Life

Pre-intermediate Unit 3a
Comparatives: Adjectives and adverbs

Do you nd that, as you get older, your memory is getting less reliable than it used to be?
Do you want to remember things better and for longer?
Try our ve-day starter course and your memory will immediately be more efcient. With each exercise your memory will get stronger and stronger until you nd that you can think more clearly, study harder and work more efciently than ever before.

reliable=able (rilaiabol)

Presentation
Use the comparative form to make comparisons: This course is better than the last one. to describe the results of a change: Your memory will be more efficient (than it was before). to describe how something is in the process of changing: Your memory is getting less reliable.
Adjectives

To form comparative adjectives, use -er or more / less.

Short adjectives (one syllable or two syllables ending in -y) adjective + -er old older, easy easier, big bigger Long adjectives (two syllables or more) more / less + adjective efficient more efficient / less efficient

Some adjectives have two possible comparative forms: more quiet / quieter, more gentle / gentler Some adjectives are irregular: good better, bad worse, far further The spelling sometimes changes when we add -er: big bigger, silly sillier See page 233: Spelling rules
Adverbs

Form comparative adverbs in the same way as comparative adjectives, using -er or more / less.
Short adverbs (one syllable) adverb 1 -er hard harder, fast faster Long adverbs (two syllables or more) more / less 1 adverb efficiently more efficiently / less efficiently

Some adverbs are irregular : well better, badly worse

than

Use the preposition than to link the two objects, people or situations that you are comparing: My memory is less reliable than it used to be.
Practical Grammar 2 1 National Geographic Learning

Pre-intermediate Unit 3a
Exercises
1 Complete the text with the correct comparative form of the adjectives and adverbs.
Use - er, more or less.

Do you nd that youre getting

1

Desk Top Aerobics. The new version is guaranteed to make you 6____________ tter (t)

______________ busier (busy) every day? Youre

2

working ___________ harder (hard) than ever, but

healthier (healthy). Itll help and 7__________________

you feel 8____________________ less stressed(stressed). Itll help you work 9______________________ more quickly (quickly) and 10__________________________ more efciently (efciently). Youll love it. Your bossll love it. Start now!

less efcient youre getting 3_________________________

(efcient)? Youve never got time to get to the gym and youre getting
4

fattet (fat) and _______________ ______________ slower

5

(slow)? Then try our new, improved

Complete the texts using the comparative form of the adjectives and adverbs in the boxes. Then listen andcheck.

wages=sueldo

good grey long stressed

happy healthily short

stressed

I hate my job! Im working 1 longer hours than ever and the wages arent getting any 2 better . Im 3 more stressed than Ive ever been before. My hairs getting 4 greyer by the day! I dont think I can take it anymore!

I love my new life. I can relax now so Im 5 happier than before. Im working 6 shorter hours. Im eating 7 more healthily . Im 8 less stressed and enjoying life more than I ever have before.

3 Write sentences that give your opinion. Use a comparative form using -er, more or less. I think ice-cream is tastier than pizza. pizza / ice-cream (tasty) I think studying is more stressful than work. work / studying (stressful) listening to music / doing sport (relaxing) I think listening to music is more relaxing than doing sport travelling by car / travelling by train (fast) I think travelling by car is faster than travelling by train. dancers / golfers (fit) I think dancer is tter than golfers. teachers / lawyers (work hard) I think teachers work harder than lawyers. 4 Complete these sentences so that they are true for you. I am less relaxing than I was five years ago. football I think is more important than university Playing is easier than working . Working is better for you than stopping to work . Id like to be more / less confortable than I am at the moment.
Practical Grammar 2 2

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