Superlatives

UNIT  100 Superlatives -the longest, the most enjoyable, etc.

A.   Study these examples:

What is the longest river in the world?
What was the most enjoyable vacation you've ever had?
 
Longest and most enjoyable are superlative forms.

B.   We use -est or to form the superlative of and adverbs. In general we use -est for most (The the same as those for shorter words and most for longer words, rules are the comparative see Unit 97.) For example:

hard/hardest     easy/easiest     hot/hottest      long/longest

but: most famous     most boring     most expensive     most difficult

• Yesterday was the hottest day of the year.

• That was the most boring movie I've ever seen.

• "Why did you stay at that hotel?" "It was the cheapest we could find."

• She is a really nice person one of the nicest people I know.

Note the irregular superlatives best and worst:

• That was a delicious meal. It's one of the best I've ever had.

• Why does he always come to see me at the worst possible moment?

Don't forget that we normally use the with superlatives: ''the best,'' ''the most boring," etc                       

C.   oldest and eldest

The superlative of old is oldest

• That house over there is the oldest building in the town. (not the eldest)

We use eldest when we are talking about the members of a family (oldest is also possible)

• My eldest (or oldest) son is 13 years old.

• Are you the eldest (or oldest) in your family?

D.   After superlatives, we use in with places (towns, buildings, etc.)

• What's the longest river in the world? (not of the world)

• We were lucky to have one of the nicest rooms in the hotel.

Also: (the best . . .) in the class/ in the company, etc.
But: the happiest day of my life, the hottest day of the year.

• What's the best movie you've ever seen?

• That was the most delicious meal I've had in a long time.

E.   We sometimes use most + adjective (without the) to mean very:

• The book you lent me was most interesting. (= very interesting)

• Thank you for the money. It was most generous of you. (= very generous)

Comparison (3) Exercises

UNIT 99   Comparison (3) Exercises

99.1   Complete the sentences using as . . . as.

Examples: I'm very tall, but you are taller. I'm not as tall as you
Ann works reasonably hard, but she used to work much harder.
Ann doesn't work as hard as she used to.

1.   My salary is high, but yours is higher. My salary isn't______________________________

2.   You know a little bit about cars, but I know more. You don't _________________________________

3.   I still smoke, but I used to smoke a lot more. I don't._______________________________

4.   I still feel tired, but I felt a lot more tired yesterday. I don't____________________________________

5.   They've lived here for a long time, but we've lived here longer.
They haven't______________________________________

6.   I was a little nervous before the interview. but usually I'm a lot more nervous.
I wasn't__________________________________________

7.   The weather is still unpleasant today, but yesterday it was worse.
The weather isn't_________________________________________

99.2   Rewrite these sentences so that they have the same meaning. Begin as shown

Example: Jack is younger than he looks. Jack isn't as old, as he looks.

1.   It's warmer today than yesterday. It isn't___________________________________

2.   The station was nearer than I thought. The station wasn't___________________________

3.   I go out less than I used to. I don't______________________________________

4.   The hotel is cheaper than I expected. The hotel isn't_________________________________

5.   There were fewer people at this meeting than at the last one.
There weren't____________________________________________

6.   The exam was easier than we expected.
The exam wasn't________________________________________________
                   
99.3   Complete these sentences using just as with one of the following words:
bad        comfortable          expensive        quick           well-qualified

1.   Let's walk. It's just as quick as taking the bus

2.   I'm going to sleep on the floor. It's _______________________________sleeping in that bed.

3.   Why did she get the job? I'm ____________________________her

4.   I thought he was nice, but he's______________________________everybody else.

5.   You won't find a cheaper restaurant than this. They'll all be_________________________________.

99.4   Make sentences with the same as

Example: (Tom/same age/George) Tom is the same age as George

1.   (your hair/same color/mine) Your hair______________________________________

2.   (I arrived here/same time/you)________________________________________________

3.   (you made/same mistake/I made)________________________________________________

Comparison (3)

UNIT 99  Comparison (3) - as . . . as/than

A.   Study this example situation:

Joe, Henry, and Arthur are all millionaires They are all very rich. Joe has $10 million, Henry has $6 million, and Arthur has $2 million. So:

Henry is rich.

He is richer than Arthur.

