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Superlative

This unit is about using the superlative.

Look at this dialogue.

A: What is the smallest country in the world?
B: I am not sure but I think Brazil is the most beautiful!
A: Maybe you are right but France makes the best food!
B: I don’t agree, anyway I know which is the largest, Russia.

Superlative form can be ‘est’ or ‘most’….

‘est’ is used with short words consisting of one syllable. If the word ends in ‘e’
then just use ‘st’ on the end.
Fast – Fastest Cheap – Cheapest Large – Largest Small – Smallest
Safe – Safest Smart – Smartest Dark – Darkest Clean – Cleanest
‘iest’ is used for adjectives ending in ‘y’
easy – easiest funny – funniest happy – happiest pretty – prettiest
‘most’ and ‘least’ is used with words consisting of two syllables or more .
intelligent – most/least intelligent beautiful – most/least beautiful
extravagant – most/least extravagant reliable – most/least reliable

Normally we use ‘the’ before a superlative.

the most clever the least narrow the quietest the tallest the smallest
To make things a bit more confusing, there are a few irregular adjectives and
adverbs.

good – best well – best bad – worst far – furthest.

Finish the sentences with a superlative form that best suits the sentence.
When John and Tim were younger Tim was given more responsibility because he was ..the oldest..(old)
When Tom finished school he had ……… grades in the school. (bad)
I have just won the lottery, I want ……… thing in your shop! (expensive)

May 11, 2010 | Category : Superlative | Leave a comment

Podcast : Climate change

Podcast on climate change.

http://www.learnenglish.org.uk/prof_mp3/climate-change.mp3

May 10, 2010 | Category : Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Comparative + than

COMPARATIVE + THAN

To compare the difference between two people, things or events.

Examples:

* Mt Blanc is higher than Mt Snowdon.
* Spain is further south than France.
* A car is faster than a bicycle.
* Albert is stronger than Gilbert.

For words with one syllable we ad ‘er’ to the end to form the comparative.

Fast – My car is faster than your car.

For words with more than two syllables we use ‘more’ before the adjective.

Intelligent – Tom is more intelligent than Peter.

For words ending in ‘Y’ we remove the ‘Y’ and add ‘ier’

Easy – Learning French is easier than learning Dutch.

For irregular adjectives it is important to try and learn the different forms.

Good – BMW’s are better than Skodas.

Bad – Skodas are worse than BMW’s

Far – Japan is further than

Test Your Grammar Skills

Comparatives and Superlatives 1

Write the appropriate comparative and superlative form of these adjectives:

1. light
2. clever
3. sunny
4. hard
5. thin
6. good
7. poor
8. short
9. late
10. happy

May 10, 2010 | Category : Comparative + than | Leave a comment

Common mistakes in verbs

1. The verb does not suit the subject:

a) There are lots of person in this room.

b) The concert finish at five o’clock.

Advice: The verb should suit the subject:

a) There are lots of people in this room.

b) The concert finishes at five o’clock.

Advice: Use the correct tense, don’t mix tenses:

a) I went to the shop and met my friend Robert.

b) I met my sister last week.

3. There are articles or determiners in the wrong place or missing altogether:

a) I bought new car last Saturday.

b) I had some interesting meeting at work.

Advice: Use articles and determiners correctly:

a) I had an interesting meeting at work.

4. Capital letters are used incorrectly:

a) I’ll meet you on monday.

b) my pal steve lives at 23 thames street, st albans.

Advice: Put a capital letter at the start of a proper noun and where necessary:

a) See you on Monday.

b) My friend Rob lives at 23 Thames Street, St Albans.

May 7, 2010 | Category : Mistakes in verbs | Leave a comment

Great ways to practice listening

There are some excellent ways to practice your English listening skills for example why not watch a film in English with the sound in English but the subtitles in your own language, or there are many podcast now on the internet where you can listen to people read stories and articles that are designed for English learners. For example try these from the BBC.

Of course real listening skills develop when you have an actual conversation with a native speaker. It is all very well listening to a clear podcast in a quite room, but what if you need to hear English in a crowded shop or bar or office, where background noise is high and the speaker has an accent you do not understand.

One of the best ways to develop your listening English is to take telephone or Skype English lessons. Phonebox Language School specializes in such lessons and can help to re-create some of the problems experienced by English students, making an important phone call in English can be a daunting prospect, but with the correct tuition and guidance your level of confidence can improve dramatically.

Visit Phonebox Language School to take a trial English lesson on Skype and see how we can help to improve your English level and confidence in a short space of time!

May 7, 2010 | Category : Listening | Leave a comment

Past perfect continuous

Past perfect continuous.

We use the Past perfect continuous to describe something that started in the past
And continued up until another moment in the past
(had been + present participle)

Example

He had been driving for 4 hours when the petrol ran out.
Had he been driving for 4 hours before the petrol ran out?
He had not been driving for 4 hours before the petrol ran out.

We can use the past perfect continuous to show cause and effect.

