Learn how to use irregular comparatives
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Braden: Using Irregular Comparatives in English. |
| Braden: In this lesson, you'll learn about irregular comparatives. |
| Natalie: This conversation takes place on the plane during the shift. |
| Braden: And it’s between David and Ashley. |
| Natalie: David and Ashley have become friends and are speaking casually. |
| Braden: Let’s listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| David: I need some sleep. This flight from San Diego to Detroit is a killer. |
| Ashley: Do you think so? |
| David: Yeah. Do you know why there are so many flights to Detroit? I mean the car industry isn't what it used to be. |
| Ashley: No, it isn't, but it is getting better. |
| David: Do they still have those big car shows? |
| Ashley: Like you said, the car industry isn't what it used to be, but there are still several prestigious car shows in Detroit. |
| Braden: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly. |
| David: I need some sleep. This flight from San Diego to Detroit is a killer. |
| Ashley: Do you think so? |
| David: Yeah. Do you know why there are so many flights to Detroit? I mean the car industry isn't what it used to be. |
| Ashley: No, it isn't, but it is getting better. |
| David: Do they still have those big car shows? |
| Ashley: Like you said, the car industry isn't what it used to be, but there are still several prestigious car shows in Detroit. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Braden: In this lesson, you'll learn a little bit about Detroit. |
| Natalie: Okay so, Detroit is the largest city in the state of Michigan and the Metro Detroit area has a population of over 5.2 million people. |
| Braden: That's a lot of people. Detroit is interesting because it serves as a major port on the Detroit River connecting the Great Lakes to the St. Lawrence Seaway. The St. Lawrence Seaway connects the Great lakes to the Atlantic ocean. |
| Natalie: Traditionally, Detroit is known as the automotive center of the world. So much so that the music style “Motown” comes from the Detroit region and comes from the city's nickname “motor town.” |
| Braden: In the employment sector, approximately 1/5 of all jobs in Detroit are related to automobile production because the headquarters for General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler, are located in downtown Detroit. |
| Natalie: However, much of present-day auto manufacturing takes place outside of Detroit. |
| Braden: That's right. Today, Detroit mostly administers the automotive industry. Not much is actually built in the city anymore. |
| Natalie: Looking at the education sector, one of the most notable educational institutions in Detroit is Wayne State University which is a public research university with over 32,000 students. |
| Braden: That's right. Wayne State University offers more than 400 major subject areas and encompasses more than 203 acres. There are more than 100 education and research buildings and 6 extension centers in the Detroit area. |
| Natalie: in other words, it's big. |
| Braden: Very big. With that many majors and big companies, there's probably going to be a major for you to study and a job for you while you go to school. Which is a nice thought. |
| Natalie: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Natalie: flight [natural native speed] |
| Braden: act of flying |
| Natalie: flight [slowly - broken down by syllable] flight [natural native speed] |
| Braden: Next |
| Natalie: industry [natural native speed] |
| Braden: a group of businesses offering a particular service or product |
| Natalie: industry [slowly - broken down by syllable] industry [natural native speed] |
| Braden: Next |
| Natalie: enough [natural native speed] |
| Braden: as much or as many as required |
| Natalie: enough [slowly - broken down by syllable] enough [natural native speed] |
| Braden: Next |
| Natalie: activity [natural native speed] |
| Braden: the condition in which things are happening or being done |
| Natalie: activity [slowly - broken down by syllable] activity [natural native speed] |
| Braden: Next |
| Natalie: interesting [natural native speed] |
| Braden: attracting attention |
| Natalie: interesting [slowly - broken down by syllable] interesting [natural native speed] |
| Braden: Next |
| Natalie: show [natural native speed] |
| Braden: to allow something or somebody to be seen |
| Natalie: show [slowly - broken down by syllable] show [natural native speed] |
| Braden: Next |
| Natalie: prestigious [natural native speed] |
| Braden: having status or a very good reputation, famous and respected |
| Natalie: prestigious [slowly - broken down by syllable] prestigious [natural native speed] |
| Braden: Next |
| Natalie: several [natural native speed] |
| Braden: more than two but not many |
| Natalie: several [slowly - broken down by syllable] several [natural native speed] |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| Braden: Let's have a closer look at the usage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson. |
| Natalie: In the dialogue, we heard the phrase “a killer.” |
| Braden: The phrase “a killer” could very easily be misinterpreted. In the dialog, the meaning is “something challenging,” or “something very difficult.” |
| Natalie: When you look in the dictionary, the first definition for the word “killer” is “a person or thing that kills.” For example, "a killer virus.” |
