Semestral San Marcos

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SEMESTRAL SAN MARCOS

ADJECTIVE

ORDER OF ADJECTIVES
How to order adjectives in English

In many languages, adjectives denoting attributes usually occur in a specific order. Generally, the adjective order in
English is:

1) Opinion / observation: This explains what we are thinking about something. Normally this is our opinion, attitude or
observations. These types of adjectives most times will be before all other adjectives.
• beautiful, boring, stimulating, stupid, delicious, useful, lovely, comfortable

2) Size: Tells us how big or small something is.

• big, large, little, short, small, tall, huge, tiny

3) Shape / Weight / Length: Tells about the shape of something or how long or short it is. It can also refer to the weight of
someone or something.
• round, oval, square, circular, boxy, fat, heavy, straight, long, short,

4) Age: Tells us how old someone or something is.

• old, young, new, ancient, antique

5) Color: The color or the approximate color of something.

• yellow, black, red, white, brown, whitish, blueish

6) Pattern: The pattern or design of something.

• striped, spotted, checked, flowery

7) Origin: Tells us where something is from.

• Thai, British, Italian, eastern, Australian, French

8) Material: What is the thing made of or constructed of?

• sliver, wooden, silk, paper, synthetic, cotton, woolen

9) Noun: The figure that is receiving the adjectives

For example:
1. I love that really big old green antique car that always parked at the end of the street.

2. My sister adopted a beautiful big white bulldog.

When there are two or more adjectives that are from the same group, the word and is placed between the two adjectives:

1. The house is green and red.

2. The library has old and new books.

When there are three or more adjectives from the same adjective group, place a comma between each of the coordinate
adjectives:

1. We live in the big green, white and red house at the end of the street.
2. My friend lost a red, black and white watch.

A comma is not placed between an adjective and the noun.

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MORE EXAMPLES:

1. I love that beautiful old big green antique car that always parked at the end of the street. [quality – age – size – color – pro-
per adjective]

2. My sister has a big beautiful tan and white bulldog. [size – quality – color – color]

3. A wonderful old Italian clock. [opinion – age – origin]

4. A big square blue box. [dimension – shape – color]

5. A disgusting pink plastic ornament. [opinion – color – material]

6. Some slim new French trousers. [dimension – age – origin]

7. An amazing new American movie. [opinion – age – origin]

8. I bought a pair of black leather shoes. [color – material]

Comparison: adjectives (bigger, biggest, more interesting)

Comparative and superlative adjectives

COMPARATIVE ADJECTIVES
Comparative adjectives compare one person or thing with another and enable us to say whether a person or thing has more
or less of a particular quality:

Josh is taller than his sister.

I’m more interested in music than sport.

Big cars that use a lot of petrol are less popular now than twenty years ago.

SUPERLATIVE ADJECTIVES

Superlative adjectives describe one person or thing as having more of a quality than all other people or things in a group:

The ‘Silver Arrow’ will be the fastest train in the world when it is built.

The most frightening film I’ve ever seen was Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘Psycho’.

What is the least expensive way of travelling in Japan?

Comparative and superlative adjectives: form

One - syllable adjectives (big, cold, hot, long, nice, old, tall)

To form the comparative, we use the - er suffix with adjectives of one syllable:

It’s colder today than yesterday.

It was a longer holiday than the one we had last year.

Sasha is older than Mark.

To form the superlative, we use the - est suffix with adjectives of one syllable. We normally use the before a superlative adjec-
tive:
I think that’s the biggest apple I’ve ever seen!

At one time, the Empire State building in New York was the tallest building in the world.

They have three boys. Richard is the oldest and Simon is the youngest.

Spelling of comparatives and superlatives with one - syllable adjectives

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One - syllable adjectives which are irregular

Some one - syllable adjectives have irregular comparative and superlative forms:

1. bad, worse, worst far, farther/further, farthest/furthest

2. good, better, best old, older/elder, oldest/eldest

The morning flight is better than the afternoon one.

His elder sister works for the government.

Olivia is Denise’s best friend.

I think that was the worst film I’ve ever seen!

Pluto is the furthest planet from the sun in our solar system.

WARNING:
We do not use more or most together with an - er or - est ending:

They emigrate because they are looking for a better life.

Not: … a more better life

The beach at Marmaris is one of the biggest in Turkey.

Not: … the most biggest …

Two - syllable adjectives

Two - syllable adjectives ending in - y change y to i and take the - er and - est endings:

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We were busier last week than this week.

Are you happier now that you’ve changed your job?

That was the easiest exam I’ve ever taken.

Some other two - syllable adjectives (especially those ending in an unstressed vowel sound) can also take the - er and
- est endings:

I’ve always thought that Donald was cleverer than his brother.