But he isn't as rich as Joe. (= Joe is richer than Henry is)

Here are some more examples of not as . . . as:

• Sue isn't as old as she looks. (= she looks older than she is)

• The shopping center wasn't as crowded this morning as it usually is. it is usually more crowded)

• Jim didn't do as well on his exam as he had hoped. he had hoped to do better)

• "The weather's better today, isn't it?" "Yes, it's not as cold.'' (= yesterday was colder)

• I don't know as many people as you do. (= you know more people)                       

You can also say "not so . . . as" (instead of "not as . . . as'')

• Henry isn't so rich as Joe.

B.    You can also use as . . . as (but not "so as") in positive sentences and in questions

• I'm sorry I'm late. I got here as fast as I could.

• There's plenty of food, so eat as much as you like.

• Let's walk. It's just as quick as taking the bus.

• Can you send me the money as soon as possible, please?

We also say twice as . . . as, three times as . . . as, etc.

• Gasoline is twice as expensive as it was a few years ago.

• Their house is about three times as big as ours

C.   We say the same as (not the same like):

• Ann's salary is the same as mine. (or Ann gets the same salary as me.)

• Tom is the same age as George.

• "What would you like to drink?" "I'll have the same as last time

D.   After than and as it is more usual to say me/him/her/them/us when there is no verb. Compare these sentences:

• You are taller than I am.                             but: You are taller than me.

• They have more money than we have      but They have more money than us.

• I can't run as fast as he can                         but: I can't run as fast as him.

Comparison (2) Exercises

UNIT 98 Comparison (2) Exercises

98.1   Complete these sentences using these words: better  worse  further  older  elder
You have to use some of these words more than once. Use than where necessary.

Example: Let me ask him. I know him better than you do.

1.   We complained about the food in our hotel. But instead of improving, it got_________________

2.   Your work isn't very good. I'm sure you can do _________________________this.

3.   Ann's younger sister is still in school. Her _____________________ Sister is a nurse.

4.   Our team played really badly this afternoon. We played ___________________________we have ever played before.

5.   You're standing too near the camera. Can you move a little _______________________away?

6.   "Is Jim younger than Tom''  ''No, he's______________________________''

7.   The damage to our car wasn't so bad. It could have been much _________________________

8.   If you need any___________________________information, please contact our head office.

98.2   Use the structure . . . and . . . .

Examples: It's becoming harder and harder to find a job. (hard)
It's becoming more and more difficult to find a job. (difficult)                      

1.   As I waited for my interview, I became__________________________(nervous)

2.   That hole in your sweater is getting_____________________________(big)

3.   The suitcase seemed to get ______________________________as I carried it along the road. (heavy)

4.   As the day wore on, the weather got___________________________(bad)

5.   As the conversation continued, he became_____________________________(talkative)

6.   Traveling is becoming________________________________(expensive)

7.   Since she has been in the U.S., her English has gotten _______________________________(good)

98.3   Write sentences with the . . . the . . . . Choose a half sentence from box A to go with a half sentence from box B.

A the earlier we leave                          B the faster you'll learn
the longer he waited                                the more you have to pay
the more I got to know him                    The sooner we'll arrive
the more you practice your English       the more profit you'll make
the longer the telephone call                   the more impatient he became
the more goods you sell                            the more I liked him

1.   The earlier we leave, the sooner we'll arrive.

2.   ____________________________________________________________________________

3.   ____________________________________________________________________________

4.   ____________________________________________________________________________

5.   ____________________________________________________________________________

6.   ____________________________________________________________________________

Comparison (2)

UNIT 98  Comparison (2)

A.   Some adjectives and adverbs have irregular comparative forms:

good/well    better
Let me ask him I know him better than you do.
The garden looks better since you tidied it up

bad/badly   worse
''Is your headache better?''   ''No, it's worse''
The situation was much worse than we expected

far                further(or farther)
I'm very tired. I can't walk much further. (or . . . much farther.)

Further (but not farther) can also mean more or additional

• Let me know immediately if you hear any further news (= any more news)

Note the comparative words more and less

• I smoke more than I used to.

• We've got less time than I thought

B.   Older and elder.

The comparative of old is older

• Tom looks older than he really is. (not elder)

We use elder when we are talking about members of a family. We say (my) elder brother/ sister/son daughter (older is also possible)

• My elder (or older) brother is a pilot.

We use elder only before a noun:

• My brother is older than me. (not elder than me)

C.   Sometimes you can use two comparatives together. For example: harder and harder, more and more, more and more difficult. We use this structure to say that something is changing continuously:

• It's becoming harder and harder to find a job.

• Your English is improving. It's getting better and better.

• It's becoming more and more difficult to find a job

• These days more and more people are learning English.

