How are regular comparative adverbs formed
How are regular comparative adverbs formed
Степени сравнения наречий в английском языке — Degrees of comparison of adverbs
Абсолютно любой современный язык включает в себя одну из важнейших частей речи – наречия. Те, в свою очередь, могут иметь разнообразные значения, видоизменяться в зависимости от формы образования и случая употребления, а также принимать участие в самых разнообразных по смыслу фразах и предложениях. Отдельного внимания заслуживают степени сравнения наречий в английском языке. Изучение данной темы является одной из важнейших задач для любого человека, изучающего английский и именно ее мы и рассмотрим в данной статье.
Для начала, стоит определиться, что из себя представляют наречия в английском языке. Все части речи можно разделить на два вида: самостоятельные и служебные. И наречие относится к самостоятельным: без него практически невозможно построить какое-либо словосочетание или предложение. Большинство из них в английском языке имеют степени сравнения (degrees of comparison), образование которых имеет некоторые отличия по сравнению с прилагательными.
Степени сравнения наречий можно разделить на 3 группы:
Степени сравнения наречий (degrees of comparison of adverbs) применяются для придания предмету того или иного уровня важности, необходимости. Для того, чтобы указать на проявление какого-либо признака объекта в большем или меньшем значении. Ведь согласитесь, абсолютно любой язык был бы очень скудным и неинтересным без сравнительных наречий (comparative adverbs). К примеру, если бы вместо слов «много», «больше», больше всего», мы бы могли сказать только «много».
Превосходная степень наречий (superlative degree) отличается от прилагательных тем, что перед наречием определенный артикль невозможен, так как adverb не описывает существительное или местоимение, а модифицирует глагольные структуры. Кроме того, в сравнительной не нужно смотреть на окончания, так как принцип довольно простой: односложное наречие образуется так же, как прилагательное, а многосложное – с помощью more и most.
Образование степеней сравнения для односложных наречий
Образуя степени сравнения, важно обращать внимание на количество слогов. Так, с односложными adverbs все довольно просто:
Hard – harder – hardest (трудно – труднее – труднее всего)
Fast – faster – fastest (быстро – быстрее – быстрее всего)
Soon – sooner – soonest (скоро – скорее – скорее всего)
Образование степеней сравнения для многосложных наречий
Когда речь идет о многосложных словах, здесь нет необходимости смотреть на окончание наречий так, как делается с прилагательными. Два или более слогов – условие для, того, чтобы добавлять к исходной форме more в comparative degree и most в superlative:
Heavily – more heavily – most heavily (тяжело – более тяжело – наиболее тяжело)
Strongly – more strongly – most strongly (сильно – более сильно – наиболее сильно)
Often – more often – most often (часто – более часто – наиболее часто)
Исключения
Некоторые наречия в английском языке не подходят под эти условия, и образование происходит абсолютно по другому сценарию. Их еще называют исключениями и обычно выделяют два типа.
Первый из них связан с особенным и исключительным образованием degrees of comparison, когда структуры формируются по уже заранее заготовленным различным вариантам. Это как правильные глаголы – их формы уникальны и их придется только заучить, самостоятельно изобретать ничего не нужно. Таблица данных исключений:
Ко второму типу относятся те, которые абсолютно никак не видоизменяются и используются в начальной форме. Примеры таких слов – here, before, very, etc.
Конструкции as as / so as
Английский язык предполагает большое количество различных лексических конструкций используемых в самых разнообразных ситуациях. Но, одной из самых распространенных является конструкция as as. Основное ее назначение – сравнение предмета или человека с чем-то/кем-то, а основное место обитания – утвердительные предложения, но, иногда встречается и в отрицательных предложениях (в таком случае первая as может меняться на so).
Примеры употребления в утвердительных предложениях:
She worked as hard as she could. – Она работала настолько усердно, насколько могла.
He played football as well as he could. Он играл в футбол настолько хорошо, насколько мог.
Примеры употребления в отрицательных предложениях:
She doesn’t play volleyball so well as you do. – Она не играет в волейбол так же хорошо, как и ты.
He is not able to speak so beautifully as you can. – Он не может говорить так же красиво, как и ты.
Степени сравнения наречий в английском языке рекомендуется разбирать вместе с темой прилагательных. Это существенно сократит время, в отличие если изучать эти две темы обособленно, а также поспособствует лучшему усвоению материала по одной простой причине, что эти две темы достаточно тесно связаны. Их употребление использование значительно разнообразит вашу разговорную речь, но главное – не ошибиться. Иначе, в таком случае, суть предложения может кардинально измениться и вас просто-напросто неправильно поймут.
Comparison: adverbs ( worse, more easily)
Adverbs: comparative and superlative forms
Some of the most common comparative and superlative adverbs are:
soon sooner soonest
fast faster fastest
hard harder hardest
near nearer nearest
early earlier earliest
far farther/further farthest/furthest
late later latest
Children learn things faster than adults.
Adverbs with more and most
Adverbs with two or more syllables form the comparative and superlative with more and most:
It was the most beautifully designed chair.
Comparative adverbs: using than
When we mention the second person or thing in the comparison, we use than. We do not use that or as. If the second person mentioned takes the form of a personal pronoun, we normally use the object form of the pronoun ( me, you, him, her, us, them):
Not: faster that me or faster as me
In more formal situations, instead of than + object pronoun, we can use than + subject pronoun + be, do or a modal verb:
Well and badly
The adverb well has the same comparative and superlative forms as the adjective good ( better, best). The adverb badly has the comparative and superlative forms worse, worst:
[talking about playing tennis]
I played better yesterday but I need to improve my serve.