This new bed is narrower than the old one.

The guest bedroom is the quietest room in the house because it overlooks the garden.

We don’t normally use the - er and - est endings with two - syllable adjectives ending in - ful. Instead, we use more and
most/least:

This dictionary is more useful than the one we had before.

Not: This dictionary is usefuller …

You’ll have to try to be more careful in future.

The most useful tool in the kitchen is a good sharp knife.

Not: The usefulest tool in the kitchen …

This is the least harmful chemical in terms of the environment.

LONGER ADJECTIVES

Adjectives of three or more syllables form the comparative with more/less and the superlative with most/least:

The second lecture was more interesting than the first.

Not: The second lecture was interestinger …

That way of calculating the figures seems less complicated to me.

London is the most popular tourist destination in England.

Not: London is the popularest …

If you are going as a group, the least expensive option is to rent an apartment or villa.

COMPARATIVE ADJECTIVES: USING THAN

We use than when we mention the second person or thing in the comparison. If the second person mentioned takes the
form of a personal pronoun, we normally use the object form of the pronoun (me, you, him, her, us, them):

Could you carry this? You’re stronger than me.

Not: You’re stronger than I.

Why did you choose Robert? Marie is more experienced than him.

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In more formal situations, instead of than + object pronoun, we can use than + subject pronoun + be:

You managed to answer the ten questions correctly? Well, you’re definitely cleverer than I am!

I preferred Henrietta to Dennis. She was always more sociable than he was.

TEXT 1

MONEY
Money is what you use to buy things. You may earn money from completing household chores, getting good grades, for your
allowance, or for losing a tooth! Money is very important in our world and comes in many different forms.
People have been using money for hundreds of years. Before money gave specific values for things, people simply traded
items. In the United States, we use the dollar as our currency or money, but people in different parts of the world use different
currencies, though some countries also use or accept dollars.
People earn money from the jobs they work and use that money to save for the future, pay for their houses, cars, food, taxes,
medical needs and household items among other things. Even things such as turning the lights on, using the air conditioning
or heat, and connecting to the internet cost money.

1. How long have people used money?

A) They started recently.

B) Thousands of years.
C) Since the beginning of time
D) Hundreds of years.
E) Since money had value for things.

2. What did people do before there was money?

A) The story doesn’t tell.

B) They made everything themselves.
C) People traded to get what they needed.
D) They just never got what they needed.
E) People never did anything.

3. The dollar…

A) is used in every country in the world.

B) is never used in other countries.
C) is not used very much in the United States.
D) is used all over the world.
E) is used in the United States.

4. According to the author of this story, money is….

A) only used in America.

B) not very important.
C) only earned by adults.
D) very important.
E) being used since the beginning of time.

5. What money could be used for?

A) To buy things, pay bills, household items, taxes.

B) To pay specific values.
C) To pay simple things.
D) To clean and do the shores.
E) To buy health and happiness.

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TEXT 2

PAC - MAN
Have you ever heard of Pac - Man? Pac - Man was different than video games today. Its graphics and sounds weren’t as advan-
ced, it didn’t look as realistic, but it sure was fun! Pac - Man is one of the most important and popular video games of all time.
Some credit Pac - Man as one of the reasons video games are so popular today.
Pac - Man is simple enough. The object is to eat all the dots on each board to move on to the next board. The four ghosts:
Blinky, Inky, Pinky, and Clyde chase Pac - Man. If a ghost catches Pac - Man, he or she loses one of three lives. Pac - Man, in turn,
eat the ghosts if he eats a power pellet and then catches one. Pac - Man players can score extra points by eating the floating
fruits that appear every round. If player eats every dot on the board, he or she moves on to the next round. There are 256 total
rounds! The game ends when all three lives are gone.

1. Compared to newer games, Pac - Man…

A) was less fun

B) was more realistic
C) had better sounds
D) had less advanced graphics
E) was really boring

2. How do you move to a new board on Pac - Man?

A) By eating all of the dots

B) By eating all of the ghosts
C) By eating all of the fruit
D) By eating all of the power pellets
E) By eating all of 256 rounds

3. What does the word object mean in the following sentence?

The object is to eat all the dots on each board to move on to the next board.

A) thing
B) goal
C) reason
D) feeling
E) fun

4. What PROBABLY happens after the 256th board?

A) There is a 257th board

B) There are more ghosts
C) The player loses the game
D) The player eats all of the dots
E) The player wins the game and it ends

5. If the players eat the floating fruit,

A) they will lose one of three lives

B) they will move on to the next round
C) they will score extra points
D) the games will end
E) they will get a power pellet