D.   Note the structure the + comparative the better. For example:

• "What time shall we leave?"     "The sooner the better." (= it will be best if we leave as soon as possible)

''What size box do you want?''     "The bigger the better.'' (= it will be best if the box is as big as possible)

We also use the . . . the . . . (with two comparatives) to say that one thing depends on another thing:

• The warmer the weather, the better I feel.

• The earlier we leave, the sooner we will arrive.

• The more expensive the hotel, the better the service.

• The more electricity you use, the higher your bill will be.

• The more you have, the more you want.

Comparison (1) Exercises

UNIT 97 Comparison (1) Exercises

97.1   Complete these sentences. Each time use the comparative form of one of the following
adjectives or adverbs:

crowded     early     easily     interested    expensive    large    near     often     quiet      thin

1.   This jacket is too small. I need a larger size

2.   You look________________________Have you lost weight?

3.   He's not so enthusiastic about his studies. He's___________________in having a good time.

4.   You'll find your way around the town_________________________if you have a map.

5.   You're making too much noise. Can you be a little bit_________________________?

6.   There were a lot of people in the cafe. It was_________________________than usual

7.   You're late. I expected you to be here_________________________.

8.   You hardly ever write to me. Why don't you write a little____________________________?

9.   The hotel was surprisingly cheap. expected it to be much________________________________.
 
10.   It's a shame you live so far away. I wish you lived____________________________________.

97.2   Complete these sentences. Use the comparative of the words in parentheses ( . . . ) + than.

Example: Her illness was more seriaus than we first thought. (serious)

1.   Sorry I'm late. It took me_________________to get here _________________I expected. (long)

2.   My toothache is ______________________it was yesterday (painful)

3.   She looks about 20, but in fact she's much _____________________she looks. (old)

4.   The problem is not so complicated. It's _______________________________you think. (simple)

5.   Your English has improved. You speak a lot ________________________________you did when we last met. (fluently)                       

6.   Health and and happiness are _________________________ money (important)

7.    We always go camping when we go on vacation. It's much ____________________________staying in a hotel. (cheap)

8.   I like the country. It's______________________and_________________________living in the city. (healthy/peaceful)

97.3   This exercise is similar, but this time you also need to use a bit/a little/much/a lot/far. Use than where necessary.

Example: Her illness was much more serious than we first thought. (much serious)

1.   It's__________________________today_______________________it was yesterday. (a little/warm)

2.   You're driving too fast. Can you drive___________________________?(a bit/slowly)

3.   A: Did you enjoy your visit to the museum?

B: Yes, I found it ____________________ I expected. (far/interesting)

4.   I prefer this armchair. It's ____________________________the other one (much/comfortable)

5.   You looked depressed this morning, but you look now. (a little/happy)

6.   This apartment is too small. I need something_________________________________(much/big)

7.   It's_________________________to learn a foreign language in the country where it is spoken. (a lot/easy)

Comparison (1)

UNIT 97 Comparison (1) cheaper, more, expensive, etc.

A.  Study these examples:

Let's go by car. It's cheaper
Don't go by train. It's more expensive.

Cheaper and more expensive are comparative forms.

After comparatives we use than:

• It's cheaper to go by car than to go by train.

B.   We use -er for the comparative of short adjectives and adverbs:

cheap/cheaper      hard harder        large/larger        thin/thinner

• This jacket is too small. I need a larger size.

• Ann works harder than most of her friends.

we prefer -er with some two-syllable adjectives, especially adjectives ending in -y. For example:                      
lucky/luckier funny/funnier        easy/easier         pretty/prettier

and also: quiet/quieter      narrow/narrower       simple/simpler

• The examination was easier than we expected.

• It's too noisy here. Can we go somewhere quieter?

C.   We use more (not -er) for other two-syllable adjectives and longer adjectives:

more modern       more serious      more expensive      more comfortable

• More expensive hotels are usually more comfortable than cheaper ones.

• Her illness was more serious than we first thought.

We also use more . . . for adverbs that end in -ly:

more slowly      more seriously        more quietly            more carefully

• Could you speak more slowly, please?

We also say more often:

• I don't play tennis much now. I used to play more often.

But we say earlier (not more early):

• You're always tired in the mornings. You should go to bed earlier.

D.   Before the comparative of adjectives and adverbs you can use:

a (little) bit      a little     much       a lot        far (= a lot)

• Let's go by car. It's much (or a lot) cheaper

• Don't go by train. It's much (or a lot) more expensive.

