class3 1

1 a Correct the mistakes in these students’ sentences.

1 Notting Hill Carnival in London is morę popular one

C L (Ą s S j;l

Language deyelopment 2

Comparatives and superlatiyes

I Lnów.

2    It is most large Street earnival of Curope.

3    &ut morę big it gets, morę friendlf it becomes.

4    The costumes are pretLjest I have seen.

5    t5>ut the goodest thing is the musie.

6    Lach 'fear it seems morę loud that the last time!

7    LucLilf, the weather is usuall'( as good than the musie.

8    Ne*t fear l will go morę earlf, to see everfthing.

¹ mm mm ..w tm n— mmmmm > i¹ ■ i w> mm........

b Check your answers in the Grammar reference on page 195.

c Complete the text with comparative or superlative forms of the words in brackets.

The Mexican holiday Cinco de Mayo (5 May), which remembers the Mexican defeat of the

French army in 1862, is celebrated (1)...............

(erithusiasticallrf in the State of Puebla than in

other parts of Mexico. it is not (2)..^............

(popular) holiday in Mexico. In fact; it is

celebrated (3)...............(widełby Mexicans iń the

USA than in Mexico, and the holiday is (4)...............

(well-known) in the USA than Mexican Independence Day. In recent years, Cinco de

Mayo has become (5)...............(big) than ever and

is promoted as a celebration of Mexican culture,

food and musie. Participation is now (6)...............

(wide) than before, and non-Mexican Americans

are (7)...............(enthusiastic) about it as

Mexicans. In California, the (8)...............(//Ve/y) and

(9)    (sensationaf) parties take place in Los

Angeles. Celebrations have become (10) (commercialisecf) in recent years, but Cinco de Mayo is still a great festival.

Modifying adjectives and adverbs

A To express a big difference:

•    far/a lot/(very) much + comparative He is far better than the other singers in the band.

(very better)

The food is a lot nicer in this cafe. (very rtieer)

The carnival is (very) much morę popular this year.

(very morę popular) byfar/easily + superlative He is by far the best singer in the band.

The carnival is easily the most popular in the country, not nearly as ... as

This party is not nearly as good as last year‘s.

This is not nearly as good a party as last years.

B To express a smali difference:

■ • slightly/a bit/a little + comparative ! The musie is (only) slightly better than before.

The concert was a bit/a little better than I expected.

1

•    just about + superlative

It was just about the longest carnival procession ever.

•    nearly/not ąuite as ... as

The first show was nearly as good as the second one.

The weather isn’t ąuite as hot as it was last time.

2    Look at the information in the box above and complete the sentences with comparative or superlative forms.

1    Fiesta Broadway in Los Angeles is..............................(by

far/large) Cinco de Mayo celebration in the USA.

2 This year it was..............................(much/crowded) than

it was last year.

3    This years paradę was..............................(not

ąuite/ldng) as last time.

4    The costumes were..............................(a lot/colourful)

than before.

5    The food is...........................(far/spicy) than I

remembered.

6    I tried..............................(easily/mild) dish, and it madę

my mouth burn!

7 And Pm surę 1 was..............................(just about/bad)

dancer there.

3    a Choose one of these topics and write four

sentences about it. Compare:

•    three types of dance you know (e.g. salsa, tango, ballet - fast/slow, easy/hard, cheap/expensive... ?)

•    three types of musie (e.g. rap, jazz, opera -interesting/boring, noisy/ąuiet... ?)

•    three types of food (e.g. Italian, French, Chinese — spicy/mild, light/heavy, tasty/bland...?)

b Discuss your ideas. Give reasons for your opinions.

16~1