Comparative and Superlative forms

1 One-syllable and two-syllable adjectives ending in –y

Adjective	Comparative	Superlative	Spelling
young	younger	the youngest	most adjectives +
tall	taller	the tallest	-er, the -est
nice	nicer	the nicest	adjectives ending
large	larger	the largest	in -e: + -r, the -st
thin	thinner	the thinnest	one vowel + one
big	bigger	the biggest	consonant: double the consonant
pretty	prettier	the prettiest	change -y to -i

2 Other two-syllable adjectives and longer adjectives

serious	more serious	the most serious
sophisticated	more sophisticated	the most sophisticated

But we usually use -er and the -est with the following two-syllable adjectives: clever, quiet, simple, gentle.

 

3 Irregular forms

Adjective	Comparative	Superlative
good little many/much bad far	better less more worse farther /further	the best the least the most the worst the farthest / furthest

4 Prepositions in comparative phrases

I think she’s more attractive than her sister.

Your eyes are very similar to your mother’s.

Are these glasses very different from your old ones?

She looks like a businesswoman.

Her earrings are the same as mine.

 

 

PRONOUNS

Subject pronouns	Object pronouns	Possessive pronouns		Reflexive pronouns
I	me	my	mine	myself
he	him	his	his	himself
she	her	her	hers	herself
it	it	its	its	itself
we	us	our	ours	ourselves
you	you	your	yours	yourself / yourselves
they	them	their	theirs	themselves

Some/Any/No

	Affirmative sentences	Negative sentences	Interrogative sentences
people:	somebody	anybody	nobody/not anybody
things:	something	anything	nothing/ not anything
places:	somewhere	anywhere	nowhere/not anywhere

 

1 Some, any and no are used with uncountable nouns (coffee, sugar, etc.)   

and plural countable nouns (cars, flowers, etc.).

some coffee, some cars

2 Some and its compounds (someone, somebody, something, somewhere)

are normally used in affirmative sentences.

He’s got some friends.

There is somebody at the door.

3 Any and its compounds are usually used in interrogative sentences.

 Not any is used in negative sentences.

Have you got any money?

There aren’t (=are not) any shops near here.

He is not anywhere.

4 Any and its compounds are also used with negative words such as without,   

never, seldom, rarely, etc.

He left without any excuse. She has hardly any money left.

5 No and its compounds are used instead of not any in negative sentences.

They haven’t got any time./They’ve got no time.

6 We use a singular verb with compounds of some, any and no.

Someone is calling for help.

There is nothing on the table.

 

7 Some and its compounds are also used in interrogative sentences when we

make an offer or request.

Would you like some orange juice? (offer)

Can I say something? (request)

 

A Lot – Much – Many

A lot of/Lots of are used with both plural countable and uncountable nouns. They are normally used affirmative sentences.

Mary’s got a lot of /lots of dresses.

There is a lot of / lots of coffee in the pot,

Much and many are normally used in interrogative and negative sentences.

Much is used with uncountable and many with plural countable nouns.

There’s much cheese in the fridge.

There isn’t much cheese left.

‘Have you got many books?’ I haven’t got many books’

Much

We use much with singular (uncountable) nouns and many with plurals.

Much and many are most common in questions and negatives, and after so, as, too, very.

In other informal affirmative sentences, we generally prefer a lot (of), lots (of), plenty (of).

‘How much time have we got?’ ‘ How many tickets do we need?’

‘Do you have much trouble with English?’ ‘I don’t have much trouble speaking, but I have lots of difficulty writing .’

‘Are there many opera houses in London?’ ‘Not many, but a lot of theatres and plenty of cinemas.’

There are too many people here.

I love you so much.

A little/Little

A little/Little are used with uncountable nouns (tea, money, etc.).

A little means not much, but enough.

She’s got a little money. She can go shopping.

Little means hardly any, almost none.

We’ve got (very) little time. We must hurry.

A few / Few

A few /Few are used with plural countable nouns (books, plates, etc.).

A few means not many, but enough.

I’ve got a few friends, so I am not lonely.(positive idea)

Few means hardly any, almost none

I’m sad and I am lonely. I’ve got few friends. (negative idea)

 

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MODAL VERBS

A list of the modal verbs in English:

can	could	may	might	will
would	must	shall	should	ought to

Modals are different from normal verbs:

1 They are followed by the infinitive without to, except for ought to.

We must be at the airport by seven

You should try this ice-cream – it’s delicious.

But: You ought to be more careful.

2 There is no do/does in the questions.

Can I help you?

When shall I phone you?

3 The form is the same for all persons. There is no -s in the third person  

singular.

She must be tired.

She can’t be at home.

4 To form the negative, add n’t. There is no don’t/doesn’t.

You can’t use the gym between 1.00 and 2.00.

Functions of modal verbs

Modal verbs are used to express: ability permission possibility probability logical assumption requests offer suggestions advice criticism obligation prohibition

 

Ability – Lack of ability Kim is five years old. She can read and write. When she was three, she could count to ten. She couldn’t reach the top shelf, even though she tried. She couldn’t swim fast when she was young.

Permission Asking for permission Can I open the window, please? (informal) Could I open the window, please? (more polite) May/Might I open the window, please? (formal) Giving permission     You can leave your luggage here. (informal) You may leave your luggage in this area. (formal) Refusing permission  You can’t/mustn’t park here. (informal) You may not park in this area. (formal, usually written notice)

Requests Can you help me, please? (informal) Will  you get me my glasses, please? (familiar) Could you make me some tea? (polite request) May I have a glass of water? (formal request)

Offers I’ll do the shopping if you like. Shall I help you with your luggage?

Suggestions Shall we go to the theatre? We can/could go to the pub if you like.

Advice You should stop smoking. (it is the best thing to do; I advise you to) You ought to treat animals kindly. (ought to is sometimes used for advice based on laws, rules or generally accepted ideas) Shall I tell him the truth? (asking for advice)

Criticism You shouldn’t have been rude to her yesterday. (but you were) You should have locked the car before leaving. (but you didn’t)

Obligation and Necessity I must lose some weight. (I say so) We ought to respect environment. (it’s the right thing to do)

Prohibition You can’t park here. You mustn’t tell anyone.

 

Logical assumption , possibility and probability

Must is used in affirmative sentences and expresses positive logical assumptions.

It is Sunday. He must be at home. (=I’m sure he is at home.)

Can’t and couldn’t are used in negations and expresses negative logical assumptions.

It is Sunday. He can’t/couldn’t be at work. (=I’m sure he isn’t at work.)

 

I’m sure she knows him well.	She must know him well.
It is possible that he’s working late tonight.	He could be working late tonight.
I’m sure she’ll be working tomorrow.	She must be working tomorrow.
I’m sure he didn’t know the truth.	He can’t have known the truth.
Perhaps they have missed the bus.	They might have missed the bus.
It’s possible he had got lost.	He may have got lost.
I’m certain he was sleeping.	He must have been sleeping.
Perhaps she has been lying.	She may have been lying.
It’s likely they had been hiding.	They could have been hiding.

 

PASSIVE VOICE

1 The Passive is used when the person who carries out the action is unknown, unimportant or obvious from the context.

Mrs Archer’s ruby ring was stolen from her house last night.

2 When the action itself is more important than the person who carries it out, 

as in news headlines, newspaper articles, formal notices, instructions, etc.

The teenagers were seriously injured in a car accident last night.

3 When we want to make statements more polite.

My new blouse is ruined. ( More polite than saying, ‘You’ve ruined my

 new blouse.’)

Note: The Passive is used more often in written English than in spoken  

English.

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