• Ann works a lot (or much) harder than most of her friends.

• Could you speak (a little) bit (or a little) more slowly?

• Her illness was far more serious than we first thought.

The infinitive after adjectives Exercises

UNIT 96 The infinitive after adjectives Exercises

96.1   Write these sentences in another way, beginning as shown

Example: It is difficult to understand him. He is ditficult to understand.

1.   It's easy to find our house. Our house is___________________________________________.

2.   It was very hard to open the window. The window____________________________________________.

3.   It's impossible to translate some words. Some words________________________________________.

4.   It's not very difficult to make bread. Bread_________________________________________________.

5.   It's not safe to stand on that chair. That chair____________________________________________.

6.   It's difficult to explain some grammatical rules.
Some grammatical rules__________________________________________________.

7.   It's hard to find a good restaurant in this town.
A good restaurant_________________________________________________________.

96.2   Use the following words to complete each sentence:

first man/walk      first/complain       last/arrive         last person/see     next train/arrive

1.   The next train to arrive at platform 2 will be the 7:45 to Chicago

2.   When anything goes wrong, Mary is always_____________________________________.

3.   Nobody has seen Keith for days. Who was _________________________________ him?

4.   Neil Armstrong was ______________________________ on the moon.

5.   We always have to wait for her. She's always_______________________________________.                       
96.3   Use the following words to complete these sentences.

delighted/get        astonished/find        sorry/hear        happy/see     glad/hear

1.   I was really delighted to get your letter last week

2.   Thank you for your letter. I'm_________________________that you're doing well

3.   When I walked into my bedroom, I was______________________________a complete stranger sleeping in my bed.

4.   Hello! I'm so glad you could come. I'm really_____________________________you again.

5.   I'm _________________________________________________________________________________that your mother is ill. I hope she gets better soon.

96.4   Make sentences using the words in parentheses ( . . . )

Example: Jack left the door unlocked when he went out. (careless)
It was careless of Jack to leave the door unlocked when he went out.

1.   Sue offered to help me. (kind)
It was_____________________________________________________________me.

2.   You make the same mistake over andover (careless) It's____________________________________________________________________.

3.   She went out in the rain without a raincoat. (stupid)
It was_________________________________________________________________.

4.   Don and Jenny invited me to stay with them for a few days. (nice)
It______________________________________________________________________.

5.   He left without saying thank you (not polite)
It wasn't_______________________________________________________________.

The infinitive after adjectives

UNIT 96  The infinitive after adjectives

A.   Compare these two sentences:

                                                        {A It is difficult to understand him.
Jim doesn't speak very clearly    {B He is difficult to understand.

Sentences A and B have the same meaning. But note that we say "He is difficult to understand." (not He is difficult to understand him.)

You can use the structure in sentence B after difficult/easy/impossible/hard and after a few other adjectives: 

• Your writing is almost impossible to read. (not to read it) (= It is almost impossible to read your writing.)

• Do you think this water is safe to drink? (not to drink it)

• Jill is very interesting to talk to. (not to talk to her)

You can also use this structure with an adjective + noun:

• This is a very difficult question to answer (not to answer it)

• Jill is an interesting person to talk to.

• I enjoyed the soccer game. It was an exciting game to watch.                       

B.   We use the infinitive after the first/the second/the third, etc., and also after the next and the last:

• Who was the first person to reach the South Pole?

• If I have any more news, you'll be the first to know.

• The next plane to arrive at gate 4 will be Flight 61 from Buenos Aires.

• Who was the last person to leave the building last night?

C.   You can use the infinitive after a number of adjectives to say how someone feels about something. For example:

• I was sorry to hear that your father is ill.

•  Was Tom surprised to see you when you visited him?

• I was delighted to get your letter last week.

Other adjectives you can use in this way include:

happy    pleased     disappointed      amazed
glad            sad             relieved          astonished

D.   Note the structure (it is) nice of someone to do something. This structure is possible after a number of adjectives, including:
nice           mean        silly         polite       generous   
kind          stupid       clever    careless      foolish

• It was nice of you to take me to the airport. Thank you very much.

• It was careless of Jack to leave the door unlocked when he went out.

• It's stupid of him to give up his job when he needs the money.

• It was very generous of Ann to lend us the money.

