you remember about adjectives and adverbs from unit one?
2) What do you think is the difference that exist between an adjective and
an adverb when making comparisons?
Group Work
1) Read carefully the content of unit 3 and find out if the ideas you had
about adjectives and adverbs were right or not.
2) According to the information found in unit 3, get in pairs or small groups and create
a chart that summarizes all the rules that exists to make comparative and
superlative sentences.
LILIAN DEL CARMEN RAMÍREZ RIVAS- UNIT 3
In this unit we will learn what is an adjective, what is an adverb and how do we use these
3.1 Adjective
An adjective describes a noun. Adjectives go before nouns. They can also be used alone
after the verb to be. They have the same form in the singular and the plural. E.g. This is
a big house. He is poor. They are poor (NOT: They are poors)
Note: For more details about the definition of this term see unit 1
3.2 Adverb
An adverb describes a verb. It shows how, where, when or how often someone does
John is here
He wakes up early.
Sometimes adverbs go before the main verb, e.g. the adverbs of frequency (often, always,
etc)
Note: For more details about the definition of this term see unit 1
LILIAN DEL CARMEN RAMÍREZ RIVAS- UNIT 3
c) Adjectives ending in consonant + y drop the y and take –ily. E.g. angry=angrily
Some adverbs are not formed according to the rules above. They have either a different
Adjecti Adve
ve rb
Go W
od ell
Fa Fa
st st
Ha Ha
rd rd
Ea Ea
rly rly
Late Late
3.3 Comparisons
We use the Comparative form + than to compare two people or things. E.g. Tom is
We use the + superlative form + of/in to compare three or more people or things. E.g.
Chris is the tallest of all. We use in when we talk about places. E.g. Russia is the largest
Adjectives of one or two syllables form the comparative by adding –er and the superlative
by adding –est. e.g. fast= faster=fastest. Adjectives of more than two syllables form the
comparatives with more and the superlative with most. E.g. beautiful=more beautiful=
most beautiful. Some adjectives such as clever, stupid, narrow, gentle, friendly, etc. form
the comparative and superlative either with –er/est or with more/most. E.g.
Spelling Rules
a) One syllable adjectives ending in –e take –r in the comparative and –st in the
b) Two syllable adjectives ending in –y turn the –y into –I and then take –er/est. e.g.
c) Adjectives ending in a stressed vowel between two consonants double the final
consonant and then take –er/-est. e.g. big-bigger - biggest but old older-
oldest
LILIAN DEL CARMEN RAMÍREZ RIVAS- UNIT 3
Adverbs form the comparative and superlative in the same way as adjectives.
Adverbs of one or two syllables take –er in the comparative and –est in the
The adverbs which are formed by adding –ly to the adjective (adverbs of manner), take
more in the comparative and most in the superlative. E.g. carefully - more carefully-
most carefully.
Comparative Superlative
WORKSHOP
a) Polite politely
b) dangerous dangerously
c) nice nicely
d) easy easily
e) good well
f) cheap cheaply
g) safe safely
h) hard hardly
i) comfortable comfortably
j) fast fast
k) beautiful beautifully
l) soft softly
m) early early
n) Noisy noisily
o) Careful carefully
p) Happy happily
q) terrible terribly
r) Awful awfully
LILIAN DEL CARMEN RAMÍREZ RIVAS- UNIT 3
2) Are the words in bold adjectives or adverbs? Say what type the adverbs
are.
well
d) He is a careful driver
he drives carefully
f) The last bus was more crowded than (crowded) the first bus
you choose.
Life in the countryside is very quiet because we breathe the pure air of the green
areas that is beneficial to our health, we can get away from the noise, wider spaces
to see beautiful landscapes, we live in a dispersed way.
In the countryside we have contact with the animals, gardens, we can do exercise
in the open air,a lot of mental relaxation.
Life in the city is one of great alternatives of entertainment, art, culture, leisure,
there possibilities to study for to be professional, go shopping, go cinema, business
opportunities.