Grammar Points

Comparatives & Superlatives

Form the comparative and superlative forms of a one-syllable adjective by adding –er for the comparative form and –est for the superlative.

One-Syllable Adjective	Comparative Form	Superlative Form
tall	taller	tallest
old	older	oldest
long	longer	longest

• Mary is taller than Max.
• Mary is the tallest of all the students.
• Max is older than John.
• Of the three students, Max is the oldest.
• My hair is longer than your hair.
• Max's story is the longest story I've ever heard.

If the one-syllable adjective ends with an e, just add –r for the comparative form and –st for the superlative form.

One-Syllable Adjective with Final -e	Comparative Form	Superlative Form
large	larger	largest
wise	wiser	wisest

• Mary's car is larger than Max's car.
• Mary's house is the tallest of all the houses on the block.
• Max is wiser than his brother.
• Max is the wisest person I know.

If the one-syllable adjective ends with a single consonant with a vowel before it, double the consonant and add –er for the comparative form; and double the consonant and add –est for the superlative form.

One-Syllable Adjective Ending with a Single Consonant with a Single Vowel before It	Comparative Form	Superlative Form
big	bigger	biggest
thin	thinner	thinnest
fat	fatter	fattest

• My dog is bigger than your dog.
• My dog is the biggest of all the dogs in the neighborhood.
• Max is thinner than John.
• Of all the students in the class, Max is the thinnest.
• My mother is fatter than your mother.
• Mary is the fattest person I've ever seen.

Two-syllable adjectives.

With most two-syllable adjectives, you form the comparative with more and the superlative with most.

Two-Syllable Adjective	Comparative Form	Superlative Form
peaceful	more peaceful	most peaceful
pleasant	more pleasant	most pleasant
careful	more careful	most careful
thoughtful	more thoughtful	most thoughtful

• This morning is more peaceful than yesterday morning.
• Max's house in the mountains is the most peaceful in the world.
• Max is more careful than Mike.
• Of all the taxi drivers, Jack is the most careful.
• Jill is more thoughtful than your sister.
• Mary is the most thoughtful person I've ever met.

If the two-syllable adjectives ends with –y, change the y to i and add –er for the comparative form. For the superlative form change the y to i and add –est.

Two-Syllable Adjective Ending with -y	Comparative Form	Superlative Form
happy	happier	happiest
angry	angrier	angriest
busy	busier	busiest

• John is happier today than he was yesterday.
• John is the happiest boy in the world.
• Max is angrier than Mary.
• Of all of John's victims, Max is the angriest.
• Mary is busier than Max.
• Mary is the busiest person I've ever met.

Two-syllable adjectives ending in –er, -le, or –ow take –er and –est to form the comparative and superlative forms.

Two-Syllable Adjective Ending with -er, -le, or -ow	Comparative Form	Superlative Form
narrow	narrower	narrowest
gentle	gentler	gentlest

• The roads in this town are narrower than the roads in the city.
• This road is the narrowest of all the roads in California.
• Big dogs are gentler than small dogs.
• Of all the dogs in the world, English Mastiffs are the gentlest.

Adjectives with three or more syllables.

For adjectives with three syllables or more, you form the comparative with more and the superlative with most.

Adjective with Three or More Syllables	Comparative Form	Superlative Form
generous	more generous	most generous
important	more important	most important
intelligent	more intelligent	most intelligent

• John is more generous than Jack.
• John is the most generous of all the people I know.
• Health is more important than money.
• Of all the people I know, Max is the most important.
• Women are more intelligent than men.
• Mary is the most intelligent person I've ever met.

Exceptions.

Irregular adjectives.

Irregular Adjective	Comparative Form	Superlative Form
good	better	best
bad	worse	worst
far	farther	farthest
little	less	least
many	more	most

• Italian food is better than American food.
• My dog is the best dog in the world.
• My mother's cooking is worse than your mother's cooking.
• Of all the students in the class, Max is the worst.

Two-syllable adjectives that follow two rules. These adjectives can be used with -er and -est and with more and most.

