Hello I'm Scott.
Today I'm going to show you some language around making comparisons.
It's important to know how to use a variety of language to make your
comparisons. It makes your writing more interesting.
We're going to learn how to make comparisons between two or more things
using adjectives,
adverbs and discourse markers.
First, we have comparative and superlative adjectives.
We use comparative adjectives when comparing two things. We
use superlative adjectives when talking about three or more things
and focusing on the first or last in the group.
Here are some examples.
Smith's argument was clearer than Aminah's.
Smith's argument was the clearest of all
three here.
Clearer is the comparative adjective because we are talking about two
people here.
The clearest is a superlative adjective because we're talking about
a group of three. Take a look at this table.
These are the different forms that comparative and superlative adjectives take.
For a one syllable adjective, like clear,
it becomes clearer and the clearest.
For two or more syllable adjectives like logical,
it becomes more logical and
the most logical.
For two syllable adjectives ending in y like wealthy,
we add -ier or -iest.
So it becomes wealthier and the wealthiest.
For irregular adjectives, take a look at the change here.
Good becomes better or the best.
Bad becomes worse or the worst.
Let's look at some sentences now.
Keep a lookout for the adjectives and think about what type they might be as
you read them. Smith gives a clearer
analysis of the issue. Aminah includes
more logical examples to support her opinion.
Of the three authors,
Rohan gives the strongest argument.
Here are other sentences which have other patterns.
Chen claims that education is as
useful as increasing taxes.
Chen's claim is the least
believable. Another group of words, adverbs,
can also be used like comparative and superlative adjectives but
to compare actions or adjectives rather than nouns or
things. Here's an example.
Smith supported his argument more effectively than
Franklin.
Here more effectively is the comparative adverb.
These are the different forms that comparative and superlative adjectives take.
Hard becomes harder or the hardest.
This adverb has changed in the same way as an adjective.
But for most other adverbs, we need to add more or the most.
Convincingly
becomes more convincingly or the most
convincingly. Here are some examples.
Rohan argues more convincingly
that they should be more texts on junk food.
Simi clearly tries harder
to convince the reader of her position.
Comparative adverbs can take other patterns as well.
For example, as well as.
Aminah's arguments about tax are not
as well supported as Chen's.
Finally, another group of words are discourse markers.
They're words which connect sentences.
They show similarities or differences,
which can be used to compare in academic writing.
These can also be used with comparative adjectives or adverbs.
Here are some examples.
While Smith makes some good claims,
Simi includes more supporting evidence for her ideas.
The discourse marker here is while.
And we also need a comma after the first clause.
Smith claims that increasing taxes will help to reduce consumption of junk
food. However,
Chen believes that taxes do not have an effect.
Alright,
now let's practice using the comparing language we have just learned.
I'm going to show you two sentences and give you a joining word as a
clue. It's in the bracket.
Use a comparative or superlative adjective,
adverb or discourse marker to join them together.
The first one is Aminah's argument is argument is very detailed.
Johnson's isn't. The joining word is more.
And we rewrite it as Aminah's argument is more detailed than
Johnson's. Second,
Julie's ideas are convincing.
Simi's ideas are more convincing.
The clue is not as.
And we rewrite it as Julie's ideas are not
as convincing as Simi's ideas.
Next Rohan's claims are not well-supported.
Franklin's are. Here
the joining word is better.
Franklin's claims are better supported than Rohan's.
Johnson gives some good reasoning.
Chen's reasoning is excellent.
The clue is although.
We can rewrite it as Johnson gives some good reasoning
although Chen's reasoning is excellent.
And finally,
Ling and Smith's arguments are stronger than Rohan's.
The joining word is weakest.
We can rewrite it as Rohan's arguments are the
weakest. How did you go? Did you get all of them right?
Well done if you did.
Here are some tips to help you with what you've learned today.
Try to use comparative language when speaking and writing.
When reading and listening,
notice when comparative language is used and the structures used.
Don't overcomplicate your own language.
Good English equals clear English.
Thanks for joining me today. Bye.