comparatives

GET + comparative

In the English Vocabulary Profile, listed at B1 is: get worse = to become more ill, unpleasant, difficult, severe, etc. than before For example: But if this thing gets worse, we must close. listen There is no English Grammar Profile point that specifically focuses on GET + comparative A search in NOW corpus for: GET _JJR 1 GET WORSE 42282 2 GETTING …

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comparative of much

Students often ask me “what is the comparative of much?” I am guessing that they want to know about ‘much’ as an adverb meaning ‘nearly’ or ‘approximately’. (It has many forms) In which case, I would say that ‘more’ is the comparative of ‘much’.  And for that matter, the superlative is ‘most’. For example: They …

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ANY + comparative

‘Any’ can be used as an adverb to mean ‘at all’ or ‘in some degree’. Here are expert examples: We‘re not gonna discuss it here any further. Keep The Change You‘re not at university any longer. listen How would that end any differently than last time? Captain America In the English Vocabulary Profile, ‘any’ is listed as ADVERB B1 used in questions and negatives to emphasize a comparative adjective or adverb Do you feel any better? …

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MORE * THAN (complex comparisions)

A simple comparison in English is “She is more important than you.” One way to make comparisons more complex is to increase the number of words between ‘more’ and ‘than.’  This could include nouns or adjectives followed by non-finite clauses such as in the following EXPERT EXAMPLES: Today, billions of citizens have  more tools, more access to information, more capacity to influence  than ever before. TED It‘s harder to compose than to play. TLC native …

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BE + like + NOUN PHRASE

In the English Grammar Profile, A2 point 19 in the category of CLAUSES/comparatives is defined: ‘be’ + ‘like’ + noun or pronoun FOR EXAMPLE: How many people are like you? Are like me? A search in iWeb for: _VB like_II _P 1 ARE LIKE ME 7752 2 ‘RE LIKE ME 7377 3 ‘S LIKE YOU 4506 4 BE LIKE HIM 2401 …

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comparative adjective + IER

Point 29 in the category of ADJECTIVES is defined as: form comparative adjectives with adjectives of two syllables ending in ‘-y’ by changing the ‘y’ to an ‘I’ and adding ‘-er’ EXPERT EXAMPLE: The column included examples of correct grammar that make speeches and writing easier to understand, whereas mistakes make English weaker and uncomfortable. noozhawk.com An iWeb search for: *ier_JJR 1 EASIER 1010581 2 EARLIER 431393 3 HEALTHIER 186940 4 HEAVIER …

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as * as + mine | yours

In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 63 in the category of PRONOUNS is defined as: possessive pronouns ‘mine’ and ‘yours’, with singular reference, in comparative clauses after ‘(not) as … as’. *The following example does not have a singular reference, and the use of ‘yours’ is A2 in the English Vocabulary Profile. They‘re not as complicated as …

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the same as

In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 52 in the category of CLAUSES/comparatives is defined as: THE SAME’ (+ NOUN) + ‘AS’ + PRONOUN OR NOUN Here is an example without a noun after ‘the same’: The Mary Lou is actually the same as the Mary Jane. listen A search in iWeb for: the same _N as _N *Note that if there is …

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LINKING VERB + like | similar to + NOUN PHRASE

In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 55 in the category of CLAUSES/comparatives is defined as: linking verbs + ‘like’ or ‘similar to’. EXPERT EXAMPLE: They taste similar to regular bulb onions, but they‘re milder. tastingtable.com PELIC STUDENT EXAMPLE He looks like a cute turtle. Korean, Male, Level 2 A search in iWeb for: look* like * * * 1 LOOKS LIKE THIS: 14720 2 LOOK LIKE …

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comparative AND comparative

In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 47 in Adjectives is defined as: ‘and’ to repeat a comparative adjective to indicate change over time, usually after ‘become’ or ‘get’ However, the English Vocabulary Profile lists ‘worse and worse‘ at B2  used to emphasize how unpleasant, difficult, severe, etc. something is becoming A search in iWeb corpus: _V …

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EVEN + comparative adjective

In this post, we explore ‘even + comparative’ which is used to emphasize qualities. In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 40 in ADJECTIVES is defined as: ‘even’ to modify and intensify comparative adjectives used predicatively after a verb, usually ‘be’ and ‘get’. We did an iWeb search for even _JJ and highlighted the A2 comparative adjectives: …

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as if + NON-FINITE CLAUSE

‘As if’ means ‘as would be the case if’. Here’s an example of the subordinators as if +  Verb-ing clause. She studied the bracelet as if trying to estimate its fair market value. Listen ‘trying to estimate…’ is a manner clause, it describes how she studied. We could ask the question, How did she study it?   C2 point 133 CLAUSES/comparatives is defined as: ‘as if’ + …

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