Enough and too Exercises

UNIT 95 Enough and too Exercises

95.1   Complete these sentences using enough with one of the following words:
big   old   warm   well   cups   money   qualifications   room   time

1.   She can't get married yet. She's not old enough.

2.   Tom would like to buy a car, but he doesn't have_____________________.

3.   I couldn't make coffee for everybody. There weren't__________________________.

4.   Are you__________________________? Or shall I turn on the heat?

5.   It's only a small car. There isn't__________________________for all of you.

6.   George didn't feel_____________________________to go to work this morning.

7.   I didn't finish the exam. I didn't have____________________________________

8.   Do you think I've got ______________________________to apply for the job?

9.   Try this jacket on and see if it's ______________________________for you                       

95.2   Answer these questions using the words in parentheses (. . .)
Example: "Is she getting married." (not old enough)
"No, she isn't old enough to get married.

1.   "Why can't you talk to me now?" (too busy) "I'm too____________________________now''

2.   "Let's go to the movies." (too late) "No, it's___________________________movies.''

3.   Why don't we sit outside? (not warm enough) "It's not_____________________________''

4.   "Would you like to be a politician?" (too nice) "No, I'm____________________________________''

5.   "Are you going away on vacation this year?" (not enough money) "No, I don't have_____________________________________''

6.   "Shall we take a picture?" (too dark) "No,_______________________________________''

7.   "Did you hear what he was saying?" (too far away) "No, we___________________________________''

8.   "Can she make herself understood (in English)?" (not enough English) "No, she doesn't speak________________________________________________________''

9.   "Does Harry work?" (too lazy) "No. he's____________________________________________''

95.3   Make one sentence (usung too or enough) from the two sentences given.

Example: We couldn't eat the food. It was too hot. The food was too hot (for us) to eat.

1.   can't drink this coffee. It's too hot. This coffee is_____________________________________.

2.   could move the piano It was too heavy. The piano___________________________________________.

3.   I can't wear this coat in winter, It's not warm enough. This coat____________________________________________________.

4.   Don't stand on that chair. It's not strong enough.
That chair_______________________________________________________.

5.   Six people can't fit in this car. It's not big enough for six people
This car_________________________________________________________________.

Enough and too

UNIT 95 Enough and too

A.   The position of enough: 
Enough goes after adjectives and adverbs:

• He didn't get the job because he wasn't experienced enough. (not enough experienced)

• You won't pass the exam if you don't work hard enough.

• She can't get married yet. She's not old enough.

Enough goes before nouns:

• He didn't get the job because he didn't have enough experience. (not experience enough)

• I'd like to take a vacation, but I don't have enough money.

• some of us had to sit on the floor because there weren't enough chairs.

You can also use enough alone (without a noun):

• I'll lend you some money if you don't have enough.

B.   After enough and too you can say for someone/something:

• I don't have enough money for a vacation.

• He wasn't experienced enough for the job. 

• This shirt is too big for me. I need a smaller size.                       

But we do not usually say "enough/too . . . for doing something." We use the infinitive after enough and too. So we say "enough money to do something old,''  ''enough to do something,'' "too young to do something," etc.:

• I don't have enough money to take a vacation. (not for taking)

• He wasn't experienced enough to do the job.

• She's only sixteen. She's not old enough to get married. (or She's too young to get married.)

• Let's take a taxi. It's too far to walk.

• There weren't enough chairs for everyone to sit down.

• The weather wasn't nice enough to go swimming.

• She spoke too quickly for us to understand.

C.   We say:

• The food was so hot that we couldn't eat it. 

and: The food was very hot. We couldn't eat it.

or we say:

• The food was too hot to eat. (without "it")

Here are some more examples like this:

• That picture is too heavy to hang on the wall

• I had to carry my wallet in my hand. It was too big to put in my pocket.

• The water wasn't clean enough to swim in.

So and such Exercises

UNIT 94 So and such Exercises

94.1   Put in so or such

Examples: Come on! Don't walk so slowly
I've never read such a stupid book.

1.   I was surprised that he looked _____________well after his recent illness.

2.   They've got____________________a lot of money, they don't know what to do with it.

3.   She is a very attractive young woman. She's got _______________ beautiful eyes

4.   Everything is________________expensive these days, isn't it?

5.   Why did you ask them_____________stupid questions?

6.   It was ____________________ a boring movie that I fell asleep in the middle of it.

7.   The wind was _____________ strong, it was difficult to walk

8.   The food at the hotel was very bad. I've never eaten _______________ awful food.

94.2   Make a sentence with so from two sentences.

Example: She worked very hard. She made herself sick.
she worked so hard (that) she made herself sick.

