Adjective: Comparison, Similarity, And Contrast

When comparing in English use than:

 

my motorcycle is faster than yours

her room is cleaner than her sister's

I feel more exhausted today than I felt yesterday

 

You can use two comparatives that end in -er and - er, joined with and, to convey the idea of general increase or decrease:

 

houses are getting less and less expensive

baby toys are becoming more and more beautiful

people are getting more and more rude these days

 

To show cause and effect we use the structure: the + comparative + the:

 

the less I work, the less money I make

the more books you read, the more you know

the more candy I eat, the less I want to eat vegetables

 

More and most in comparisons:

 

more is used with countable and uncountable nouns

more is used with numbers

 

more water is drunk in summer than in winter

 

a: how many more bottles do you need?

b: twelve more please

 

Most means the largest number of or the greatest amount of:

 

most doctors don't sleep much

most coffee is exported (not the most)

 

Intensifiers and adverbs of degree used with comparatives:

 

We use very, too, quite before the basic form of an adjective. we can't use them with the comparative:

 

very wet, too cold, quite hot

 

With the comparative, we use a bit, very much, much, far, even, hardly any, a lot, lots, a little, no, rather, somewhat:

 

it's much/far/a lot/a little warmer today than it was last week

 

hotels are much/far/a lot less comfortable these days

 

I think there will be many more/many fewer wars in the future

 

Even and all the are often used for emphasis in front of more with adjectives ending in – ing and – ed:

 

The economic crisis is even more tiring for people this year

he became all the more anxious when he got promoted

 

The in the superlative form of adjectives.

 

The is put before a superlative in a phrase or sentence:

 

where is the best seafood restaurant in Spain?

martin is the nicest person I have ever met.

they are the most beautiful couple I know.

 

The is sometimes omitted after which:

 

Which car is fastest? ssc tuatara or bugatti veyron super sport?

 

The is also omitted when the superlative is placed before a:

 

to-infinitive

 

I believe it is best to wait and see what happens.

She thinks it would be craziest to jump without a parachute.

 

Adverbs of degree used with superlatives:

 

Adverbs of degree used with superlatives include almost, altogether, by far, far, much, nearly, practically, quite:

 

this is quite/(by) far the most beautiful dress in the store

this is practically the best part of town

 

comparison, similarity, and contrast

 

as...as to indicate that two people, things, etc. are similar

 

cats are as intelligent as dogs

 

not as...as/not so...as to indicate a lower degree

 

jenny is not as/not so agreeable as her sister

 

more than/less than/worse than + adjective

 

they were more than happy to help me

I was less than pleased to answer her stupid question

this glue is worse than useless

 

the same, different from

 

my exam results are the same as hers

the twins look very similar but they are completely different from each other

 

different from, different to

 

Different from and different to is used in British English. different to is not commonly used in American English:

 

cats are different from/to dogs

 

Almost, exactly, just, nearly (+ as + adjective) are used to express degrees of similarity:

 

just, nearly + as + adjective:

 

Mariah Carey is just as famous as Whitney Houston

cats are nearly as popular in Poland as dogs

 

almost, exactly, just, (not) quite + the same

 

all these houses are almost/exactly/just/quite the same

 

completely, entirely, quite + different

 

these houses are completely/entirely/quite different

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