Comparatives & Superlatives

Article excerpt · target grammar marked

Modern marathon runners are significantly lighter and leaner than their counterparts from the 1980s. Their shoes are more aerodynamic than anything available twenty years ago. Training methods are more data-driven, more personalised, and more efficient than ever before.

Grammar Reference · Comparatives & Superlatives

Comparative: short adj

Add -er than to short adjectives. Kiptum is faster than any previous runner. Double consonant if needed: big → bigger.

Comparative: long adj

Use more … than with adjectives of 2+ syllables. Swimming is more demanding than most people think.

Superlative forms

Short: the -est. Long: the most …. It was the fastest and the most remarkable race ever run.

Irregular: good / bad

Marchand's 2023 form was better than 2022 — in fact, the best ever seen. good → better → best; bad → worse → worst.

01Exercise 1 — Form · Write the Correct Form

Comparatives & Superlatives

1.Kiptum's time was (fast) any runner had ever achieved.

2.The 2023 championships produced (remarkable) results in recent memory.

3.Carbon-fibre shoes are (light) leather shoes from forty years ago.

4.Marchand is one of (talented) swimmers of his generation.

5.His performance in the butterfly was (good) anything he had done before.

6.Of all the events at the championships, the 400m medley is (demanding).

02Exercise 2 — Transform

rewrite with the new structure

1.The 2023 race was very fast. No race before it was as fast.

2.Marchand is talented. No other swimmer at the championships was as talented.

3.Modern shoes are light. Old shoes were heavier.

4.The 400m medley is difficult. Other events are easier.

5.Kiptum trained well. His rivals did not train as well.

6.This record is impressive. All previous records were less impressive.

7.Early training methods were bad. Today's methods are not as bad.

8.Her butterfly split was quick. No one else swam it as quickly.

03Exercise 3 — About You

in your notebook

Personalise: complete five sentences about yourself using the target grammar.

Comparatives & Superlatives01classplan.ai