II. Degrees of Comparison

The only pattern of morphological change is that of degrees of comparison. There are three grades of comparison: positive, comparative and superlative.

Some adverbs identical in form with adjectives take inflections following the same spelling and phonetic rules as for adjectives.

1) Single-syllable adverbs form degrees of comparison by means of the suffixes - er, - est: fast-faster-fastest, etc.

2) With other adverbs we put more, most before the positive form: quickly – more quickly – most quickly, etc.

Note 1: We use superlative adverbs with – est in a few common phrases. Examples are:

• The soonest I can send it is Friday.
• The earliest I can come is three o’clock.
• Bill ran (the) slowest of all and came last.

SOME, ANY, NO, NONE

Some	Any
In positive sentences with uncountable nouns or nouns in the plural · They bought some honey.	In negative sentences I haven’t got any matches. In expressions of doubt I don’t think there is any petrol in the tank.
In questions when we offer or ask for things (in requests) Would you like some wine?	In general questions Have you got any money?
Refers to certain members of a group or certain types of a thing, but not all of them (некоторые) Some people find this more difficult than others.	Refers to one of a number of things or people, when it doesn’t matter which one (любой/любые) Take any book you like.
Means “a large/small number or amount of smth” We’re going to be working together for some time. (= a long time) There is some hope that things will improve. (= little hope)	With “hardly, barely, scarcely, never, rarely, seldom, impossible, unlikely” I have hardly any spare time. With “without” when “without any…= with no….” He crossed the frontier without any difficulty/with no difficulty.
Refers to a person, place, thing or time that is not known or not identified There must be some mistake.	In conditional sentences after “if” If you need any more money, please let me know.
Used to emphasize an adjective or adverb in negative sentences or questions, meaning “at all” He wasn’t any good at French.
Not just any = used to show that smb/smth is special It isn’t just any day – it’s my birthday!

Note 1: Some/Any/No + thing/ body/ one/ where/ how

Note 2: Somebody, anybody, nobody, no one are singular words. After none you can use a singular or a plural verb. A plural verb is more usual.

· Someone is here to see you.

• Somebody is asking for you.
• Nobody has come except me.
• None were here.
• None of us understand it.
• None of the shops was open.

Note 3: We use “no + noun” but “none + no noun”

• She had no shoes on.
• There’s no train until tomorrow.

• Have we got any more sugar? - There’s none in the kitchen.
• How many children have you got? – None.

Note 4: We use no or none (of) instead of not a or not any to emphasize the negative idea in a sentence.

· There isn’t a key for this door. = There’s no key for this door.

• She didn’t have any of the typical symptoms of cholera. = She had none of the typical symptoms of cholera.

Note 5: When you use no/nothing/nobody etc., do not use a negative verb.

· I said nothing. (not “I didn’t say nothing.”)

Note 6: After nobody/no one/ someone/somebody/anyone/anybody you can use they/them/their (only in spoken English).

· Nobody phoned, did they?

• No one in the class did their homework.
• Someone has forgotten their umbrella.
• If anybody wants to leave early, they can.

(A) FEW, (A) LITTLE

Examples	Positive	Negative
(a) few (used with plural countable nouns)	I have got a few (несколько) close friends that I meet regularly. A few of her songs were popular and she was very well known.	He has few (мало) close friends and often feels lonely. Few of her songs were very popular and eventually she gave up her musical career.
(a) little (used with uncountable nouns)	I have to go now, I have a little (немного/некоторая) work to do. We had a little (немного, но достаточно) money left, so we went out for a meal.	There was little (мало) work to do, so I didn't earn much money. We decided to abandon our trip as we had little (мало, недостаточно) money left.

Note 1: In speech or informal writing, it is more usual to use not many/much or only a few/little instead of few and little, and we often use a bit of in informal speech instead of a little:

• I won't be long. I've only got a few things to get.
• Sorry I haven't finished, I haven't had much time today.
• Do you want a bit of chocolate? (rather than... a little chocolate?)

In more formal contexts, such as academic writing, we generally prefer few and little:

• The results take little account of personal preference. (rather than... don't take much...)

Note 2: We use less (than) with uncountable nouns and fewer (than) with plural countable nouns:

• You should have mixed less water with the paint.
• There seemed to be fewer lorries on the motorway today.

Note 3: When we talk about a distance or a sum of money we use less, not fewer:

• Barbara said the beach was twenty miles away, but I thought it was less than that.

Note 4: Notice that we use less than or fewer than with percentages:

• Less (or fewer) than 40 per cent of the electorate voted in the general election.

Note 5: We can use no fewer/less than when a quantity or amount is surprisingly large:

• The team has had no fewer than ten managers in just five years. (or... no less than...)

MUCH, MANY, A LOT OF, LOTS OF, PLENTY OF, etc.

Much (of)	Many (of)
1) are used to talk about quantities and amounts
with uncountable nouns many people with a singular countable noun to mean 'a large part of' Much of the national park was destroyed in the fire.	with plural nouns much milk
2) are used in negative sentences to emphasise that we are talking about small (or smaller than expected) quantities or amounts.
He didn't show much interest in what I said.	Not many of my friends knew I was getting married.
3) are used in questions to ask about quantities or amounts.
Have you got much homework to do?	How many questions could you answer?
4) usedin affirmative sentences after as, so,and too:
She gave me so much spaghetti, I couldn't eat it all.	I'd say there were twice as many women at the meeting as men.

Note 1: In affirmative sentenceswe often use a lot of, lots of, or plenty of to talk about large amounts and quantities, particularly in conversation and informal writing. Using much (of) often sounds a little formal, and many (of) is often very formal or inappropriate:

• Lots of her students went on to become teachers. ('many of ' is a little more formal)
• We had plenty of hotels to choose from. ('many hotels' is more formal)
• I've given the problem a lot of thought. ('much thought' is very formal)

However, in formal contexts, such as academic writing, much (of) and many (of) are often preferred, or phrases such as a great deal of or a large amount/number of:

• Much debate has been generated by Thornton's controversial paper.
• A great deal of the exhibition was devoted to his recent work. (or Much of...)
• A large amount of the food was inedible. (or Much of ...)

Note 2: We rarely use much and many without a noun at the end of affirmative sentences. Instead we use phrases such as a lot or lots:

• 'Have you got any small nails?' 'Yes, I've got a lot / lots.' (not... I've got many.)

But we can use much and many at the end of affirmative sentences after as, so, and too:

• Do you want some of the pudding? I've got too much.

Note 3: We often use plenty of instead of a lot of or lots of. However, plenty of means 'enough, or more than enough' and is therefore not likely in certain contexts. Compare:

• We took lots of food and drink on our walk through the hills. (or... plenty of...)
• Jim doesn't look well. He's lost a lot of weight. (' plenty of’ is unlikely here)

Note 4: Notice that we don't use plenty without of before a following noun:

• We've got plenty of time left. (not We've got plenty time left)

THE VERB

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