1.   I was very excited about going away. I couldn't sleep.
I was so_______________________________________________________

2.   The water was very dirty. We decided not to go swimming.
_________________________________________________________________

3.   She speaks English very well. You would think it was her native language.                       

94.3   Use such instead of so

Example: The book was so good that I couldn't put it down.
It was such good book that i couldn't put it down.

1.   The road is so narrow that it is difficult for two cars to pass each other.
It is__________________________________________________________

2.   The weather was so warm that I didn't need a coat
_______________________________________________________________
3.   His feet are so big that he has trouble finding shoes to fit him.
He has________________________________________________________

4.   Why do you put so much sugar in your coffee?
Why___________________________________________________________

94.4   Complete these sentences.

Example: We had a lot of problems. We hadn't expected to have so many problems.

1.   It's a long way from your house to the airport.
I didn't know it was so_________________________________________________

2.   It took us a long time to get home this evening.
It doesn't usually take us so____________________________________________

3.   You've got a lot of furniture in this room.
Why have you got so_____________________________________________________

So and such

UNIT 94 So and such

A.   Study these examples

• I didn't enjoy the book. The story was so stupid.

• I didn't enjoy the book. It was such a stupid story.

We use so with an adjective without a noun: so stupid
We use such with an adjective with a noun: such a stupid story

You can also use so with an adverb:

• He's difficult to understand because he speaks so quickly

B.   So and such make the meaning of the adjective stronger

• It's a beautiful day, isn't it? It's so warm. (= really warm)

• We enjoyed our vacation. We had such a good time. (= a really good time)

Compare so and such in these sentences:

• I like Tom and Ann. They are so nice.

• I like Tom and Ann. They are such nice people. (not so nice people)

We often say so . . . that . . . and such . . . that . . . :

• I was so tired that I went to bed at seven o'clock.

• She worked so hard that she made herself sick.

• It was such beautiful weather that we spent the whole day in the park.

• The book was so good that I couldn't put it down.                       

You can leave out that in these sentences:

• I was so tired (that) I went to bed at 7 o'clock.

C.   In these sentences we use so and such in a different way:

• I expected the weather to be much cooler. I didn't expect it to be so warm. (= as warm as it is)

• I'm tired because I got up at 6 o'clock. I don't usually get up so early. (= as early as 6 o'clock)

• Hurry up! Don't walk so slowly. (= as slowly as you are walking)

• I was surprised when Jack told me the house was built 100 years ago as old as it.

D.   We say: so long but "such a long time''; so far but "such a long way"; so many, so much but "such a lot (of)":

• I haven't seen him for so long that I've forgotten what he looks like. (or . . . for such a long time . . . )

•  I didn't know you lived so far from the city. (or . . . such a long way from . . . )

• Why did you buy so much food? (or . . . such a lot of food?)

Adjectives and adverbs (2) Exercises

UNIT 93 Adjectives and adverbs (2) Exercises

93.1   Decide whether the underlined words are right or wrong. Correct the wrong words

Examples: We lost the game because we didn't play very good.     WRONG-well
Ann has been working very hard recently.          RIGHT

1.   Give my best wishes to your parents. I hope they are well.

2.   The children behaved themselves very good.

3.   I tried hardly to remember his name butTcouldn't.

4.   The company's financial situation is not well at present.

5.   Jack has started his own business. Everything is going quite good.

6.   Don't walk so fast! Can't you walk more slowly?

7.   See you soon! Don't work too hard

93.2   Finish these sentences with well + one of the following words:

behaved      dressed      informed       kept          known          balanced

1.   The children were very good. They were well behaved

2.   Many people have heard of him. He is quite well__________________.

3.   Their garden is neat and tidy. It is very . _________________________.

4.   You should eat different types of food. You should have a ____________________ diet.

5.   Ann knows a lot about many things. She is a_____________________woman

6.   His clothes were old and torn. He wasn't very_______________________                       

93.3   Make sentences with hardly. Use the words in parentheses ( . . . ).

Example: George and I have only met once. (know/each other) We hardly knom each other.

1.   I'm very tired this morning. (slept/last night) I____________________________night.

2.   You're speaking very quietly. (can/hear) I can______________________________you.

3.   I met Keith a few days ago. I hadn't seen him for a long time. He looks very different (recognized) I__________________________________________________.

4.   They were really shocked when they heard the news. (could/speak)__________________________________________________.

93.4   Complete these sentences with hardly + any anyone/anything/anywhere/ever

Example: I'll have to go shopping. We have hardly any food.