| Braden: But don't be afraid because, in this sentence, David refers to the flight from San Diego to Detroit as “a killer.” What he means to say is that the flight, because it is so long, is very difficult and tiresome. |
| Natalie: Not that the flight will actually kill anyone. (haha) |
| Braden: Could you break this down for us? |
| Natalie: (slowly) a killer |
| Braden: And one time fast? |
| Natalie: (fast) a killer |
| Braden: Perfect! What’s next? |
| Natalie: In the dialogue, we heard the phrase "what it used to be." |
| Braden: The phrase “what it used to be” refers to the car industry in the Detroit area. Years ago, Detroit was the center of the world for all things "cars." It isn't that way anymore. |
| Natalie: In the dialogue, David uses the phrase to mean that the car industry 'was' strong but now it isn't as strong as it was. It isn't (now), what it was before. |
| Braden: And a quick review of pronunciation from lesson six. Here, we have the same point where “used” and “to” come together and they are joined into just one sound. It's the same as “get used to.” |
| Natalie: So, remember that the correct pronunciation here is not “used” “to” but actually “use” “to.” |
| Braden: Could you break this down for us? |
| Natalie: (slowly) what it used to be |
| Braden: And one time fast? |
| Natalie: (fast) what it used to be |
| Braden: Excellent! Let’s take a look at the grammar point. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Braden: So Natalie, what’s the focus of this lesson? |
| Natalie: The focus of this lesson is irregular comparatives |
| Braden: In the dialogue we heard the phrase |
| Natalie: It isn’t what it used to be but it’s getting better. |
| Braden: Okay so, in this sentence, the irregular comparative is the word "better," Usually, the comparative forms in English simply take -ER and that's it. |
| Natalie: Sadly, However, there are some adjectives that are irregular, or they do not follow this rule. |
| Braden: In this lesson, we will talk about 3 adjectives that have irregular comparatives. |
| Natalie: Those 3 adjectives are good, bad, and far. |
| Braden: Let’s start off with Good. |
| Natalie: Okay. |
| Braden: So, “Good” is an irregular comparative. It's very common to hear children say “gooder.” However this is incorrect. |
| Natalie: The correct comparative for the adjective "good" is “better.” For example, “Brazil's industry was good but now it's better.” |
| Braden: Here, both the word “good” and its comparative “better” are used. This sentence compares Detroit's past industry with its current industry. |
| Natalie: Another example would be,“The weather looks better today than it did yesterday." |
| Braden: Here, yesterday's weather is compared to today's weather and according to the comparison today's weather is more agreeable. Okay? So, let's move on to "bad." |
| Natalie: Okay. So, “Bad” also has an irregular comparative. The correct comparative form for "bad" is "worse." |
| Braden: It's common to hear singers and rap artists Use the word “badder," however, this is incorrect. |
| Natalie: Almost all dictionaries, and certainly all English teachers, consider “badder” to be a slang term. The correct term is “worse.” For example – |
| Braden: “His health seems to be getting worse.” This sentence compares a person's current health with his past health. |
| Natalie: Another example would be “Our finances are worse than I expected.” |
| Braden: Here, the true state of this person's “finances” are compared to what the person thought their finances were like. This can sometimes be frightening. |
| Natalie: In other words, he thought he was making more money than he really was. |
| Braden: Or he's just spending more than he makes. (haha) |
| Natalie: Okay so, The last comparative we'll look at is for the adjective “far.” This is a bit of a trick comparative because the adjective “far” can become a comparative in two different ways. |
| Braden: That's right. "Far" can be a comparative as "farther" or "further." These two words have similar meanings but are used in different ways. |
| Natalie: Let's look at “further” first. |
| Braden: Okay, so, "Further" is used to indicate a degree of change. For example – “The Police Department is going further than ever against drug dealers.” |
| Natalie: Here, “further” is used to show the degree to which the police department is going in order to fight or combat against drug dealers. |
| Braden: Now let's take a look at “farther.” "Farther" is used to indicate a difference in distance. For example, “He can run farther than Brandon." |
| Natalie: So, "farther" is for distance and "further" is for degree? right? |
| Braden: Right. |
| Natalie: Cool. I think we should review this lesson. |
| Braden: Okay, so, Usually, the comparative forms in English simply take -ER. |
| Natalie: However, there are irregular comparatives which do not follow this rule. |
| Braden: We talked about the irregular comparatives "good," "bad," and "far" in this lesson. |
| Natalie: And remember, "far" has two possible irregular comparatives; "farther" and "further." |
| Braden: "Farther" is for distances and "further" is for degrees of intensity. |
Outro |
| Braden: That just about does it for this lesson. Thanks for listening. |
| Natalie: Have a great day! |
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