Apart from morphological ways of denoting gradation of quality, there are some sentence patterns in which comparison is expressed.
| MEANING
| PATTERN
| EXAMPLE
|
| P O S I T I V E D E G R E E
|
| equality
| as… as
| If a stupid woman marries a smart man she will
become as sharp as he is.
|
| inequality
| not as… as
| Her car is not nearly as economical as mine
|
|
| not so… as
| She is not so tall as he is. He is not so clever.
|
|
| twice as… as
| A mile is just one and a half times as long as a
kilometer.
|
| excess
| too + Adj [+ Inf]
| The grass is too short [to cut / for me to cut it].
|
| sufficiency
| Adj + enough
[+ Inf]
| He’s rich enough [to own a car / for me to marry
him].
|
| C O M P A R A T I V E D E G R E E
|
| parallel
increase/
decrease
| the –er… the -er
| The more dangerous it is the more I like it.
|
|
| … -er as…
| He became more cautious as he grew older.
|
|
|
| The less I study the less I know.
|
| inferiority
| less + Adj… than
| John is less naughty than his sister
|
| superiority
| … -er than
| She is quieter than he is.
|
|
| twice –er than
| This task is twice easier than that one.
The tower is 3 times taller than the house.
|
|
| -er than it is + Adj
| The room is longer than it is wide.
|
|
| the –er of the two
Of the two…
the -er
| Jack is the taller of the two.
Of the two boys, John behaves the more politely.
|
| S U P E R L A T I V E D E G R E E
|
| inferiority
| the least… of/…
| She is the least tolerant person I’ve ever met.
|
| superiority
| the –est of/in/ever/
that…
| Edward is the youngest of all / in the family / ever
elected president / that I’ve ever taught.
|
|
| Of the three…
the -est
| Of the three boys, Bob behaves the most politely.
|
|
| the second –est of
| Ann is the second oldest ofthe children.
|
Note the following patterns introduced by “more of a”, “as much of a”, “less of a”, etc.:
He is more of a sportsman than his father.
It was as much of a success as I expected (it would be).
You are less of a fool than I thought (you were).
He was enough of a man to tell the truth.
He is too much of a coward to go there.
Pay attention to the following set expressions:
a change for the better (for the worse) ― перемена к лучшему (худшему)
so much the better (the worse) ― тем лучше (хуже)
·· none the worse for ― ничуть не хуже от…
if the worst comes to the worst ― в худшем случае
· to go from bad to worse ― становиться все хуже и хуже
· as best as ― в полную меру старания
· at best, at worst ― в лучшем случае, в худшем случае
· none the less ― тем не менее
· in the near future ― в ближайшем будущем
· the younger generation ― молодое поколение
· In the last / past few days / weeks / months / years ― за последние дни / недели / месяцы / годы
· with every passing day / year / month ― с каждым днем / годом / месяцем