A lot of people behaved badly at the party, but she behaved worst of all.
How are regular comparative adverbs formed
If you follow our blog, you could see that by now we have discussed almost all basic aspects of English language. However, we have not yet examined comparative adverbs. This topic is very important, because we use adverbs and their comparative forms all the time in our writing. How much do you know about comparative adverbs? If you are ready to check your knowledge of basic rules about comparative adverbs, then read on.
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Adverbs: Definition and Functions
First of all, let us refresh some knowledge of adverbs, before we proceed to revising their comparative forms. Many people pay little attention to the way they use adverbs in their writing and this mistake can cost them a lot. So don’t think that it is unimportant part of English grammar that doesn’t deserve your attention and time. Remember that good writing skills are essential for any business.
Adverbs are words that used to modify other words in a sentence. There are different types of adverb that perform various kinds of modifications. As a rule, adverbs are created from adjectives, by adding –ly at the end. However not all of them derive from adjectives. The best way to understand adverbs and their purpose is to look at the functions they perform, such as:
Features of Comparative Adverbs
Although, comparative adverbs perform the same functions as regular adverbs, their main purpose is different, which is to compare. In addition, comparative adverbs possess some distinguishing features that set them aside of the rest of adverbs. Let us review these features in order to understand what comparative adverbs are and why we need them.
Features of comparative adverbs:
How to Form Comparative Adverbs
Luckily to all of us, adverbs and their comparatives form are not the most complicated part of English grammar. Thus if you follow these rules, you can be confident that your usage of comparative adverbs is flawless.
Comparative Adverbs
What is a comparative adverb?
Forming Comparative Adverbs
One syllable + “-er”
More +“-ly” adverb
Irregular comparative adverbs
Comparative adverbs with two forms
Using Comparative Adverbs
Affirmative statements
Negative Statements
Interrogatives
Omitting one of the nouns
Gradability
Expressing equality and inequality using as … as
1. Which of the following facts about comparative adverbs is correct?
a) They always take a different form than a comparative adjective.
b) They always take the same form as a comparative adjective.
c) They sometimes take the same form as a comparative adjective.
d) They never take the same form as a comparative adjective.
2. Which of these adverbs has an irregular comparative form?
a) fast
b) badly
c) carefully
d) sadly
3. Which of these is an incorrect comparative adverb?
a) more beautifully
b) more quickly
c) more carefully
d) more higher
4. Which of the following sentences is correct?
a) “He runs fast as his brother.”
b) “He runs as fast as his brother.”
c) “He runs faster as his brother.”
d) “He faster runs as his brother.”
5. Which of the following sentences is correct?
a) “She studies hardlier than her sister.”
b) “She studies harder than her sister.”
c) “She studies harder as her sister.”
d) “She studies hard as her sister.”
Comparative Adverbs
One of the jobs of an adverb is to modify a verb action, for example:
If we want to compare one verb action with another, we can use a comparative adverb, for example:
How do we Make Comparative Adverbs?
There are three basic ways to make or «form» a comparative adverb:
1. One-syllable adverbs: add -er
If an adverb has only one syllable, we usually just add -er to make it comparative: fast → faster. Here are some examples:
adverb | comparative adverb |
---|---|
fast | faster |
hard | harder |
high | higher |
late | later |
long | longer |
low | lower |
wide | wider |
Note that most one-syllable adverbs have the same form as their equivalent adjectives. Don’t let this confuse you. For example:
positive | comparative | |
---|---|---|
adjective | a fast car | a faster car |
adverb | he drives fast | he drives faster |
2. Two-syllable adverbs: use more
When an adverb has two or more syllables (like all -ly adverbs), we can make it comparative by adding more in front: quickly → more quickly. Look at these examples:
adverb | comparative adverb |
---|---|
carefully | more carefully |
efficiently | more efficiently |
happily | more happily |
horribly | more horribly |
often | more often |
quickly | more quickly |
recently | more recently |
slowly | more slowly |
sadly | more sadly |
strangely | more strangely |
We can also use less in place of more to suggest a reduction in the action. Look at these examples:
sentence | for example |
---|---|
She visits often. | once a week |
Now she visits more often. ↑ | once a day |
Now she visits less often. ↓ | once a month |
3. Irregular Adverbs
A few adverbs have irregular form, for example:
adverb | comparative adverb |
---|---|
badly | worse |
early | earlier |
far | further/farther |
little | less |
much | more |
well | better |
Comparative Adverbs with Informal Forms
Note that a few adverbs have a formal («correct») form with -ly and an informal form without -ly. The same is then true of their comparative forms. Although you may hear some native speakers using the informal form in speech, it is best avoided in formal situations and examinations. The most common examples are:
adverb | comparative adverb |
---|---|
cheap/cheaply | cheaper/more cheaply |
loud/loudly | louder/more loudly |
quick/quickly | quicker/more quickly |
slow/slowly | slower/more slowly |
How do we Use Comparative Adverbs?
Now that you know how to make comparative adverbs, let’s see how to use them. Look at these examples. Notice that we may use more to suggest an increase in the action and less to suggest a decrease in the action. Notice also that the comparative adverb is often followed by than: