Unit 3 My Personality Traits: Outgoingness Compared to My Sister
Section A
1. Comparative and Superlative Degrees of Adjectives and Adverbs
(1) Most adjectives and adverbs have three forms:
(a) Base Form
(b) Comparative Form
(c) Superlative Form
(2) Formation of Comparative and Superlative Degrees of Adjectives and Adverbs
(a) Regular Changes;
① For monosyllabic words and some disyllabic words, add -er or -est to the end of the word.
② For polysyllabic words and some disyllabic words, add more or most before the word.
(b) Irregular Changes;
(3) Usage of Comparative and Superlative Degrees of Adjectives and Adverbs
(a) Use the base form when there is no comparative object or when the comparison results are identical.
(b) Use the comparative form with the conjunction “than” to indicate a comparison between two entities.
(c) Use the superlative form for comparisons involving three or more entities, usually preceded by the definite article “the.” Phrases like “in” or “of” can be used to indicate the scope of comparison, with “in” suggesting a broader range and “of” indicating a more specific one.
(4) Modifiers for Comparative and Superlative Degrees of Adjectives and Adverbs
(a) Base Form: very, quite, so, too
(b) Comparative Form: a bit, a little, rather, much, far, by far, many, a lot, lots, a great deal, any, still, even (all of these except “by far” must be placed before the comparative degree).
(c) Superlative Form: by far, far, much, mostly, almost, very, nearly, not quite, ordinal numbers (all of these except “much” must be placed between “the” and the superlative degree).
(5) Special Sentence Patterns for Comparative and Superlative Degrees of Adjectives and Adverbs
(a) “as…as…” (comparing two things, using the base form in between). In negative sentences, the first “as” can be replaced with “so,” resulting in “not as/so…as…”.
(b) “comparative + and + comparative” or “more and more + base form” – increasingly…
(c) “the + comparative…, the + comparative…” – the more…, the more…
(d) “any (other) + singular noun + comparative scope”
(e) “comparative + than + {any of the other plural nouns}”
“the other + plural noun + comparative scope” = “the + superlative + comparative scope”
(f) Usage of Comparative Degrees for Expressing Multiples:
A is … times the size / height / length / width of B.
A is … times as big / high / long / wide / large as B.
A is … times larger / higher / longer / wider than B.
(g) “A is the + comparative adjective + of the two…” – indicating that A is the more… of the two.
2. Both, Either, Neither, Each, All, Any, Every, None, None Other
(1) “both…and…” – both entities, treated as plural in the subject.
(2) “either…or…” – either one or the other, with proximity determining which form is used.
(3) “neither…nor…” – neither one nor the other, with proximity determining which form is used.
Both Tom and I are in the same class.
Either you or I am from Class.
Neither he nor you are in America.
3. Aloud, Loud, Loudly
Don’t make those loud noises.
She never talked too loudly.
I can’t hear you, please speak louder.
Please read aloud so that I can hear you.
4. Also, Too, Either, As Well (As)
Also – used within a sentence.
Too – used at the end of a positive sentence, separated by a comma.
Either – used at the end of a negative sentence, separated by a comma.
As well (as) – used at the end of a sentence, without a comma, and without a second “as.”
Tom is my friend as well.
Tom is my friend as well as Mike.
5. Tag Questions
(1) Structure: Statement + Auxiliary Verb + Subject + ?
(2) Characteristics: Affirmative before negative, negative before affirmative
(3) Responses: Based on the truth
(4) Negative Words: hardly, little, few, never, seldom, nothing, barely, scarcely
(5) Special Patterns:
Let’s …, shall we? (similar for other modal verbs)
Let us …, will you?
I am …, aren’t I?
Everyone is …, aren’t they? (plural is generally used for people)
Everything …, doesn’t it? (singular is generally used for things)
Nobody will …, will they?
I think … (changes depend on the clause; positive or negative depends on the main clause; other complex sentences follow the main clause)
You’d better …, hadn’t you?
Let me …, will you / may I?
6. Friend: Noun, a person one likes and trusts
Friendly: Adjective, showing kindness and friendliness
Friendless: Adjective, lacking friends, isolated
Make friends with sb. – to become friends with someone
Be friendly to sb. – to be kind to someone
Friendship: Noun, the bond between friends
A friend in need is a friend indeed.
(Proverb) A friend in times of trouble is a true friend.
7. Lazy: Adjective, lacking energy or enthusiasm, antonym – hard-working
Lazy bone – a lazy person
Lazy sheep – a lazy person
Lazy eye – a visual impairment
Be lazy at sth. – to be lazy about something
Be lazy (in) doing sth. – to be lazy in doing something
8. Competition: Noun, a contest or rivalry
Compete: Verb, to participate in a contest or rivalry
Compete in – to take part in a competition
Compete against – to rival with someone
The singing competition – a singing contest
9. Which: Interrogative pronoun, referring to one of a known set of things
What: Interrogative pronoun, asking about the name of something
—Which one was Lisa?
—The one with short hair.
10. Win (won, won, winning): Verb, to succeed in a competition
Beat (beat, beaten): Verb, to defeat someone
Winner: Noun, a person who wins a competition
11. Or: Used in questions to present alternatives
Used in negative sentences to indicate negation
Used in compound sentences to suggest an alternative or consequence
Hurry up, or we’ll be late