English Grammar - Comparison of adjectives

English Grammar - Comparison of adjectives
- comparative
- superlative

1) comparison with -er/-est

clean - cleaner - (the) cleanest

with -er/-est:
- all adjectives with one syllable (clean, new, cheap)
- all adjectives with two syllables ending on:
-y (easy, happy, pretty, dirty)
-er (clever)
-le (simple)
-ow (narrow)

Spelling:
large larger largest (leave out silent -e)
big bigger biggest (double consonant after short vowel in the middle)
dirty dirtier dirtiest (y is changed into -i, because there is a consonant before the- y {here -t})

2) comparison with more - most

difficult - more difficult - most difficult

all adjectives with more than one syllable (except adjectives with two syllables ending on -y or -er)

3) irregular adjectives

good - better - best
bad - worse - worst
much - more - most
many - more - most
little - less - least (wenig)
little - smaller - smallest (klein)

English Grammar - Adverbs
1) adverbs and adjectives

- adverbs: in what way someone does something (adjective: tells us more about a noun)

adjective
adverb

Mandy is a careful girl.
Mandy drives carefully.

Mandy is very careful.



FORM


adjective + -ly

adjective
adverb

dangerous dangerously
careful carefully
nice nicely
easy easily
horrible horribly
electronic electronically
irregular forms:
good well
fast fast
hard hard


You can't form adverbs from some adjectives (e.g. friendly, difficult).

2) position of adverbs

statements without objects: statements with objects
nach dem Verb nach dem Objekt
John sang well at the concert. John sang the song well.


NOTE!

Never put an adverb between verb and object.
- comparative
- superlative

1) comparison with -er/-est

hard - harder - (the) hardest

with -er/-est:
- all adverbs with one syllable
- early

2) comparison with more - most

carefully - more carefully - most carefully

adverbs ending on -ly (not: early)

3) irregular adjectives

well - better - best
badly - worse - worst
little - less - least
much - more - most
far - farther/further - farthest/furthest

ATTENTION!
In informal English some adverbs are used without -ly (e.g. cheap, loud, quick). There are two forms of comparison possible, depending on the form af the adverb:
cheaply - more cheaply - most cheaply
cheap - cheaper - cheapest
always, usually, regularly, normally, often, sometimes, occasionally, rarely, seldom, never are adverbs of frequency.

The position of these adverbs is:

before the full verb

I always get up at 6.45.
Peter can usually play football on Sundays.
Mandy has sometimes got lots of homework.


after am, are, is (was, were)

Susan is never late.


The adverbs often, usually, sometimes and occasionally can go at the beginning of a sentence.

Sometimes I go swimming.
Often we surf the internet.
We read books occasionally.

The adverbs rarely and seldom can go at the end of the sentence.

He eats fish very seldom.

without -ly with -ly
fair fairly
free freely
high highly
late lately
most mostly
near nearly
pretty prettily
right rightly
wrong wrongly