Two-Syllable Adjective	Comparative Form	Superlative Form
clever	cleverer	cleverest
clever	more clever	most clever
gentle	gentler	gentlest
gentle	more gentle	most gentle
friendly	friendlier	friendliest
friendly	more friendly	most friendly
quiet	quieter	quietest
quiet	more quiet	most quiet
simple	simpler	simplest
simple	more simple	most simple

• Big dogs are gentler than small dogs.
• Of all the dogs in the world, English Mastiffs are the gentlest.
• Big dogs are more gentle than small dogs.
• Of all the dogs in the world, English Mastiffs are the most gentle.

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What are relative clauses?

A relative clause is a subordinate clause that modifies a noun or a noun phrase.
Example:

The man who is smoking is the murderer

The noun the man is modified by the relative clause who is smoking.
Relative clauses give essential information to define or identify the person or thing we are talking about.

How to use relative clauses

They are used to provide extra information. This information can either:

• define something (defining clause),
  Example:
  The girl who is standing there is a world champion in karate.
• or provide unnecessary, but interesting information (non-defining clause).
  Example:
  Michael Jackson, who was a famous singer, died of an overdose.

Relative clauses can be introduced by:

1. A relative pronoun: who, whom, which, that, whose.
   
   Example: "The man who is standing there is a famous writer."
   
2. A relative adverb: where, why and when.
   
   Example: " The restaurant where I have dinner is nice."
   
3. None of them.
   
   Example: "The man I met is extremely wealthy"

Relative Pronouns

who - subject or object pronoun for people

They caught the lady who killed her baby.

which - subject or object pronoun

I read the book which is on the table.I visited the town which you told me about.

which - referring to a whole sentence

They were unsuccessful which is disappointing.

whom - used for object pronoun for people, especially in non-restrictive relative clauses (in restrictive relative clauses use who)

The boy whom you told me about got the best grades in mathematics.

that - subject or object pronoun for people, animals and things in restrictive relative clauses (who or which are also possible)

I like the vase that is over there.

Relative adverbs

where - referring to a place

The restaurant where I usually have dinner is nice.

when - referring to a time

There are times when I feel so lonely.

why - referring to a reason

This is why she refused the offer.

Subject Pronoun or Object Pronoun?

You can distinguish subject and object pronouns as follows:

• If the relative pronoun is not followed by a noun or pronoun, it is a subject pronoun. Subject relative pronouns can never be omitted (dropped.)
  Example:
  The apple which is lying on the table is sweet.
  The teacher who lives next door is nice.
  
• If the relative pronoun is followed by a noun or pronoun, the relative pronoun is an object pronoun. Object relative pronouns can be omitted (dropped) in restrictive (defining) relative clauses.
  Example:
  The film (which) we watched yesterday was fantastic.
  The writer (who/whom) we met last weekend is very famous.

Restrictive Relative Clauses

1. Restrictive (identifying or defining) relative clauses give detailed necessary information. They are not put between commas.

I know the man who is standing there

2. These clauses are often used in definitions.

A novelist is someone who writes novels.

3. Object pronouns in these clauses can be omitted (dropped.)

Example:
The boy (who/whom) we met yesterday is from New York.

Non-Restrictive Relative Clauses

Non- restrictive (non-identifying or non- defining) relative clauses give interesting additional information which is not necessary to the meaning of the sentence. These clauses are put between commas.

Example:
Martin Luther king, who was known for his fight for the civil rights, was assassinated in 1968.

Note:
In non restrictive relative clauses:
1. who/which may not be replaced with that.

Example:
Jim, who we met yesterday, is very nice.
NOT
Jim, that we met yesterday, is very nice.

2. Object relative pronouns cannot be dropped.

Example:
Jim, who we met yesterday, is very nice.
NOT
Jim,we met yesterday, is very nice.

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Verb Tense Review and Exercises

Here is a helpful table with the tenses, a quick explanation and some helpful words/phrases associated with each of them.

