5. Superlative Adjectives.

A superlative adjective expresses the extreme or highest degree of a quality. We can use superlative adjectives when talking about three or more things (not two things).

As with comparative adjectives, there are two ways to form a superlative adjective:

• short adjectives: add "-est"

• long adjectives: use "most"

We also usually add 'the' at the beginning.

Short adjectives
1-syllable adjectives	old → the oldest late → the latest big → the biggest
2-syllable adjectives ending in -y	happy → the happiest easy → the easiest
Long adjectives
2-syllable adjectives not ending in -y	modern → the most modern
all adjectives of 3 or more syllables	expensive → the most expensive

  With some 2-syllable adjectives, we can use '-est' or 'most':

• quiet → the quietest/most quiet

• clever → the cleverest/most clever

• narrow → the narrowest/most narrow

• simple → the simplest/most simple

Exception: The following adjectives have irregular forms:

• good → the best

• bad → the worst

• far → the furthest

We use a superlative adjective to describe one thing in a group of three or more things:

Canada, China and Russia are big countries. But Russia is the biggest.

Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world.

When we compare one thing with itself, we do not use "the":

England is coldest in winter. (not the coldest)

My boss is most generous when we get a big order. (not the most generous)

LECTURE 7: THE ADVERB

An adverb is a word that tells us more about a verb. They usually answer questions such as how?, where?, when?, how often? and how much? It "qualifies" or "modifies" a verb, an adjective, an adverb, a whole sentence or a prepositional phrase:

Mary lives locally. (Where does Mary live?)

He is really handsome. (How handsome is he?)

She drives incredibly slowly. (How slowly does she drive?)

Obviously, I can't know everything.

It's immediately inside the door.

1. Adverb Form

We make many adverbs by adding -ly to an adjective, for example:

• quick (adjective) > quickly (adverb)

• careful (adjective) > carefully (adverb)

• beautiful (adjective) > beautifully (adverb)

But not all words that end in -ly are adverbs. The words friendly, lovely, lonely and neighbourly, for example, are all adjectives.

And some adverbs have no particular form: well, fast, very, never, always, often, still.

2. Kinds of Adverbs

1) Adverbs of Manner tell us the manner or way in which something happens. They answer the question "how?" Adverbs of Manner mainly modify verbs.

They helped us cheerfully. (How did they help us?)

We normally use Adverbs of Manner with dynamic (action) verbs, not with stative or state verbs:

He ran fast. She came quickly. They worked happily.

2) Adverbs of Place tell us the place where something happens. They answer the question "where?". Adverbs of Place mainly modify verbs:

They looked everywhere. (Where did they look?)

Two cars were parked outside. (Where were two cars parked?)

3) Adverbs of Time tell us something about the time that something happens. Adverbs of Time mainly modify verbs. They can answer the question "when?" or "how often?":

He came yesterday. (When did he come?)

We sometimes watch a movie. (How often do we watch a movie?)

4) Adverbs of Degree tell us the degree or extent to which something happens. They answer the question "how much?" or "to what degree?". Adverbs of Degree can modify verbs, adjectives and other adverbs:

She entirely agrees with him. (How much does she agree with him?)

Mary is very beautiful. (To what degree is Mary beautiful?)

The position of an adverb often depends on the kind of adverb (manner, place, time, degree).

When an adverb modifies a verb, there are usually 3 possible positions within the sentence or clause:

1. FRONT - before subject		Tomorrow	I will read a book.
2. MID - between subject + verb	I	often	read books.
3. END - after verb/object	I read books	carefully.