Comparative Adjectives

Wow, it's been a really long time since I've written a blog post! I've been very busy with my personal life the last few months, so thank you for your patience :)

This week I've been particularly bothered by comparative adjectives. It's a common mistake, so let's work on it today!

I'm growing a vegetable garden this year, so I'll use some examples from my garden. You can see some of the things I've grown below.

Here is my baby Japanese eggplant! Isn't it cute? Let's compare it to the full-grown vegetable.

SHORT WORD COMPARATIVE: + -ER
This eggplant is SMALLER than the other one.
The other eggplant is BIGGER than this one.

For short word adjectives (usually 1 or 2 syllables), add -er. Be careful to obey spelling rules about doubling letters or changing y to i (ex. easy->easier).

Wow, look how it's grown! Time to make some spaghetti!

LONG WORD COMPARATIVE: MORE + ADJ
This eggplant is MORE BEAUTIFUL than the other one.
I think it will be MORE DELICIOUS in my spaghetti.

For long word comparatives (usually 3 or more syllables), add "more" in front of the adjective.

Irregular comparative adjective forms: bad->worse    good->better

*****CAUTION*****
We don't ever say "more -er"!!!! You have to choose between "more" and "-er."
EX. This eggplant is more bigger than that one. =INCORRECT

Let's try!

Exercise:
1) My sister is (pretty) than yours.
2) I think New York is (cold) than Los Angeles.
3) The book is much (good) than the movie.
4) Matthew is feeling even (bad) than he was yesterday.
5) The school system in our country is pushing the children to work (hard) than before.
6) My grandmother's apple pie is much (delicious) than the restaurant's.
7) The vegetables at the supermarket are (cheap) than at this place.
8) The birds are much (noisy) in the morning than in the afternoon.
9) The plot of this story is (magnificent) than I could have imagined.
10) Comparative adjectives are (easy) than I expected!

ANSWERS: 1-prettier 2-colder 3-better 4-worse 5-harder 6-more delicious 7-cheaper 8-noisier 9-more magnificent 10-easier

CHALLENGE: Post a reply to this message and make two sentences of your own using comparatives.

Reader Questions: English Podcasts??

With the proliferation of smart phones, MP3 players, and PMPs, many students are learning to use podcasts for extra English practice.  One of my students asked me recently about some good ones, and these are my favorites for news.  There are many others that are strictly for English education.  Do you have any to recommend?  Search for them in your favorite podcatcher--I use iTunes.

NEWS

1. 6 Minute English
INTERMEDIATE: News for English learners, focusing on one topic per lesson. Their website offers downloadable PDFs with the script and vocabulary to study.  Six minutes long, as advertised!  I used this in my classroom frequently.

2. New York Times Front Page
ADVANCED: News for native speakers, covering quick summaries of the top stories around the world.  Produced for a US audience, some of the stories focus on US news.  Usually 6 to 7 minutes long.

3. KBS World Radio News
ADVANCED: News at a native level, covering the top stories in Korea and Asia.  Usually around 7 minutes long.

4. BBC NewsPod
ADVANCED: For practice understanding a British English accent, consider the top stories in world news.  Most podcasts are around 30 minutes in length for an extended listening practice.  They offer a quick summary of the upcoming stories at the beginning of the podcast before going into the details of each story.

-Lisa

Reader Question: Greetings

It's a beautiful Wednesday and I'm sick as a dog! I've had a nasty cold all week (T_T).  What do you like to do when you're sick? I love to curl up under a blanket with a good book or watch movies. But today, I'm catching up with my blog. I've been working on my next post for Top Ten Mistakes, but I thought I'd take some time to answer a question from a reader:

She asks:
Is it correct English to say "Good to see you again". Or should I say just "Good to see you"? Which is correct?
And should I say back "You too"? or "Me too"?

Thanks for the question! Many people practice greetings for meeting someone for the first time, but they don't know what to say when they see that same person again. To answer your first question, both "Good to see you again" and "Good to see you" are great greetings. These are appropriate if you haven't seen someone for awhile or if that person is someone you recently met. The correct reply would be "You too" because it's a short answer for "It's good to see you too."  Another good choice would be "Same here." It means you feel the same way as the other person. Here's a sample dialogue. Sally and Rachel know each other but haven't seen each other for a little while.

Sally: Hey Rachel, it's nice to see you again!
Rachel: Same here!  How have you been?
Sally: Uh, I've been all right, but I'm not feeling too hot this week.
Rachel: Sorry to hear that. We missed you on Tuesday. Have you caught that cold that's going around?
Sally: Yep. My husband's been sick too.
Rachel: Oh no...I hope you feel better soon. Are you taking anything for it?
Sally: Not really. I hate medicine, but I'm trying to get a lot of sleep and I'm taking a ton of vitamins. Thanks for asking.
Rachel: Well, take care and I hope to see you at the meeting on Sunday.
Sally: You too!

If you regularly see the person you are greeting, you can use something different, such as "How's it going?" "How was your day?" or just "How are you?"

I hope this helps! Don't forget to leave your questions under the "Ask Lisa a Question" page on the right side of my blog.  I made it just for you guys!

Lisa

January EFL Paradise Update

Hi everyone! It's 2011 and I hope you've got a cute calendar picked out! Things are slowly taking shape around here at the blog. I'm still learning, so thanks for bearing with me.

What's new in January so far:

New Pages
I've added a few new pages:

Lisa's Book Club: Many of my students are trying to read novels in English.  Yay! Here are my recommendations for English learners by age and skill level.  These are books I have studied with students, so I know they are a hit. This page is in progress and will eventually contain brief summaries and links.

Ask Lisa a Question: I'm starting to get English questions from readers (yay, thank you!!). When you want to ask me an English question, click on this page and leave a comment.  I'll address your question in an upcoming post so other readers can learn too.  If you are a Carrot student, we will also talk about your question during your lesson.

Thanks again for your support and participation!

-Lisa