MODIFIERS 4

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11

MODIFIERS─SAMENESS AND SIMILARITY

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Sameness and similarity are expressed by the following patterns:

1. like or the same as

Your car is like mine (similarity)

Your car is the same as mine (sameness)

2. the same + noun + as

                                                     N

John is the same height as Bill

                             N

Mary is the same age as Valerie.

           Remember that the following are the examples of noun (quality):

             age      color      height        length    price    size                               

             width   depth     distance     speed   weight   style

3. as + adjective + as

                adj

John is as tall as Bill

                 adj

Mary is as old as Valerie

Remember that the following are examples of quality adjectives:

      big     cheap    clear    easy   expensive  hard    heavy  large  

      light     little   long     old     short   small  tall  young

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ERROR EXAMPLES 

WRONG :    I would like to have an apartment as the one my friend has.  

RIGHT    :    I would like to have an apartment like the one my friend has. 

WRONG :  Their backyard is as beautiful like a picture.  
RIGHT    :  Their backyard is as beautiful as a picture. 

WRONG :   He looks as his grandfather. 
RIGHT    :   He looks like his grandfather. 

WRONG :  The book is the same long as that one. 
RIGHT    :  The book is the as long as that one. 

WRONG :   John is as tall than Bob. 
RIGHT    :    John is as tall as Bob 

WRONG :  Mike’s eyes are the same color that mine. 
RIGHT    :   Mike’s eyes are the same color as mine.

WRONG :  Her job pays the same salary like mine. 
RIGHT    :  Her job pays the same salary as mine.

EXERCISE 11 : Put  “C” if the sentence is correct. Put “X” if the comparative pattern is incorrect.

_____1.  I would like to go to a school as the one my sister goes to.

_____2.  His hair is the same length as mine.

_____3.  Your apartment is the same size to mine.

_____4.  That garden is as beautiful like the one in the park.

_____5.  Elizabeth is the same weight as her girlfriend.

_____6.  Your homework is the same as mine.

_____7.   She looks as her mother.

_____8.   This blouse is the same expensive as that one.

_____9.   I would like to buy some earrings like yours.

____10.   He is as intelligent than his brother.

____11.  Your sofa is almost like hers.

____12.   He looks like his grandfather.

____13.   Tom’s suit is the same style that Bob’s.

____14.   This material feels like silk.

____15.   Your shoes are the same color like mine.

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12

MODIFIERS─COMPARATIVES

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1. One-syllable adjectives and two-syllable adjectives ending in –y form the comparative by adding –er. (change the –y to –i before adding –er)

                           adj.              adj.+ er 

John is tall, but Bill is taller.

                        adj.                          adj.+er 

Mr. Smith is busy, but Mr. Brown is busier.

2. Most two- and three- syllable adjectives form the comparative by putting more before the adjective.

                                adj.                                      more + adj.

Betty is beautiful, but her sister is more beautiful.

3. Some adjectives have irregular comparatives and must be memorized. Examples: good, better; bad, worse.

                               adj.                        irr. comp.

This book is good, but that one is better.

                    adj.                        irr. comp.

This soup is bad, but that soup is worse.

4. Than is the only structure word that can follow comparative.

                        comp + than

Their problem is worse than your problem.

The suffix –er is used (a) with adjectives and adverbs of one       syllable:      tall                   taller      clear                clearer      fast                  faster      hard                 harder      nice                 nicer      quick               quicker      soon                sooner        (b) with adjectives that end in –y       (2 syllables):       busy                busier       easy                 easier       happy              happier       heavy              heavier       pretty              prettier       early               earlier

The word more is used (a) with most adjectives and adverbs of two  or more syllables:      careful              more careful      beautiful           more beautiful      expensive         more expensive      interesting        more interesting      important          more important      necessary          more necessary      often                  more often (b) with adverbs that have the adverb       suffix – ly :           carefully           more carefully       clearly              more clearly       easily                more easily       quickly             more quickly        rapidly             more rapidly

Note the following irregular forms:       good               better       well                better       bad                 worse       badly              worse       far                  farther  (further)       In general farther and further can be used interchangeably. However, only further can be used to mean “additional.” For example: “ a further example.”

