2015-12-04 Grammar: comparatives

Greg Malivuk
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http://www.pastebin.com/u/gmalivuk
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Homework: read p. 140 and do p. 141 exercise 17
1 The world’s forests are being destroyed at such a rapid rate that we can’t ignore the problem any longer.
2 The world population is growing so quickly that we can’t continue our old habits.
3 We have so few alternative materials that we haven’t stopped using trees for fuel.
4 There has been such a rapid growth in population that there are no other places for people to live except the rainforests.
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How can we express the same meaning with “too”?
1 The world’s forests are being destroyed at too rapid a rate for us to ignore the problem any longer. (if the subject is different, we need a “for” phrase to give that information)
2 The world’s population is growing too quickly for us to continue our old habits.
3 We have too few alternative materials to stop using trees for fuel. (The subject is “we” in both clauses, so no “for” phrase is necessary.)
4 There has been too rapid a growth in population for there to be any other places for people to live except the rainforests.
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Remember, expressions with “too” can imply a comparative sentence:
The population is growing too fast. = The population is growing faster than it should.
It’s too cold. = It is colder than I like.
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Unit 10 (p. 166) Comparatives - What are some similarities and differences between Bangladesh and Pakistan? (Pakistan’s information is on p. 167.)
The two countries’ growth rate is the same. / The two countries have the same growth rate.
Pakistan is bigger than Bangladesh.
Both of them use English as an official language.
The economy of Pakistan is a little stronger than the economy of Bangladesh.
Both of them have been independent from Britain since 1947.
Both of them became independent from Britain at the same time.
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p. 168 - comparisons of intensity degree (adjectives and adverbs)
It’s nearly as big. = It’s almost as big. = It’s not quite as big. = It’s slightly smaller.

It’s not nearly as big. = It’s much smaller.
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p. 172 - noun comparisons

Adjective (comparison of degree): I am richer than you.
Noun (comparison of amount): I have more money than you.

I am just as rich as you.
I have just the same amount of money as you.
I have just as much money as you.

I am not as rich as you.
I don’t have as much money as you.

I am poorer than you.
I have less money than you.
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For count nouns, we use “many” instead of “much”, “few” instead of “little”, and “fewer” instead of “less”.
(I have just as many friends. I have fewer friends.)
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Homework: p. 174 exercise 7 - write sentences comparing the countries (especially noun comparisons)