Diana was happy. Our baby is healthy. They became rich. He became famous. I feel fine. She feels great. I got sick. Are you getting tired?

Transcription

1 1. Introduction: 1.1. Agreement: Adjectives are used to describe and qualify nouns. Unlike Portuguese, adjectives in English do not have: GENRE, that is, the same adjective is used for both the masculine and the feminine. Look at the examples: a new car (um carro novo) a new house (uma casa nova) a blond boy (um menino loiro) a blond girl (uma menina loira) NUMBER, that is, there is no plural: one black cat (um gato preto) four black cats (quatro gatos pretos) one small cup (uma xícara pequena) five small cups (cinco xícaras pequenas) 1.2. Position of Adjectives: Adjectives are used, mostly, before the nouns they qualify. This rule is also valid when two or more adjectives are present. Adjectives can also be positioned after a few connecting verbs. Observe the positions of the adjectives in the examples below: Before the nouns: hard lesson fat woman clean fork 1.3. After the following linking verbs: to be (ser, estar, ficar) to become (tornar-se, ficar, virar) to feel (sentir) to get (tornar-se, ficar) Diana was happy. Our baby is healthy. They became rich. He became famous. I feel fine. She feels great. I got sick. Are you getting tired? 2. Comparative of Adjectives: Arizona is bigger than Colorado. Florida is more crowded than New Jersey. Michigan is as crowded as North Carolina. We have, in the above sentences, elements of comparison between the American states. Words that are not in bold are those elements that will be studied next. 1

2 2.1. Comparative of Superiority: other? How to proceed when we want to compare and demonstrate the superior condition of one thing over the In cases of adjectives with one or two syllables, we use adjective + -er + than. Karla is very smart. She is smarter than Julie. When adjectives have one or two syllables and end in y, preceded by a consonant, we use adjective + ier + than. Sonia was silly. She was sillier than Mary. In cases of adjectives with two syllables or more, we use more + adjective + than. He is more famous than Jonas. Watch out! There are irregular adjectives whose comparatives have different forms: good better bad worse far farther / further many / much more little less 2.2. Comparative of Equality: To compare the equal conditions of two things, we use the as + adjective + as for the affirmative form and not as/so + adjective + as for the negative form Comparative of Inferiority: He is as nice as Brian. (afirmative) Tereza isn t as funny as Mary. (negative) Tereza isn t so funny as Mary. (negative) When someone wants to compare and demonstrate the inferior condition of something in relation to another, we use: less + adjective + than. 3. Superlative: Joseph is less shy than Jone. Playstation II is less expensive than Nintendo Wii. Note that the comparison of inferiority is usually used with negative adjectives. Alaska is the biggest state. California is the most crowded. When looking at a map, we can see that Alaska is bigger in relation to the other states, and California in population, not in a comparative way, but in general. This means to give maximum intensification of the adjective in relation to something. In these cases the superlative form is used. How do we construct a sentence with the superlative of the adjective? In cases of adjectives with one or two syllables, we use the article the + adjective + -est. I am the oldest. If these adjectives end in y and are preceded by a consonant, replace the y by i and add est. Angelica is the prettiest woman. (pretty) In cases of adjectives ending with consonant + vowel + consonant, the last letter is repeated and -est is added. My house is the biggest on the street. Adjectives with more than two syllables, we use the most + adjective. Maria Clara is the most intelligent girl. 2

