a. This is the biggest house in this street.

(Superlative) This house is bigger than any other house in this street. (Comparative) No other house in this street is as big as this one. (Positive) The term biggest is the superlative version of the term big. All the three sentences mean the same meaning. b. This flower is the most beautiful one in this garden. (Superlative) This flower is more beautiful than any other flower in this garden. (Comparative) No other flower in this garden is as beautiful as this one. (Comparative) The term most beautiful is the superlative version of the term beautiful. All the three sentences mean the same meaning. c. He is the most intelligent in this class. (Superlative) He is more intelligent than other boys in the class. (Comparative) No other boy is as intelligent as this boy. (Positive) The term most intelligent is superlative version of the term intelligent. Both these sentences convey the same meaning. d. He is the tallest student in this class. (Superlative) He is taller than other students in this class. (Comparative) No other student is as tall as this student. (Positive) The term tallest is superlative version of the term tall. *Degrees of Comparison are applicable only to Adjectives and Adverbs* *Nouns and verbs do not have degrees of comparisons* He is the tallest student in the class. The term tallest is an adjective. Among the members of the group, Mr. Clinton speaks most effectively. The term effectively is an adverb. All the terms used in the above-examples are either adjectives or adverbs. We have seen all the three Degrees of Comparison. Let us see their models. Model -1: The best:

Examples: i. This is the best hotel in this area.

No other hotel is as better as this on in this area. No other hotel is as good as this one in this area.

ii. Unemployment is the most serious problem facing our country. Unemployment is more serious than any other problem facing our country. No other problem facing our country is as serious as unemployment. Model-2: One of the best: Examples: i. Calcutta is one of the largest cities in India. Calcutta is large than most other cities in India. Very few cities in India are as large as Calcutta. ii. Satin Tendulkar is one of the best batsmen in the world. Satin Tendulkar is better than most other batsmen in the world. No other batman in the world is as good as Satin Tendulkar. Model-3: Not the best: Examples: i. This is not the best solution to the problem. ii. This is not better than few other solutions to this problem. iii. Other solutions to this problem are not as good as this one.

ii. New York is not the largest city in America. New York is not bigger than many other cities in America. Few other cities in America are at least as large as New York.
Positive Johnsy is as clever as Rosy Benjamin is atleast as tall as Jane Comparative Lazar is brighter than Stalin Superlative Akthar is the richest man in Kanpur Superlative London is one of the biggest city in England Superlative Sheakespear is the greatest of all dramatists Comparative Rosy is not clever than Johnsy Jane is not taller than Benjamin Positive Stalin is not so bright as Lazar Comparative Akthar is richer than any other man in Kanpur Comparative London is bigger than most other city in England Comparative Shakespeare is greater than all other dramatists Positive No other man in Kanpur is so rich as Akthar Positive Very few cities in England are so big as London Positive No other dramatist is so great as Shakespeare

Positive Lazar is as strong as Lenin Positive Some boys in our class are at least as intelligent as Benjamin

Comparative Lenin is not less strong than Lazar Comparative Some boys in our class are not intelligent than Benjamin Superlative Benjamin is not the most intelligent boy in our class

Superlative

Comparative

Positive

Iron is the most useful of all metals.

Iron is more useful than any other metal.

No other metal is so useful as iron.

Superlative Tom is the cleverest of all boys in the class. Superlative Rain water is the purest water. Superlative Paris is one of the busiest cities in England. Positive Very few animals are as fast as cheetah. Superlative Food ball is one of the most interesting games. Comparative Paris is hotter than England. Positive John is as tall as David.

Comparative Tom is cleverer than any other boy in the class. Comparative Rain water is purer than any other water. Comparative Paris is busier than most other cities in England. Comparative Cheetah is faster than most other animals. Comparative Foot ball is more interesting than most other games. Positive England is not so hot as Paris. Comparative David is not taller than John. Positive

Positive No other boy in the class is so clever as Tom. Positive No other water is so pure as rain water. Positive Very few cities in England are as busy as Paris. Superlative Cheetah is one of the fastest animals. Positive Very few games are as interesting as foot ball.

Comparative The Blue Mountain Express runs faster than the Green Express.

The Green Express does not run so fast as the Blue Mountain Express.

Although Even though

he had enough money,

he refused to buy a new car

OR He refused to buy a new car although he had enough money. even though

Structure:
"Although", and "even though" introduce concessive clauses. Although /even though subject verb

Examples:
Although it was raining, he walked to the station. Even though she is very old, she runs fast.

Despite / in spite of:

Despite and in spite of do not introduce a concessive clause. They are rather followed by a noun or a verb+ing form.

Study this example:

"He had enough money." "He refused to buy a new car." The above two statements can be combined as follows : Despite In spite of all his money, having enough money, he refused to buy a new car.

OR He refused to buy a new car despite in spite of all his money. having enough money.

Structure
Despite / in spite of + a noun, + verb + ing.

Examples:
Despite /in spite of the rain, he walked to the station. Despite /in spite of being tired, he walked to the station.

A phrase can be expanded into a clause. In the same way, a clause can be contracted into a phrase. Thus we have seen that the form of a sentence can be changed without changing its meaning. The transformation can be done using several different methods. For example a simple sentence containing the adverb too can be transformed into a complex sentence containing sothat with no difference in meaning. Study the following sentences. The news is too good to be true. The news is so good that it cannot be true. The thief ran too fast for the police to catch. The thief ran so fast that the police could not catch him. He is too proud to beg. He is so proud that he will not beg. The tea was too hot to drink. The tea was so hot that I could not drink it. OR The tea was so hot that it could not be drunk. The bag was too heavy for me to lift. The bag was so heavy that I could not lift it. He spoke too fast to be understood. He spoke so fast that he could not be understood. Notes If the adverb too is followed by an adjective + to infinitive, we expand the sentence into two clauses, the first containing so and the second containing that. If the sentence containing tooto is in the affirmative, the sentence containing sothat will be in the negative.

No sooner than, Hardlywhen

AUGUST 20, 2013

If the second event occurs immediately after the first, we can express that idea using the structure no sooner than. Note that in this structure no sooner introduces the event that occurred first. No sooner had I arrived at the station than the train came. (= I came first and the train arrived right after me.) No sooner had we heard the noise than we rushed to the spot. No sooner had she finished one project than she started working on the next. No sooner had I closed my eyes than I fell asleep. Note that did is also possible in this structure. No sooner did I arrive at the station than the train came. No sooner did we hear the noise than we rushed to the spot. Notes When we begin a sentence with a negative word, we put the auxiliary verb before the subject.

No sooner had she read the letter than she started crying. (NOT No sooner she read the letter than she started crying.)

Note that when and before are not possible in this structure.

As soon as
This structure is also used with the same meaning.

As soon as I arrived at the station, the train came. As soon as she finished one project, she started working on the next.