English Recordings

It’s nowhere near as good: modifying comparisons

By Liz Walter

Last month I wrote about how to form comparatives and superlatives. However, there are many occasions when we don’t simply want to say that one person or thing has more or less of a particular quality than another: we want to say how much more or less they have. That is when we need to modify our comparisons.

The most common way to talk about big differences is by using the word much: My pizza’s much bigger than yours. This book is much more interesting. We use far or a lot in the same way: My new computer is far smaller than my old one. It’s a lot less expensive to travel by bus. Very much or a good deal are slightly more formal: He seems very much happier now. Her new job is a good deal more demanding.

For small differences, we often use slightly: I feel slightly less nervous now. A bit is used in the same way but is slightly informal, while a little is more formal: Could you be a bit more careful, please? We started to go a little faster.

We also use not much to show small differences: She’s not much taller than you. Not any or no are used to show that there is no difference at all: He isn’t any more popular than his brother. Her laptop’s no better than mine. If a difference is surprising because the first thing already has a lot of the quality you want to describe, use even: The mountains are even higher here!

To compare two people or things that have the same amount of a particular quality we can also use as … as: My brother’s as tall as my dad. We often add just if we want to emphasize a similarity: Women are just as good at science as men. To talk about things that are almost, but not exactly, the same, we often use roughly, about or more or less: It was roughly as big as a football. The tree’s about as high as the top of the building. The movie was more or less as bad as I’d expected.

If the first person or thing has less of that quality, we use not as: I’m not as intelligent as my sister. If the difference is small, we can say not quite as, and if it large, we can say not nearly as or nowhere near as: Her hair isn’t quite as long as Jenny’s. This apartment’s not nearly as big as Ollie’s. These cookies are nowhere near as good as the ones you make.

Finally, although we don’t usually modify superlatives because they already describe the largest possible amount of a quality, we can emphasize them with easily or by far: He’s easily the richest person I know. It’s by far the best restaurant in the city.

Good, better, best: forming comparatives and superlatives

By Liz Walter

We often need to compare one person or thing with another, and in this post I am going to look at how we do this. This is a fairly basic topic, but one where I find that intermediate students still often make mistakes.

We make comparatives by adding -er to the end of an adjective or by putting more in front of the adjective: Your hair is longer than mine. It is more stylish.

We make superlatives by adding -est to the end of an adjective and the in front of it or by putting the most in front of the adjective: Everest is the highest mountain in the world. It is the most beautiful place I have ever seen.

There are some fairly simple rules for which form to use. If the adjective has one syllable, use -er/the -est: a louder noise/the fastest car. And if the adjective has three or more syllables, use more/the most: a more interesting book/the most expensive toy.

Adjectives with two syllables are a little more complicated. If they end in ­-y, -er, -le or -ow, you can use either form: He’s feeling happier/more happy now. The narrowest/most narrow roads are in the city centre.

All other two-syllable adjectives can only use more/the most: She is more patient than my old teacher. That was the most boring movie I’ve ever seen.

So if you’re not sure, the safest thing is to use more/the most with all two-syllable words.

There are a few other things you need to remember. The most important one is: never use -er/the -est and more/the most together. You may sometimes hear native speakers do this, but it is not correct standard English.

Another important rule is that when one-syllable adjectives end with a single short vowel and a consonant, you need to double the consonant before -er/est: It is hotter today. It’s the biggest lake in the world.

Also, when adjectives end with the suffix -y, you need to change the y to an i before you add the -er/est endings: I was lonelier than before. It’s the funniest movie I’ve ever seen.

A common mistake for students of English is to write ‘then’ rather than ‘than’ in sentences such as: He is older than me. Make sure that you always write ‘than’ between two things or people you are comparing.

Finally, there are three very common adjectives that have very irregular comparative and superlative forms. They are good > better > best, bad > worse > worst and far > further > furthest: His laptop is better than mine. We climbed the furthest hill.

[ai] or [i] ?
in
write
I
imagine
time
online
finish
child
children
finally

[id] [d] or [id] ?
colonised
created
rebelled
ended
wanted
happened
killed
stopped
commemorated

J.K. ROWLING
Joanne Rowling was born on 31st July 1965 at Yate General Hospital just outside Bristol, and grew up in Gloucestershire in England and in Chepstow, Gwent, in south-east Wales.
Her father, Peter, was an aircraft engineer at the Rolls Royce factory in Bristol and her mother, Anne, was a science technician in the Chemistry department at Wyedean Comprehensive, where Jo herself went to school.
The young Jo grew up surrounded by books. “I lived for books,’’ she has said.

Jo wanted to be a writer from an early age. She wrote her first book at the age of six – a story about a rabbit, called ‘Rabbit’. At just eleven, she wrote her first novel – about seven cursed diamonds and the people who owned them.

Jo left home at eighteen for Exeter University.
Her course included a year in Paris. After her degree, she moved to London and worked in a series of jobs, including one as a researcher at Amnesty International.
Jo conceived the idea of Harry Potter in 1990 while sitting on a delayed train from Manchester to London King’s Cross. Over the next five years, she began to map out all seven books of the series.