3 Preliminary Work: 1. Complete the blanks with the correct form of the adjectives in brackets. a. New York is (big) than Paris. b. English milk is (strong) than French milk. c. French coffee is (good) than English coffee. d. An elephant is (heavy) than a fly. e. A jaguar is (comfortable) than a Jeep. f. Horses are (intelligent) than dogs. g. Volleyball is (difficult) than football. h. A Mini is (cheap) than a Jaguar. i. Maths are (boring) than English. j. Rugby is (funny) than football. 2. Write sentences comparing things. e.g. Which is precious: a stone or a diamond? A diamond is more precious than a stone. a. Which is dangerous: a lion or a mouse? b. Which is nutritious: an apple or a hamburger? c. Which is comfortable: a chair or a sofa? d. Which is expensive: a car or a bike? e. Which is educational: a comic or a book? f. Which is beautiful: a witch or a fairy? g. Which is slow: a turtle or a rabbit? 3. Write the comparative of equality of the adjectives in brackets. a. The blue car is the red car. (fast / affirmative) b. Peter is Fred. (tall / negative) c. The violin is the cello. (low / negative) d. This copy is the other one. (bad / affirmative) e. Oliver is Peter. (optimistic / affirmative) f. Today it s yesterday. (windy / negative) g. Lemonade is Orange juice. (sweet / negative) h. Nick is Kevin. (brave / affirmative) i. Silver is gold. (heavy / negative) j. The tomato soup is the potato soup. (delicious / affirmative) 4. Put the words in order to make true comparative of inferiority: a. is / São / Paulo / than / crowded / Belo Horizonte / less b. Ferrari / is / expensive / less / Volkswagen / than c. less / is / than / classic music / old / rock music d. a / less / witch / ugly / a / than / scarecrow / is e. than / less / Faustão / Jô Soares / is / fat 5. Complete the sentences with the superlative of the adjectives in bold: a. This is a high school. This is the school in London. b. This is an easy exercise. This is the exercise of the test. c. This is a comfortable armchair. This is the armchair in this shop. d. This is a big cheeseburger. This is the cheeseburger of McDonald s. e. This is a very bad conversation. This is the conversation I have had. f. This is a diffi cult exercise. This is the exercise of the test. g. He s got a good pen. He s got the pen of the class. h. This is an indifferent student. This is the student of my class. i. He is a funny boy. He is the boy in the world. j. This car is less expensive than the others. This car is the expensive of the shop. 3

4 6. Are you good at geography? Choose the correct alternative of these superlative questions: a. What is the second highest mountain in the world? (A) Tibet (B) K2 (C) Everest (D) Peak of Ismoil Somoni (the former peak of Communism) b. Speaking about territory, what is the second biggest European country? (A) Russia (B) Germany (C) France (D) Ukraine c. What is the second biggest American state? (A) Texas (B) Alaska (C) Iowa (D) California d. What is the most remotely located island? (A) Tristan da Cunha (B) Easter Island (C) St. Helen s Island (D) Peter the Great Island e. Which one is the world s fifth most populated city? (A) Bombay (B) New York (C) Moscow (D) Seoul f. What is the highest man-raised structure ever made? (A) Ostankino Tower in Moscow (B) Empire State Building in New York (C) CNN Tower in Toronto (D) The Egyptian Pyramids g. What is the most densely populated city in the world? (A) Mehico (or Mexico), Mexico (B) Hong Kong, China (C) Tokyo Yokohama, Japan (D) Lagos, Nigeria h. What is the biggest island? (A) Australia (B) Madagascar (C) Greenland (D) New Zealand i. What is the smallest country in the world? (A) Monaco (B) The Vatican (C) Luxemburg (D) Sri Lanka j. Which one is the second longest river? (A) The Nile (B) The Mississippi (C) The Danube (D) The Amazon Read the text and answer exercises 7 and 8: Island Superlatives Largest island The world s largest island is Greenland, with an area of about 2,130,800 km 2. Largely covered by ice several thousand meters thick, Greenland has a population of only about 40,000. Lake island The largest lake island is Manitoulin Island, in Lake Huron, Ontario, at 2,766 km 2. Volcanic island The largest volcanic island is Iceland, at 102,828 km 2. River island The world s largest river island is Ilha do Bananal, a 20,000 km 2 island formed by two channels of the Araguaia River in Tocantins State, Brazil. Sand island The world s largest sand island is Fraser Island, of the coast of Queensland, Australia1,662 km 2. Most large islands The country with the greatest number of large islands is Canada. Smallest island Bishop Rock, in the Isles of Scilly of southwest England, is sometimes called the world s smallest island. Smallest island country The smallest independent island country is the Pacific island of Nauru, which is 21.3 km 2. Artificial island The largest island created by human action is the Île René-Levasseur, a 2,020 km 2 island in Manicouagan Reservoir, Quebec. 4

5 7. Match each island to its titles: (A) Greenland ( ) Lake island (B) Manitoulin Island ( ) Sand island (C) Iceland ( ) River island (D) Ilha do Bananal ( ) Smallest island (E) Fraser Island ( ) Largest island (F) Bishop Rock ( ) Artificial island (G) Nauru ( ) Smallest island country (H) Île René-Levasseur ( ) Volcanic island 8. Write T (true) or F (false). a. ( ) Greenland is largely covered by sand. b. ( ) Canada has the greatest number of large islands. c. ( ) Manitoulin Island is in River Huron. d. ( ) Île René-Levasseur was created by human action. e. ( ) Fraser Island is off the coast of Ontario. f. ( ) Ilha do Bananal is an island formed by two channels of the Araguaia River. 5