Example

Jim was hungry, he had been looking forward to dinner all day.
Lucy was tired, she had been working in the garden.
Robert missed the train because he had been reading his newspaper.

We can describe something had been happening for a period of time before
Another event.

It had been raining for 5 hours so the ground was wet.
They had been watching football for 2 hours when they heard the doorbell ring.
They had been playing tennis for 4 hours when Jon’s mother phoned.

Difference between past perfect continuous and past continuous.

He wasn’t working anymore.

He had been working for 6 hours before he took a
Break.

If you do not add a duration (such as 6 hours) it is possible to use the past
Continuous instead.

He was working and then took a break.

He had been working for 6 hours before he took a break

May 7, 2010 | Category : Past Perfect Continuous | Leave a comment

Present Perfect

The present perfect.

1. Actions which started in the past and are still continuing
Present perfect is often used to describe an action that started in the past and is still
happening now. It is common for the words ‘for’ (with a duration, i.e ‘for 10 years’) or
‘since’ (with a starting time, i.e ‘1998’) to be used.
He has lived in England for 20 years.
(He started living in England twenty years ago, and he’s still living there now)
She has driven to work since 1994.
(She started driving to work in 1994, and she still drives there now)

2. Actions which occurred some time in the past
We can use the present perfect to say if an action happened or didn’t happen, without
being specific about WHEN it happened. This is for describing some general
experience and we often use the words already, yet, ever or never with the present
perfect.
I’ve already been to Germany, I don’t want to go again.
(He has been to Germany before, it is not important when)
I have never eaten sushi, let’s try it!
(We know that at no point in her past has she tried sushi)

3. Actions which happen in the past, but effect the present
This form indicates that the action happened in the past but is still having an effect
on the present situation. For example if you lost your wallet yesterday then it would
effect you if you wanted to go shopping today.

Tense meaning

Present perfect I’ve lost my wallet…The wallet is still lost
Simple past I lost my wallet yesterday… The wallet was lost yesterday
Present perfect She has broken her leg… The leg is still injured
Simple past She broke her leg last year… The leg is ok now

Rearrange the words in each sentence to make a question using verb ‘to have’ as an auxiliary
verb in the present perfect tense.
Don’t forget to put a capital letter at the start of each sentence and a question mark at the
end:
1. where you have been
__________________________________________________________________________
2. what been have doing you
__________________________________________________________________________
3. have you why come class this to
__________________________________________________________________________
4. when to got have arrive I
__________________________________________________________________________
5. money have you any got
__________________________________________________________________________
6. the time got have you please
__________________________________________________________________________
7. have my you friend seen
__________________________________________________________________________
8. looked have every you in cupboard
__________________________________________________________________________
9. closed curtains the have you
__________________________________________________________________________
10. she why hasn’t the washing done up
__________________________________________________________________________

May 6, 2010 | Category : Present Perfect | Leave a comment

Past Perfect

The past perfect.

Past perfect tense describes an action that happened before another action in the
past. In other words it describes the first of two actions that happened in the past.

When I got to the party, my girlfriend had left already.
After I had watched television, I went to bed.
When I got to the cinema I realised I had seen the film before.

We construct the past perfect using had + past participle (eaten, seen, gone, etc)
When we are telling a story about a past event (I went to the cinema) we might
want to describe what happened before this moment in the past (When I arrived
at the cinema they had already run out of popcorn)
Sometimes the same effect is created by only using the past simple when the
meaning is clear.
After I had been shopping I went home
After I went shopping, I went home.

The most common error with the past perfect is when it is used incorrectly instead
of past simple

When I was at school I had studied maths
(Incorrect, the person did not study maths before going to school)

When I was at school, I studied maths.
(Correct, as both past simple tenses refer to the same period)

Unlike the present perfect the past perfect can refer to a specific moment in the past.
She had been to Sydney in 1981 before her trip to Australia in 1992.

Compare the past simple with the past perfect:
Did you see the start of the film?
Yes it started when we got there No, It had already started when we got there

May 6, 2010 | Category : Past Perfect | Leave a comment

How to learn English online?

The best way to learn a language is to talk! We all know that talking in any foreign language can be difficult. That is why practice makes perfect! What are some of the ways we can improve our speaking and communication skills? Well firstly picking up a phone and talking! Nowadays it is possible to have English lessons over the telephone and skype. Phonebox language school, is an internet based online language school that provides such lessons. All of the lessons provided by Phonebox are with professional native English teachers using the latest in online teaching techniques. Some of the advantages of this style of teaching is that students are able to have English lessons when they want in their own homes or offices. They just book a lesson six hour or more before the start and wait for a Phonebox Language School teacher to phone them on telephone or by Skype. The teacher then encourages the student to talk from day one, correcting and identifying mistakes. At the end of each lesson the teacher writes a detailed lesson report which the student can view to help identify repeated mistakes. To find out more visit Phonebox Language School.

May 6, 2010 | Category : Uncategorized | Leave a comment

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