1.   I listen to the radio a lot, but I ________________________watch television.

2.   The weather was good during our vacation. There was__________________________rain.

3.   He is not very popular. ________________________________likes him

4.   It's crowded in here. There's_________________________________to sit down.

5.   We used to be good friends, but we______________________________________see each other now.

6.   I hate this town. There's______________________________to do and_________________________to go.

7.   I enjoyed driving this morning. There was_______________________________traffic.

Adjectives and adverbs (2)

UNIT 93 Adjectives and adverbs (2) (good/well, fast/hard/late, hardly)

A.   Good/well    Good is an adjective. The adverb is well.

• You speak English well.

• Your English is very good.

• She plays the piano well.

• Susan is a good pianist.

We often use well with past participles (dressed/known, etc.)

well dressed (not good dressed)
well known
well educated

But well is also an adjective with the meaning "in good health":

• "How are you today?''  ''I'm very well, thanks." (not I'm very good)

B.   Fast/hard/late These words are both adjectives and adverbs:

adjective                                       adverb
Jack is a very fast runner.          Jack can run very fast.            

Ann is a hard worker.                 Ann works hard. (not works hardly)


The train was late.                       I got up late this morning.

The adverb lately= recently:

• Have you seen Tom lately?                       

C.    Hardly has a completely different meaning from hard:

Hardly= almost not. Study these examples:

• George asked Carol to marry him. She was surprised because they had only known each other for two days. She said: "We can't get married now! We hardly know each other.'' (= we know each other very little; we almost don't know each other)

• Why was Tom so unfriendly at the party last night? He hardly spoke to me. (= he spoke to me very little)

We often use hardly with can/could:

• Your writing is terrible. I can hardly read it (= I can read it but only with a lot of difficulty)

• My leg was hurting me. I could hardly walk.

We also use hardly with any/anyone/anything/anywhere:

• "How much money do you have?''   ''Hardly any." (= almost none; very little)

• The exam results were very bad. Hardly anyone passed. (= almost no one passed; very few people passed)

• She ate hardly anything because she didn't feel hungry. (she ate almost nothing, she ate very little)

Note that you can say:

• She ate hardly anything.             or    She hardly ate anything.

• We have hardly any food.           or   We hardly have any food.

• We've done hardly any work     or    We've hardly done any work.

Hardly ever= almost never

• I'm nearly always at home in the evenings. I hardly ever go out.

Adjectives and adverds Exercises

UNIT 92 Adjectives and adverds (1) (quick/quickly) Exercises

92.1  Decide whether the underlined words are right or wrong. Correct the wrong words.

Examples: The driver of the car was serious injured. WRONG-seriously
Be quiet, please! I'm trying to concentrate. RIGHT

1.   I waited nervous in the waiting room before the interview. ______________________

2.   Why were you so unfriendly when I saw you yesterday? ___________________

3.   It rained continuous for three days. ______________________

4.   Alice and Stan are very happy married. ____________________

5.   Tom's French is not very good, but his German is almost fluent. ____________________

6.   Eva lived in the U.S. for five years, so she speaks very well English. ________________________

7.   Everybody at the party was very colorful dressed. __________________________

8.   Ann likes wearing colorful clothes. __________________________

9.   Sue is terrible upset about losing her job. _________________________
                     
92.2   Complete the sentences with adverbs. The first letter(s) of each advert are given

Example: We didn't go out because it was raining heavily

1.   We had to wait for a long time, but we didn't complain. We waited pat__________________

2.   I lost the tennis match because I played very ba______________

3.   I don't think he trusted me. He looked at me so sus_________________

4.   Sorry, didn't mean to kick you. I didn't do it int_________________

5.   Nobody knew he was coming. He arrived unex__________________

6.   Jill has just gotten a job in a store, but she won't be staying there long. She is only working there tem_________________ until she can find another job

7.   My French isn't very good, but I can understand per ___________________ if people speak and cl____________________

8.   I had very little difficulty finding an apartment. I found one quite ea_____________________

92.3   Choose two words (one from each one) to complete each sentence.

badly   reasonably   absolutely                 enormous   cheap   planned

seriously   completely   fully                       changed   ill   quiet

extremely   unusually   slightly                   damaged   insured   sorry

1.   I thought the restaurant would be expensive, but it was reasonably cheap.

2.   George's mother is ___________________ in the hospital.

3.   The fire destroyed our house, but luckily we were_________________________.

4.   What a big house! It's__________________________.

5.   It wasn't a serious accident. The car was only_______________________________.

6.   A lot of things went wrong during our vacation because it was________________________.

7.   The children are normally very lively but they're__________________________today.

8.   When I returned home after 20 years, everything had________________________________.

9.   I am ________________________about losing your book, I'll buy you another one.

Adjectives and adverbs

UNIT 92 Adjectives and adverbs (1) (quick/quickly)

A.   Study these examples:

• Our vacation was too short-the time went quickly.

• The driver of the car was seriously injured in the accident.

Quickly and seriously are adverbs. Many adverbs are made from an adjective + -ly:

adjective  bad    quiet        careful       quick       serious

adverb:  badly  quietly    carefully     quickly    seriously

Not all words ending in -ly are adverbs. Some adjectives end in -ly too. For example:

friendly    lively    elderly     lonely      silly      lovely

B.    Adjective or adverb? 
An adjective tells us more about a noun. We use adjectives before nouns and after a few verbs (especially be)

• Tom is a careful driver.

• Be quiet, please!

• We didn't go out because of the heavy rain.

• Iwas disappointed that my exam results were so bad.

An adverb tells us more about a verb. An adverb tells us in what way someone does something or in what way something happens:

• Tom drove carefully along the narrow road. (not drove careful)

• Speak quietly, please (not speak quiet)

• We didn't go out because it was raining heavily. (not raining heavy)

• I was disappointed that I did so badly on the exam. (not did so bad)

Compare:
She speaks perfect English (adjective+noun)

She speaks English perfectly (verb+object+adverb)

C.   We also use adverbs before adjectives and other adverbs. For example:

reasonably cheap (adverb+adjective)

terribly sorry (adverb+adjective)

incredibly quickly (adverb+adverb)

• It's a reasonably cheap restaurant and the food is extremely good.

• Oh, I'm terribly sorry. I didn't mean to push you.

• Maria learns languages incredibly quickly.

• I was bitterly disappointed that I didn't get the job

• The examination was surprisingly easy

You can use an adverb before a past participle (injured/organized, etc.):

• The meeting was very badly organized.

• The driver of the car was seriously injured in the accident.

• The building was totally destroyed in the fire.

Adjectives: Word order Exercises

UNIT 91 Adjectives: Word order Exercises

91.1   Put the adjectives in parentheses ( . . . ) in the correct position.

Example: a beautiful table (wooden round) A beautiful round wooden table

1.   an unusual ring (gold)_______________________________

2.   an old lady (nice)_____________________________________

3.   a good-looking man (young)________________________________________

4.   a modern house (attractive)____________________________________________

5.   black gloves (leather)__________________________________________________

6.   an American movie (old)_____________________________________________

7.   a large nose (red)___________________________________________________

8.   a sunny day (lovely)______________________________________________

9.   a hot bath (nice)___________________________________________________

10.   an ugly dress (orange)____________________________________________

11.   a red car (old/little)___________________________________________________

12.   a metal box (black/small)__________________________________________

13.   a long face (thin)_________________________________________________

14.   a wide avenue (long)___________________________________________

15.   a big cat (fat/black)____________________________________________

16.   a little village (old/lovely)_______________________________________

17.   long hair (blonde/beautiful)___________________________________________

18.   an old painting (interesting/French)__________________________________________
                       
91.2   Complete each sentence with a verb and an adjective from the box.

feel   look    seemed   awful     fine     interesting    smell  upset  sounded tastes wet nice

1.   Ann seemed upset this morning. Do you know what was wrong?

2.   I can't eat this. I've just tried it and it________________________________

3.   Jim told me about his new job last night. It_____________________very___________________________, much better than his old job

4.   I wasn't very well yesterday, but I _________________________today

5.   What beautiful flowers! They__________________________too

6.   You__________________________________. Have you been out in the rain

91.3   Choose the right word: adjective or adverb

Examples: The dinner smells good/well
Drive careful/carefully!

1.   Please shut the door quiet/quietly.

2.   Can you be quiet/quietly, please?

3.   This soup tastes nice/nicely.

4.   Tom cooks very good/well

5.   Don't go up that ladder. It doesn't look safe/safely.

6.   We were relieved that he arrived safe/safely after his long trip.

7.   Do you feel nervous/nervously before exams?
 
8.   Hurry up! You re always so slow/slowly.

9.   She looked at me angry/angrily when I interrupted her.