Degrees of Comparison

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• mavo, havo, vwo
• Leerjaar 1

HV/V1 week 16

Degrees of Comparison

Learning goals: By the end of this lesson you will:

- Know how to compare one thing to another.

- Know what exceptions exist and how to avoid mistakes.

What is Comparison?

Introduce the concept of comparison and its relevance in communication.

Positive Degree

The positive degree is used to describe one thing without comparing it to another. Example: John is tall.

Explain the positive degree and provide an example. Encourage students to come up with their own examples.

Comparative Degree

The comparative degree is used to compare two things. 

To make a Comparative, add "-er" to the end of a word

Example: John is taller than Tom.

Explain the comparative degree and provide an example. Encourage students to come up with their own examples.

Superlative Degree

The superlative degree is used to compare one thing to all others in a group. 

To make a superlative, add "-est" to the end of a word

Example: John is the tallest person in the room.

Explain the superlative degree and provide an example. Encourage students to come up with their own examples.

Exceptions (sorry)

• Some words are irregular: They don't follow the rules.
  >Good: Better, best
  >Far: Farther, farthest
• Some very long words add "more" or "most" to the front instead
  >Beautiful: more beautiful, most beautiful
  >Intelligent: more intelligent, most intelligent
• Words that end in an vowel-Y have the "Y" changed into an "I"
  >Happy: happier, happiest

Fill in the blank:
Short - _____ - Shortest

Fill in the blank:
Big - bigger - _______

Fill in the blank:
_______ - worse - worst

Fill in the blank:
Silly - _______ - silliest

Thank you for your attention!

You can find what to do today in the Study Guide, week 16

Encourage students to work independently to complete the exercise. Review the answers as a class.