Comparatives

Objective & content

This grammar sheet teaches comparative adjectives with than: short adjectives with -er (colder, faster), the spelling of bigger, busier and nicer, more with long adjectives (more beautiful, more dangerous) and the irregular better and worse. Pupils read a video call in which Imani and her friend Rhys compare Leeds and Rhys's new village by the sea, find the missing words and read the rule, given in a box. By the end, they can compare two people, places, animals or things.

Pedagogical guide

Page 1 is the video call, with a picture of Imani and of Rhys: Leeds is bigger and busier, the village is colder but quieter, and Rhys has a horse called Bramble. Pupils find nine missing words in sentences from the call. Page 2 has the rule, given in a box in short lines with the key words in bold: -er, the last letter written two times (bigger, hotter), y to -ier (busier), only -r after e (nicer), more with long adjectives, better, worse and than. Then come eight pairs of sentences where pupils tick the right one (the wrong one has a typical mistake, such as more small, more bigger or that for than), and eleven sentences to complete with the adjective in brackets in the right form, with attention to spelling. Page 3 has seven pairs of facts (heights, prices, temperatures, marks, speeds) to turn into one sentence with the adjective in brackets, then the final task: eight pairs of pictures, each with an adjective (a zebra and a giraffe, a mouse and an elephant, a village and London...), to compare in one sentence. Every exercise opens with a worked example. The sheet always compares two things: there are no superlatives.

Suggested procedure

1. (5 min) Hold up two books and say "This book is bigger than this book." Ask pupils to compare two other things in the classroom.
2. (10 min) Read the video call aloud; pupils find the missing words.
3. (5 min) Read the rule in the box with the class; pupils find an example of each line in the text.
4. (10 min) Page 2: pupils tick the right sentences, then write the adjectives in the right form.
5. (10 min) Page 3: pupils turn the facts into sentences.
6. (5 min) Final task: pupils compare the pairs of pictures.
7. (5 min) Check with the answer key on page 4.

Adaptations

[S] Pupils read the video call aloud in pairs, one as Imani and one as Rhys, before the tasks.

[A] Pupils write three sentences comparing their town with a town they know.

Materials & prerequisites

One copy of pages 1 to 3 per pupil. Page 4 is the answer key and teacher notes: keep it. In the final task, the key also accepts plurals (Giraffes are taller than zebras.) and short forms. Pupils need be in the present simple and common adjectives (big, small, hot, cold, fast, slow), with the words for places, the weather and animals. To take it further, play "Who am I?": a pupil thinks of an animal and answers questions like "Is it bigger than a cat?" with yes or no.