How to compare and contrast things

Sometimes I find studying grammar difficult. It’s not as hard as speaking English, but I really find reading and learning vocabulary easier. I think I could be more efficient in the way I study. For example, I could set aside an hour a night to go over what I’ve been learning. But, if I do this in the evening I know it will be less effective because I’m tired.

Comparing and contrasting
When making comparisons in English, there are a few patterns which can help make what you describe more interesting. You may have learnt that, to make a comparison between two things, you should use the formula adjective + -er + than. However, this is only one way of showing the differences between two things or two ideas.

More or less?

Look at the passage at the top of the page. Complete the following sentences using the information from the passage.

Reading is easier than…

Studying early in the day is more effective than…

I could be more efficient than…

Complete the following ‘rules’ for making comparative adjectives:

1. Adjectives with one syllable (e.g. tall)…
2. Adjectives with three or more syllables (e.g. efficient)…
3. Adjectives preceded by ‘less’…
4. What happens to adjectives with two syllables (e.g. pretty, lovely)?

(Not) as ... as ...
Reading is not as difficult as speaking.

1. Which is easier – reading or speaking?
   My vocabulary is as good as my grammar.
2. Which is better – my vocabulary or my grammar?

Learning tip The ‘formulas’ for making comparisons given in the guidelines are easy to follow. But remember that some adjectives are irregular. Two good examples are the adjectives good and bad.

good               better               best
bad                 worse               worst

Keep a separate section in your vocabulary book for noting down irregular comparative adjectives. Also, remember that three-letter adjectives usually double the last letter when they make a comparative,

e.g. hot / hotter, wet / wetter, big / bigger

Learning task
Some of the sentences below have errors in them and some are correct. Find and correct the errors.

1. In winter, London is colder as Paris.
2. I don’t speak English as well than I write it.
3. Learning English alone is interesting but learning English by radio is more good.
4. It is better to listen to the radio in the evenings. The signal is clearer then.
5. Studying grammar is less difficult than learning vocabulary.
6. I’d like to visit Britain, but it is more expensive to travel there.
7. This exercise isn’t difficult as it seemed at the beginning.
8. My family enjoys listening to BBC World Service. It’s funner than our local radio stations.

1. 
   

How to correct your own errors

I know I make mistakes and this makes me very upset. I would like to speak English without errors but this will take a very long time. I feel that I am not making progress.

Working with errors
The most important thing to realise about the mistakes which you make is that they are usually a sign of progress. Often, errors are a result of our trying to say something before we have learnt the necessary grammar or vocabulary. This ‘risk taking’ is a good way of learning because it makes us experiment with the language.

To learn from your mistakes, it is important to reflect on the error and what you know about English. You can then try to correct yourself.


Reflecting on errors
Each of the following sentences contains an error related to some of the work you have done in this booklet. Try to correct the errors.

1. My friend Jane is flying to Madrid at Saturday.
2. She might to visit the Prado art gallery when she is there.
3. She is interested by Spanish art and culture.
4. She also loves the weather there – there is no thick rain!
5. She had been to France last year.
6. She didn’t like the owners of her hotel there – they were very unpolite!
7. Next year, she goes to South America!

* Learning tip The most important thing to do when you are speaking is not to worry about making mistakes! Try to focus on what you want to say, not how you are saying it. Listeners are generally very tolerant of grammatical errors as long as your message is clear.

To help yourself learn from your mistakes, remember to ...

• proof read anything you write carefully. Check any written work twice – once to ‘hear’ how it sounds – can you improve the vocabulary you use? And a second time to check for grammatical errors.
• if you have a cassette recorder, you might like to have a conversation with a friend in English. Record your conversation, then listen. How could you improve what you said?
  

Learning task
There are nine errors in this paragraph. Find and correct them.

I find studying English very enjoying. At first, when I was began to learn, I have made many mistakes and I was scared to speaking in English. Now, however, it’s a lot of fun. I listen the radio every day and I do a note of some of the new words which I hear. Then I look them in my dictionary and try to use them the next day. In general, I find reading and grammar more easier than listening and speaking.The most difficult thing about English is speaking. I’d like to go to school to learn to speak English more fluent.