| Let's look at the sentence pattern. |
| This pattern is the structure that all of our examples will follow. |
| [Verb phrase] is [comparative adjective] than [verb phrase]. |
| Let’s see how a line from the dialogue follows this pattern. |
| Starting a business is easier than you might think. |
| In this sentence, "Starting a business" is the first verb phrase. The verb in the phrase is "Starting." The phrase is followed by "is" to connect it to the comparative adjective. |
| "Easier" is the comparative form of the adjective "easy." |
| Following the comparative adjective is "than." This connects it to the second verb phrase. Make sure not to use the word "THEN," with an "e.”. |
| The second verb phrase is "you might think," with "think" being the verb. |
| Let’s break down how we make the comparative form. It’s an essential part of this lesson. |
| Comparative forms are usually formed based on the number of syllables in the adjective: |
| For one-syllable adjectives, typically we add "-er" to the adjective. For example, "old" becomes "older", "clean" becomes "cleaner" |
| If the adjective ends in "-e", simply add "-r". For example, safe to safer, nice to nicer |
| For adjectives ending in a single vowel followed by a consonant, double the consonant before adding "-er". |
| For example, big to bigger, hot to hotter |
| For two-syllable adjectives: |
| If it ends in a consonant and -y, we change -y to -i and add -er: |
| In the case of "easy," it follows this rule. We also have happy to happier. |
| For other adjectives with two or more syllables , we add "more" or “less” before the adjective. |
| For example, more crowded, more dangerous, or less interesting. |
| While most adjectives enter the comparative form by placing the word "more" before the adjective, or appending "-er" after it, there are a few which are completely different from their root word. |
| "Good" becomes neither "more good" nor "gooder," but "better." |
| The comparative form of "bad" is not "badder" or "more bad," but "worse." |
| Now let's look at some speaking examples. |
| Exercising is more efficient than eating healthy. |
| Can you see how the pattern applies here? |
| "Exercising" is the first verb, followed by "is." |
| "More efficient" is the comparative form of the adjective "efficient," and is followed by "than." |
| "Eating healthy" is the second verb phrase. |
| Next... |
| Playing tennis is more expensive than jogging. |
| "Playing tennis" is the first verb phrase, "more expensive" is the comparative adjective, and "jogging" is the second verb. |
| Let's try one more, |
| Fishing is more fun than you can imagine. |
| "Fishing" is the first verb. |
| "More fun" is the comparative form of fun. This is an exception to the rule of adding "-er" to the end of short adjectives to make them comparative. A lot of people make the mistake of saying "funner." |
| "You can imagine." is the second verb phrase. |
| Another one. |
| Learning an instrument is more challenging than you might think. |
| "Learning an instrument" is the first verb phrase, followed by the comparative adjective "more challenging," and then the second verb phrase "you might think." |
| One last example. |
| Playing baseball is more exciting than playing basketball. |
| "Playing baseball" is the first phrase, "more exciting" is the comparative adjective," and "playing basketball" is the second phrase. |
Comments
Hide