Comparative & Superlative Forms

Katie Subra, English Language FellowMinsk State Linguistic University

My Hometown – Byron, Minnesota

Byron – Then and now

I used to live in a small city called Byron, situated in the southeast corner of Minnesota state. When I was going to school there, the population was only 3500, but since that time it has reached nearly 5000 people! As a young girl, I was well aware that my city was primarily a sleepy farming community. As the years go on, more and more people are moving to Byron because of this peaceful setting, but they are often doctors, nurses, and computer programmers working in the nearby city of Rochester.

The mascot has always been a bear. The town used to be called Bear Grove.

When I went to school there, the tallest building was the grain elevator.

The industry and purpose of settlement has changed somewhat.

New buildings have been constructed to accommodate a growing population. The high school was built after I left.

New entertainment has been created as well…

Curricular and Extra-curricular

When I was a student, I used to participate in a lot of extracurricular activities such as band, choir, speech team, track and field, and private music classes. I think students there are participating in more activities than ever before! It is surprising to learn about how much more technology the teachers are using there today as well.

Looking forward

I still enjoy many of the same activities that I did when I was living in Byron, but now I seem to have less time to do those activities. Despite this fact, I disagree when people ask me if my time in Byron was the best time of my life. It is hard to beat the feeling of meeting new people in new places. The older I get, the more I appreciate my time that was spent in Byron and the more I want to visit new places too.

Comparing places

Can you name some of the things that I used to do in Byron? Can you describe what Byron used to be like?

What do you think was the best thing about growing up in such a small city?

What could be the worst thing about it?Is living in a small city better or worse

than living in a big city? Why?

Comparative Forms

noun + Be + Adj + -er + than + nounEx: Byron is smaller than Rochester.

noun + Be + more + Adj + than + nounEx: Byron is more peaceful than Rochester.

What is the difference between those two statements?

Superlative Forms

noun + Be + the + Adj + -est (+ noun)Ex: Byron is not the smallest city in MN.noun + Be + the + most/least + Adj Ex: Byron is the least expensive place to

live.

Again, what is the difference between those two statements?

Can you share more examples?

Shocking Reflections about U.S. Culture from outsider's P.O.V.

1. Rakib Islam I am originally from Bangladesh and here are a few things that I find hard to explain to peeps back home:

Fruits and vegetables are way more expensive than meat and poultry.

That, generally speaking, the poor are more obese than the rich.

A lot of couples adopt children, sometimes in spite of having their own.

By and large, people do not carry cash.A name as common and as easy to pronounce as

mine is almost invariably incomprehensible to most Americans.

Practice

Can you read about another person's shocking reflections about life in the U.S. and make a either a comparative statement or a superlative statement about it?

You may compare the U.S. to the country that the writer is from or to Belarus.

Ex: Rakib said that fruits and vegetables are more expensive than meat in the U.S. He suggests that meat is the most expensive in Bangladesh. In Belarus…

"Hungry Planet: What the World Eats" – Photos by P. Menzel (Australia)

Guatemala

U.S. - California

India

Great Britain

Poland