	Past	Present	Future
Simple	An action that ended at a point in the past.	An action that exists , is usual, or is repeated.	A plan for future action.
	cooked	cook / cooks	will cook
(time clue)*	e.g. He cooked yesterday.	e.g. He cooks dinner every Friday.	e.g. He will cook tomorrow.
Progressive be + main verb +ing	An action was happening (past progressive) when another action happened (simple past).	An action that is happening now.	An action that will be happening over time, in the future, when something else happens.
	was / were cooking	am / is / are cooking	will be cooking
(time clue)*	e.g. He was cooking when the phone rang.	e.g. He is cooking now.	e.g. He will be cooking when you come.
Perfect have + main verb	An action that ended before another action or time in the past.	An action that happened at an unspecified time in the past.	An action that will end before another action or time in the future.
	had cooked	has / have cooked	will have cooked
(time clue)*	e.g. He had cooked the dinner when the phone rang.	e.g. He has cooked many meals.	e.g. He will have cooked dinner by the time you come.
Perfect Progressive have + be + main verb + ing	An action that happened over time, in the past, before another time or action in the past.	An action occurring over time that started in the past and continues into the present.	An action occurring over time, in the future, before another action or time in the future.
	had been cooking	has / have been cooking	will have been cooking
(time clue)*	e.g. He had been cooking for a long time before he took lessons.	e.g. He has been cooking for over an hour.	e.g. He will have been cooking all day by the time she gets home.

*Time clues: these are words that give some information about when an action occurs. Some examples are:

yesterday every day tomorrow while now

simple past simple present simple future past progressive present progressive

.

There are many words that are time clues; some can be used to indicate a number of tenses, for instance that something happened in the past or that it will happen in the future. If you learn to recognize these time clues, you will find them very helpful. Note that some time clues can be used with more than one verb tense and also that this table is not a complete listing of all the time clues that can be used with all of the tenses

CHART—TIME CLUES AND VERB TENSE

	Past	Present	Future
Simple	Simple Past	Simple Present	Simple Future
	yesterday last year/ month/ etc. before for five weeks/days/etc. one year/ month ago	every morning / day / etc. always usually frequently sometimes	tomorrow tonight next week/month/etc. soon in the future
Progressive	Past Progressive	Present Progressive	Future progressive
	while when	now right now this week/minute/etc.	when after as soon as before
Perfect	Past Perfect	Present Perfect	Future Perfect
	before already by the time until then/last week/etc. after	until now since ever never many times/ weeks/years/etc. for three hours/ minutes/etc/	by the time you go (somewhere) by the time you do (something) already
Perfect Progressive	Past Perfect progressive	Present Perfect Progressive	Future Perfect Progressive
	before for one week/hour/etc. since	for the past year/ month/ etc. for the last 2 months/ weeks/etc. up to now for 6 weeks/hours/etc. since	by the time for ten days/weeks/etc. by

Use of Both, Either or Neither

Use:

1) Both
Both means two of two things.
I have two cats. I like both of them.

2) Neither
Neither means not one or the other of two things.
Neither of my cats is grey.
Remember to use a singular verb after neither.
Neither of the dogs are dangerous. => Neither of the dogs is dangerous.

3) Either
Either means one or the other.
There are two cakes. Please have one. You can have either one.

Form:

1) You can use both, neither and either directly before a noun.
Both supermarkets are good.
Neither supermarket sells electrical goods.
We can go to either supermarket, I don’t mind.

2) Both, neither and either are often used with ‘of’. But you must always use a determiner(the, my, these, those, his etc) before the noun.

Both of children like chocolate cake. => Both of the children like chocolate cake.

However, you don’t have to use of with both.
Both of the children like chocolate cake. 
Both children like chocolate cake.

3) You can use both, neither and either+ of + object pronoun(you, them, us).

Both of them wore white dresses.  
Neither of us was late.  
Have either of you got a pen?

4) You can use both ... and ...; neither ... nor ..., and either ... or ....
Examples:
Both James and Diana work here.
Neither James nor Diana works here.
You can ask either James or Diana.