Taking her notes with her, she moved to northern Portugal to teach English as a foreign language, married Jorge Arantes in October 1992 and had a daughter, Jessica, in 1993. When the marriage ended later that year, she returned to the UK to live in Edinburgh, carrying not just Jessica but a suitcase containing the first three chapters of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.

The book was first published by Bloomsbury Children’s Books in June 1997, under the name J.K. Rowling. The “K” stands for Kathleen, her paternal grandmother’s name.
Her first novel was published in the US under a different title, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, in 1998. Six further titles followed in the Harry Potter series, each achieving record-breaking success.

In 2001, the film adaptation of the first book was released by Warner Bros., and was followed by six more book adaptations, concluding with the release of the eighth film, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, in 2011.

J.K. Rowling has been married to Dr Neil Murray since 2001. They live in Edinburgh with their son, David (born 2003) and daughter, Mackenzie (born 2005).

Australia is a vast island and country situated in the southern hemisphere. It’s 14 times bigger than France.
It is divided into 6 states and 2 territories (Northern Territory + Australian Capital Territory = l speed, British or ACT) .
Its capital is Canberra and its population is nearly 26 million inhabitants.
The first people living in Australia are called ‘ Aboriginals’ .

Dracula
Oh how he creeps round in the shadows,
And sends a shiver up your spine,
And though you never seem to see him,
He always leaves a sign,
A bloodied mottled carcass,
Deadly pale and fresh,
Stinking of many things,
Like rotten eggs and death,
With blood red fangs and wicked eyes,
Oh what a scary sight,
For this is evil Dracula,
Creeping about the night.

By Lucy Johnston

A teapot - A coffee table - Magazines - A cup - A lamp - An armchair - A picture - The wall

Uniting communities

Community spirit
Uplifiting : inspirational
Neighbourhood
Divided : separated
Bring together : unite
In the same boat : have the same problems

Ailment

Twelve of the interviewees volunteered during recruitment that their consultation that day was related to a perceived minor ailment episode

stomach ailment

Budge

I've tried moving the desk but it won't budge

I've tried persuading her, but she won't budge.

The demonstrators would not budge from the governor’s office.

butcher

This is where farmers brought their livestock to be butchered

He raises pigs and butchers his own meat.

Unarmed civilians are being butchered by the occupying forces.

He complained that TV screenwriters had butchered his story.

caterwauling

I heard some dreadful caterwauling - was that you singing?

A heart-rending caterwauling came from outside.

Carved

his totem pole is carved from a single tree trunk.

I love coffee/Would you like a coffee? Words that can be countable and uncountable
By Liz Walter

In my last post I talked about why it is important to know whether words in English are countable or uncountable. However, I didn’t mention the fact that many words can be both countable and uncountable. This post discusses some of the reasons for this.

Food and drink is an area where words are commonly countable or uncountable. Often, the substance is uncountable, but a single portion (especially in the context of ordering something in a café) is countable:
+ This café serves excellent coffee. (uncountable: substance)
+ They ordered three coffees. (countable: three cups of coffee)

In addition, we often make foods countable when we talk about particular types of them:
+ I don’t like too much cheese on my pizzas. (uncountable: substance)
+ They make a wide range of blue cheeses. (countable: specific types)

In fact, we make this distinction between many other uncountable substances and countable types of those substances:
+ All the furniture is made from real wood. (uncountable: substance)
+ The woods they use are oak and mahogany. (countable: specific types)

In a similar way, we sometimes use uncountable nouns to talk about processes, situations, conditions etc. and countable nouns to talk about specific instances of them:
+ The decision will require a lot of thought. (uncountable: process of thinking)
+ What are your thoughts on Max’s suggestion? (countable: specific ideas)
+ We are worried about the spread of disease. (uncountable: illness in general)
+ These diseases are spread by poor hygiene. (countable: specific illnesses)

For some words, countability is an indicator of a completely different meaning:
+ This dictionary has simplified definitions. (countable: explanations of a word)
+ The definition on these photos is very good. (uncountable: how clear the picture is)

For other words, countability can indicate a different but related meaning:
+ She was wearing a long dress. (countable: item of clothing)
+ Formal dress is expected at the event. (uncountable: style of clothing)
+ They bought some land near their home. (uncountable: area)
+ We travelled to a faraway land. (countable: a country – rather literary use)

On a more advanced note, we sometimes see differences in countability in specialised contexts. For example, the word ‘behaviour’ is typically uncountable, but it may be used as a countable noun in contexts such as psychology:
+ Their behaviour is usually good. (uncountable: general use)
+ These children often exhibit disturbing behaviours. (countable: technical use)

And finally, another rather advanced point: pretty much any classically uncountable noun (which will be marked U only in a dictionary) can be made countable if you add an adjective before it. This use usually sounds rather literary:
+ An uneasy calm descended on the room.
+ We were tormented by a gnawing hunger.