English grammar drills part 5 doc

20 Noun Phrases
precedes the noun, (2) which adjective has a comparative and superlative form, and (3) which
adjective can be used as a predicate adjective. The noun modifi er that fulfi lls these three criteria
is the true adjective.
some/strong
Comparative Superlative
some: X somer X somest
strong: stronger strongest
Order of modifi ers: Some strong coffee keeps me awake at night.
X Strong some coffee keeps me awake at night.
Predicate adjective: X The coffee is some.
The coffee is strong.
True adjective: strong
1. true/two
Comparative Superlative
true:
two:
Order of modifi ers: stories are in the book.
stories are in the book.
Predicate adjective: The stories are .
The stories are .
True adjective:
2. his/sweet
Comparative Superlative
his:
sweet:
Order of modifi ers: cupcakes were the hit of the party.
cupcakes were the hit of the party.
Predicate adjective: The cupcakes were .
The cupcakes were .
True adjective: .

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Adjectives 21
3. fast/all
Comparative Superlative
fast:
all:
Order of modifi ers: boats have two engines.
boats have two engines.
Predicate adjective: The boats were .
The boats were .
True adjective: .
4. these/hungry
Comparative Superlative
these:
hungry:
Order of modifi ers: cats need to be fed.
cats need to be fed.
Predicate adjective: The cats were .
The cats were .
True adjective: .
5. bright/a
Comparative Superlative
bright:
a:
Order of modifi ers: moon was rising in the eastern sky.
moon was rising in the eastern sky.
Predicate adjective: The moon was .
The moon was .
True adjective: .
Comparative and superlative forms of adjectives

English is unusual in that it has not one but two ways of forming the comparative and superla-
tive forms of adjectives. One way, as we have seen, is by adding -er and -est onto the base form of
the adjective. The other way does not change the form of the adjective itself (the base form), but
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22 Noun Phrases
instead uses more ϩ adjective for the comparative form and most ϩ adjective for the superlative
form. For example:
Base Comparative Superlative
reluctant more reluctant most reluctant
foolish more foolish most foolish
vicious more vicious most vicious
The reason why English has two different sets of comparative and superlative forms is his-
torical. Adjectives of native English origin usually form their comparative and superlative forms
with -er and -est endings. Adjectives borrowed from French usually form their comparative and
superlative forms with more and most. Adjectives of English origin tend to be one and two syl-
lable words. Adjectives of French origin tend to be polysyllabic, that is two, three, and even four
syllables.
Over time, English speakers tended to forget about historical origin and instead associated
the -er and -est endings with short adjectives and more and most with long adjectives. As a result,
nearly all adjectives of one syllable use -er and -est and adjectives of three or more syllables use
more and most.
Two-syllable adjectives pose a problem because they can form their comparative and super-
lative forms either way. A few adjectives can even use both ways. For example, the two-syllable
polite can be used in either pattern:
Susan is politer than Alice. Susan is the politest person in her class.
Susan is more polite than Alice. Susan is the most polite person I know.
Here are two generalizations that can help in deciding which type of comparative and super-
lative to use:
1. Two-syllable adjectives that end in an unstressed vowel sound tend to use the -er/-est pat-
tern. Two-syllable adjectives ending in -le or -y are especially common. For example:

-LE
Base Comparative Superlative
able abler ablest
feeble feebler feeblest
gentle gentler gentlest
noble nobler noblest
simple simpler simplest
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Adjectives 23
-Y
Base Comparative Superlative
tacky tackier tackiest
early earlier earliest
happy happier happiest
noisy noisier noisiest
pretty prettier prettiest
Notice that when the base form ends in -y, the comparative and superlative forms change the -y to
-i. This change is a general spelling rule that we also saw in forming the plural of nouns that end
in -y—for example, lady-ladies, history-histories, story-stories.
2. Adjectives that are derived from verbs ending in -ing or -ed form their comparative and
superlative with more and most. For example:
-ING
Base Comparative Superlative
amusing more amusing most amusing
charming more charming most charming
discouraging more discouraging most discouraging
tempting more tempting most tempting
trusting more trusting most trusting
-ED
Base Comparative Superlative

exploited more exploited most exploited
recorded more recorded most recorded
respected more respected most respected
strained more strained most strained
startled more startled most startled
A few irregular comparatives and superlatives survive from older forms of English:
Adjective Comparative Superlative
bad worse worst
good better best
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24 Noun Phrases
The adjective far is peculiar in that it has two sets of comparative and superlative forms with
slightly different meanings:
Adjective Comparative Superlative
far farther farthest
far further furthest
We use farther and farthest for distance in space. For example:
Please take the farthest seat.
We use further and furthest for all other kinds of sequences or progressions. For example:
Are there any further questions?
Exercise 2.2
Give the comparative and superlative forms of the following adjectives.
Base Comparative Superlative
worried more worried most worried
1. sad
2. costly
3. sound
4. valuable
5. likely
6. sunny

7. patient
8. improved
9. normal
10. blue
11. bad
12. tiring
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Adjectives 25
13. physical
14. strange
15. probable
16. recent
17. available
18. developed
19. shady
20. fulfi lling
Sequence of multiple true adjectives
We often use two or three true adjectives to modify a single noun. For example, consider the fol-
lowing phrase:
huge old white house
Here the adjectives huge, old, and white all modify the noun house.
When multiple true adjectives modify the same noun, there is a fi xed left-to-right order to
the adjectives based on their meaning. For example, we cannot change the order of the adjectives
in the above example without being ungrammatical:
X huge white old house
X white huge old house
X white old huge house
X old huge white house
X old white huge house
Generalizing these examples to whole categories of adjectives, we can make the following rule

about order of true adjectives based on meaning:
Size Age Color Noun
large old dingy apartment building
small new paisley shirt
tiny ancient grey car
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26 Noun Phrases
Exercise 2.3
Rearrange the adjectives in the following phrases to put them into the correct sequence based on
their meaning.
shiny brand-new huge refrigerator
huge brand-new shiny refrigerator
1. brown capacious worn overcoat

2. antique gold miniature locket

3. overripe yellow great pear

4. early sizeable black and white photographs

5. modern black long desk

6. large grey aged cat

7. young petite green peas

8. bulky pink old sweater

9. off-white new immense mansion

10. white up-to-date slim drapes

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