Academic English for International Exams. Course Book. Chapter 5.

Theory
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Adjectives

describe nouns and always stand before the noun that they describe. Adjectives are never plural, regardless of the number of the noun that they describe.

The only forms they have are those of degree: comparative and superlative, which look different depending on the word's length.

Comparative forms

1 Syllable	2 Syllables		3 or more syllables
	ends in '-y'	doesn't end in '-y'
add '-er' to the base form ('y' is replaced with 'i')		add "more" in front of the base form
for example:		for example:
small – smaller	noisy – noisier	crowded – more crowded	expensive – more expensive
new – newer	dirty – dirtier	modern – more modern	majestic – more majestic

Superlative forms

add 'the ____-est' to the base form ('y' is replaced with 'i')		add "the most" in front of the base form
for example:	for example:	for example:	for example:
small – the smallest	noisy – the noisiest	crowded – the most crowded	expensive – the most expensive
new – the newest	dirty – the dirtiest	modern – the most modem	majestic – the most majestic

There are always exceptions:

good – better – the best

bad – worse – the worst

fun – more fun – the most fun

old – older (can be used for anything); elder (used for brothers or sisters only) – the oldest; the eldest

far – farther (used mostly for distance); further (means deeper – used for research, investigation) – the farthest; the furthest

Equatives

In many situations, to explain about something completely unfamiliar, it is useful to compare it to something that is familiar to the listener. We can make equatives.

For example: The whale shark is big. The blue whale is the same size. – The whale shark is as big as the blue whale.

Make sure that the two things compared are of the same nature, part of speech, and form.

For example: To swim is as fun as to canoe.

the + comparative

It is possible to show how one change affects another situation. This is done with the following patterns:

the + comparative + the + noun, rhe + comparative + the + noun
For example: The deeper the water, the thinner the fish.
the + comparative + [subject and verb], the + comparative [subject and verb].
For example: The deeper you dive, the stronger the pressure is.
the + comparative, the + comparative.
For example: The more, the merrier.

Adverbs

Adverbs can describe verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs.

eg They run quickly, ('quickly' describes 'run'–a verb) or Theirs is a very long-lived monarchy, ('very' describes 'long–lived' – an adjective)

The only place that an adverb cannot go is between the verb and the object.

Most adverbs of manner end in '–ly', but there are also some adjectives which end in '–ly' (costly, early, friendly, likely), and some adjectives and adverbs have the same form:

back	hard	little	right
deep	high	long	short
direct	ill	low	still
left	just	much	straight
enough	near	well	fast
far	late	pretty	wrong

Make complete sentences using the prompts with comparative forms of adjectives, as in the example.

e.g. The Grand Canyon, far, Mt. Rushmore
The Grand Canyon is farther than Mt. Rushmore.

1. Mt. Rushmore, far, Mt. Washington
Mt. Rushmore Mt. Washington.

2. The Grand Canyon, popular, Yellowstone National Park
The Grand Canyon Yellowstone National Park.

3. The Grand Canyon, hot, Mt. Washington
The Grand Canyon Mt. Washington.

4. Package tour to Mt. Rushmore, expensive, package tour to Mt. Washington
Package tour to Mt. Rushmore, expensive Mt. Washington.

5. The Mississippi River, warm, Yellowstone National Park
The Mississippi River Yellowstone National Park.

6. The Mississippi River, dirty, Yellowstone National Park
The Mississippi River Yellowstone National Park.

7. Yellowstone National Park, crowded, Mt. Washington
Yellowstone National Park Mt. Washington.

8. Mt. Rushmore, historic, Mt. Washington
Mt. Rushmore Mt. Washington.

9. The Grand Canyon, majestic, Mt, Rushmore
The Grand Canyon Mt, Rushmore.

10. The Mississippi River, dangerous, Mt. Washington
The Mississippi River Mt. Washington.

11. The Grand Canyon, wide, Mississippi River
The Grand Canyon Mississippi River.

12. Mt. Rushmore, high, Mt. Washington
Mt. Rushmore Mt. Washington.

13. The Grand Canyon, far, the Mississippi River
The Grand Canyon the Mississippi River.

14. New York City, crowded, Toronto
New York City Toronto.

15. Thai Curry, spicy, kimchi
Thai Curry kimchi.

16. Chocolate cake, healthy, chips
Chocolate cake chips.

17. English, difficult, Physics
English Physics.

18. Pit Bull, dangerous, cobra
Pit Bull cobra.

Using the prompts, make sentences about these tourist destinations, as in the example.

e.g. Mt. Rushmore, close, Yellowstone, peaceful
Mount Rushmore is closer than Yellowstone National Park, but Yellowstone National Park is more peaceful.

1. The Mississippi River, peaceful, Mt. Rushmore, historic
The Mississippi River Mt. Rushmore, but Mt. Rushmore .

2. The Grand Canyon, majestic, Mt. Washington, challenging
The Grand Canyon Mt. Washington, but Mt. Washington .

3. Mt. Rushmore, historic, The Grand Canyon, old
Mt. Rushmore The Grand Canyon, but The Grand Canyon .

4. The tunnel trees, impressive, Mt. Washington, close
The tunnel trees Mt. Washington, but Mt. Washington .

5. Grand Canyon tour, beautiful, Mississippi River Cruise, cheap
Grand Canyon tour Mississippi River Cruise, but Mississippi River Cruise.

6. Mt. Rushmore, close, Yosemite National Park, quiet
Mt. Rushmore Yosemite National Park, but Yosemite National Park .

7. The Tunnel Trees, amazing, Mt. Rushmore, spectacular
The Tunnel Trees Mt. Rushmore, but Mt. Rushmore .

Write sentences combining these nouns using the "as – as" structure, as in the example.

e.g. Sharks – dangerous – cobras
Sharks are as dangerous as cobras.

