Comparisons1: Differences 1

 Reflection: When we compare things, we often talk about their differences. What is the most common way to do this?

I am sure you were right. The most common way is to use comparative adjectives. That is what we shall look at in this unit.
Here are the basic grammar rules covering comparative adjectives.
1. When using comparative adjectives (e.g. bigger or more beautiful), remember that almost always the sentence will include than.
2. If the adjective is one syllable, e.g. tall we simply add -er to get taller.
3. If the adjective has two syllables and ends in –y e.g. happy, we drop the -y and add -ier to get happier.
4. All other adjectives take more, e.g. more intelligent.
5. If your not sure, remember that if it’s a big word it will use more____ and if it’s a little word it will use er.
6. A very important rule is that you can NEVER put more___ with -er e.g. you can never say, He is more taller than his brother.

 Look at the table below

Activities	Places	Animals	Things
play tennis/golf	Japan/USA	lion/tiger	train/plane
watch TV/movie at cinema	Hachioji/Shinjuku	shark/dolphin	J-pop/enka
eat spaghetti/steak	Mt. Fuji/Mt. Everest	cat/dog	university/j.h.s.

Now look at some sample sentences comparing the pairs in the first row.
Golf is a slower game than tennis.
Playing tennis is more popular in Japan than playing golf.
Japan has a longer history than the USA.
The USA is more powerful than Japan.
A tiger is more colorful than a lion.
A male lion has longer hair on its head than a tiger.
Planes travel faster than trains.
Trains are usually more comfortable than planes.

A With your partner make a sentence for each of the pairs in the 2nd and 3rd rows of the table above.
B Choose one of the pairs in the table below. Tell your partner and they will make a camparative sentence. Do this 7 times each.

Activities	Places	Animals	Things
eat fish/eat meat	zoo/amusement park	giraffe/zebra	eraser/pencil
have bath/shower	Hokkaido/Okinawa	tuna/sardine	skirt/trousers
read novel/newspaper	school/university	monkey/man	chocolate/candy
library/home study	Disneyland/Universal studios	cow/horse	paper/electronic dictionary
running/ walking	Arctic/Antarctic	snake/worm	kabuki/noh
piano/guitar	Paris/London	fox/wolf	Letter/email
bowling/karaoke	Osaka/Tokyo	panda/koala	tea/coffee

C With your partner make up pairs for the two empty rows.

D Now make a long plan and a short plan for the topic "Which do you prefer, studying at home or studying in the library?"
E Now change plans with a partner. Read your partners plan. Are they following the format? If not tell them so.
F  In groups of 4 give your speeches to the group
G Now bring up soft recorder and record yourself making the speech.
H Playback the recording and listen to yourself . Are there any changes you would make? If you want to change your plan.
I  Now record yourself again. Save the file (call it sp12)
J Now change seats with a partner and listen to their speech. If you have any advice about speech structure or grammar mistakes or vocabulary mistakes, give it to them.

G Now make a long plan and a short plan for the topic "Which did you enjoy more, junior high school or high school?"
H Now change plans with a partner. Read your partners plan. Are they following the format? If not tell them so.
I  In groups of 4 give your speeches to the group
J Now bring up soft recorder and record yourself making the speech.
K Playback the recording and listen to yourself . Are there any changes you would make? If you want to change your plan.
L Now record yourself again. Save the file (call it sp13)
M Now change seats with a partner and listen to their speech. If you have any advice about speech structure or grammar mistakes or vocabulary mistakes, give it to them.