 NOTES :

1. Do not use both –er and more in the same comparative structure.
2. Be careful to use only than after a comparative structure.
3. Be careful to use the comparative for two items, not three or more. For three or more, use the superlative.

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ERROR EXAMPLES

There are two main kinds of errors with comparatives, error in structure and error in logic.

Structure Errors:

WRONG :       Betty is more smatter than her classmates. 
RIGHT    :       Betty is smarter than her classmates. 

WRONG :       This building is more expensive as that one. 
RIGHT    :       This building is more expensive than that one. 

WRONG :       Jane had much longer hair that her sister. 
RIGHT    :       Jane had much longer hair than her sister. 

WRONG :  I own two cars, a Ford and Chevrolet. I like the Chevrolet the best.  
RIGHT    :  I own two cars, a Ford and Chevrolet. I like the Chevrolet the better.

Logic Errors:

1. Do not compare two nouns that cannot be compared.

WRONG         : John’s salary was much larger than Bob.

  (Salary cannot be compared to Bob)

            RIGHT            : John’s salary was much larger than that of Bob.

                                                                                    Or

                                       John’s salary was much larger than Bob’s.

WRONG         : The number of people at the meeting is larger than last week. 
                           ( Number cannot be compared to week) 
RIGHT            : The number of people at the meeting is larger than that at last week’s meeting.

2. Do not compare a noun to itself.  

WRONG         : Mary is smarter than anybody in her class. 
             (Mary is a member of the class. Marry cannot be smarter than herself)

RIGHT            : Mary is smarter than any other student in the class.

                                                                     Or

                         Mary is smarter than anybody else in the class.

WRONG   : Alaska is larger than any state in the United States. 
   (Alaska is one of the states in the United States. It cannot be larger than itself )

RIGHT     : Alaska is larger than any other state in the United States.

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EXERCISE 12 : Put  “C” if the sentence is correct. Put “X” if there is an error in the comparative pattern.

_____1.  This book is more better than that one.

_____2.  This year’s prices will certainly be much higher as last year’s prices.

_____3.   Since there are two possible ways to get to New York, we had to decide which one was better.

_____4.   The customs in his country are more traditional than those in the United States.

_____5.   Her letter was more friendlier than his.

_____6.   She was happier than anybody in her family.

_____7.   Nancy was luckier than Fred in Las Vegas.

_____8.   Betty’s homework is usually more organized than that of any other student’s in the class.

_____9.   The weather was much hotter this year than 1970.

____10.   The final exam was more difficult than the mid-semester exam.

____11.   The first performance was more crowded as the second one.

____12.   The new student reads faster than anyone else in the class.

____13.    Fred’s project proposal was much more economical than Brad’s

____14.    Robert’s new home is more expensive than any house in the neighborhood.

____15.    Henry had a rather bad accident, and it was a miracle that he was not hurt more worse than he  
                  was.

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13

MODIFIERS─SUPERLATIVES

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Using the superlative to make a comparison among three or more things.

1. One-syllable adjectives and two-syllable adjectives ending in –y form the superlative by adding –est. Always use the in the superlative pattern.

Bill is taller than John, but Bob is the tallest.

Bill is happier than john, but Bob is the happiest.

2. Two-and three-syllable adjectives form the superlative by putting the most before the adjective.

Susan is more beautiful than Betty, but Jane is the most beautiful.

3. Some adjectives have irregular superlatives that must be memorized. For example: good, the best ; bad, the worst.

Your book is better than his book, but our book is the best.

Your problem is worse than mine, but his problem is the worst.

The suffix –est is used with the same words that –er  is is used with. (a) Adjectives and adverbs   of one  syllable: tall       taller      the tallest clear    clearer    the clearest fast      faster      the fastest hard     harder    the hardest nice      nicer      the nicest quick    quicker   the quickest  (b) Adjectives that end in –y (2 syllables): busy     busier     the busiest easy     easier      the easiest happy   happier   the happiest heavy   heavier   the heaviest pretty   prettier   the prettiest   early    earlier     the earliest

The word most is used with the same words that more is used with. (a) Adjectives of two  or more syllables: careful        the most careful beautiful     the most beautiful expensive   the most expensive interesting  the most interesting important    the most important necessary   the most necessary      (b) Adverbs that have the adverb suffix – ly     carefully      the most carefully clearly         the most clearly easily           the most easily quickly        the most quickly rapidly         the most rapidly

Note the following irregular forms:       good               better               the best       well                better               the best       bad                 worse              the worst       badly              worse              the worst       fart                 farther             the farthest

NOTES:

a.       Always use the in the superlative pattern.

b.      Be careful not to use –est and most in the same superlative pattern.

c.       Do not use than after the superlative.

d.      Be careful to use the superlative for three or more items. Use the comparative for two items.

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ERROR EXAMPLES

1. WRONG :       Yesterday was coldest day of the year.

RIGHT    :       yesterday was the coldest day of the year.

2. WRONG :       John is the smartest student than anyone else in the class.

RIGHT    :       John is the smartest student in the class.

3. WRONG :       We went to Ann’s Restaurant, Ted’s Dinner, and Tom’s Café, and  Ann’s Restaurant served better food.

RIGHT    :       We went to Ann’s Restaurant, Ted’s Dinner, and Tom’s Café, and  Ann’s Restaurant served the best food.

 .

 

4. WRONG :       I took mathematics, French, and history last semester and the mathematics course was the better.

RIGHT    :       I took mathematics, French, and history last semester and the mathematics course was the best.

5. WRONG :       She was the most beautifulest woman I had ever seen.

RIGHT    :       She was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen.




EXERCISE 13 : Put “ C “ if the sentence is correct. Put “ X “ if there is an error in the superlative pattern. 

______ 01. They were the most poorest people I had ever seen.

______ 02. West Germany is one of the most highly industrialized nations in the world.

______ 03. When he won the contest, he as the most surprised person than the other contestants.

______ 04. I went to Belgium,  Holland,  and England  last  year,  and  I  liked  Belgium  better.

______ 05. Is the Sahara the largest desert in the world ?

______ 06. August is hottest most humid month of the year.

______ 07. John,  Philip, and Mary were all saving money to go to Egypt, and John saved the most.

______ 08. Paula,  Susie, and Jill bought new homes, but Paula’s was  more elegant.

______ 09. That place serves the goodest ice cream in town.

______ 10. It was the most biggest building I had ever see

Double Comparatives  (semakin……  semakin…….)

the comparative   the better 

Examples:

A : ‘What time shall we leave?’     

B : ‘The sooner the better.’ (semakin cepat semakin baik)   

A : ‘What size box do you want?’

B : ‘The bigger the better. (semakin besar semakin baik)

The comparative, The comparative

      Example:

·         The warmer the weather, the better I feel.

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

The comparative + S + V,  the comparative + S + V

Examples: 

 - The earlier  we leave, the sooner  we will arrive.
(semakin cepat kita berangkat, semakin cepat kita akan sampai/tiba) 
- The more electricity you use, the higher  your bill  will be. 
(semakin banyak listrik kamu gunakan, akan semakin tinggi rekeningmu) 
- The more you have, the more you want. 
( semakin banyak yang kau punya, semakin banyak yang kau inginkan) 
- The longer he waited, the more impatient he became. 
(semakin lama dia menunggu, menjadi semakin tidak sabar dia)

Exercise:

      - Translate into English

01.  Semakin dalam kamu jatuh cinta, semakin gilalah kamu.

02.  Semakin kaya seseorang, semakin mudah dia mendapatkan sesuatu.

03.  Semakin keras kamu bekerja, semakan banyak uang kamu dapat.

04.  Semakin giat kamu belajar, akan semakin pandailah kamu.