1. Whale Sharks - large - Orca whales
Whale Sharks Orca whales.

2. A porpoise - intelligent - a bullmastiff
A porpoise a bullmastiff.

3. The Atlantic Ocean - big - the Pacific Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean the Pacific Ocean.

4. Nothing - deep - Lake Baikal
Nothing Lake Baikal.

5. Nothing - long - the Great Barrier Reef
Nothing the Great Barrier Reef.

6. Nobody - strong - a crocodile
Nobody a crocodile.

7. Lake Erie - clean - Lake Ontario
Lake Erie Lake Ontario.

8. Giant octopi - big - giant squids
Giant octopi giant squids.

9. An eel - dangerous - a shark
An eel a shark.

10. Nothing - big - the Mediterranean sea
Nothing the Mediterranean sea.

11. An electric eel - long - a freshwater eel
An electric eel a freshwater eel.

12. A stingray - dangerous - the blue ring octopus
A stingray the blue ring octopus.

Change the adjectives in the following passage into the superlative form (mind the articles!).

Dangers of the deep

Creatures of all shapes and sizes inhabit the oceans of the world. Although people catch many species, there are those which are best left alone.

1. (dangerous) creature in the water is the Great White Shark. This is 2. (large) of the shark family, and can grow to over 50 feet (16 metres). 3. (long) distance a Great White has ever traveled is more than 20,000 km in 9 months. Luckily, Great Whites don't like cold, so there's no chance of seeing one in Lake Ontario.

4. (poisonous) fish is the stonefish. 5. (large) stonefish discovered were 12 inches (30 centimeters). However, the dorsal spines of the stonefish can penetrate 6. (hard) shoes. The second 7. (poisonous) creature is actually a Stingray. This is the smaller cousin of the huge Manta Ray - the original "Sea Monster".

We cannot forget the octopi - 8. (poisonous) octopus is the Australian blue ring octopus. It has a neuro-poison which is fatal within 30 minutes.

Although jellyfish look imposing, there is only one which has ever proven regularly fatal - the Boxfish.

The irony is obvious: some of 9. (beautiful) creatures in the world co-exist with the 10. (dangerous) in the coral reefs.

Complete these "the + comparative" pairs with possible results. Remember, there is no one correct answer.

Complete the second part of the "the + comparative" structure with your own answer.

There has been an alarming trend over the last few decades to ignore environmental side-effects, and the warnings of environmental scientists when it comes to the world's oceans. The more developed the world becomes, .

Although everyone knows pollution is bad, only Greenpeace seems to be actually doing anything about it. However, many people consider Greenpeace simply a group of crazy people. Because of their reputation, the more Greenpeace speaks, .

The amount of garbage that is being dumped into the world's oceans is amazing. This is especially obvious in Australia's amazing Coral Reef Because this is such a highly-evolved ecosystem, it shows the first negative side-effects of pollution. Even though it is very far removed from us in Canada, we must remember that the whole planet is connected, and the more damage we do in Australia .

Also, the more we help Australia when they have a problem, .

In the following story, choose the correct modifier - adjective or adverb

How Mosquitoes Came To Be

[Tlinget Tribe of The Pacific coast]

Long time ago there was a giant who loved to eat humans. He was especially fond of human hearts. "Unless we can get rid of the giant," people said 1. (fearful/fearfully), "none of us will be left,"' and they called a council to discuss ways and means.

One man said, "I think I know how to kill the monster," and he went to the place where the giant had been seen 2. (recent/recently). There he lay down 3. (quick/quickly) and pretended to be dead.

Soon the giant came along, Seeing the man lying there, he said 4. (happy/happily): "These humans are making it easy for me. Now I don't even have to catch and kill them; they die right on my trails probably from fear of me!"

The giant touched the body. "Ah, good," he said, "this one is still 5. (warm/warmly) and 6. (fresh/freshly). What a tasty meal he'll make."

The giant flung the man over his shoulder, and the man let his head hang down as if he were dead. Carrying the man home, the giant dropped him in the middle of the floor right near the fireplace. Then he saw that there was no firewood, and went to get some.

As soon as the monster had left, the man got up and grabbed the giant's huge skinning knife. Just then the giant's son came in. He was still small as giants go, and the man held the big knife to his throat. "Quick, tell me, where your father's heart is!" The giant's son became 7. (scared/scaredly). He said 8. (quiet/quietly): "My father's heart is in his left heel."

Just then the giant's left foot appeared 9. (sudden/suddenly) in the entrance, and the man 10. (swift/swiftly) plunged the knife into the heel. The monster screamed 11. (loud/loudly) and fell down dead.

Yet, the giant still spoke 12. (angry/angrily). "Though I'm dead, though you killed me, I'm going to keep on eating you and all the humans in the world forever!"

"That's what you think!" said the man. "I'm about to make sure that you never eat anyone again." He cut the giant's body 13. (rapid/rapidly) into pieces and burned each one in the fire. Then he took the ashes and threw them 14. (forceful /forcefully) into the air for the winds to scatter. Instantly each of the particles turned into a mosquito. The cloud of ashes became a cloud of mosquitoes, and from their midst the man heard the giant's voice laughing, saying: "Yes, I'll eat you people 15. (constant/constantly) until the end of time."

As the monster spoke, the man felt a sting, and a mosquito started sucking his blood, and then many mosquitoes stung him 16. (painful/painfully), and the man began 17. (sudden/suddenly) to scratch himself.