ni2 16-17/12/13

1. Comparing two things

You can use "a lot", "much", "a little", "slightly" and "far" before "more / less than":

"She's a lot more intelligent than him."
"This car is much faster than the other one."
"They are much less wealthy than they used to be."
"He's a little taller than his sister."
"She's slightly less interested in football than him.
"We are far more involved in charity than they are."

When you use these qualifying expressions in English, remember the rules about using -er. If the adjective is one syllable, or ends in -y, add -er:

"He's far taller than her." (NOT "He's far more taller…")
"I'm much lazier than you!"

When the adjective is two syllables and more, you need either "more" or "less":

"He's a little more prepared for the exam than she is." (NOT "He's a little prepareder…")

2. Saying how two things are similar.

You can use "almost as … as", "not quite as … as", "(not) nearly as … as", "nowhere near as … as", "twice as … as" and "half as … as" to change the extent of the similarity.

"She's almost as good as you!"
"He's not quite as confident as Susie."
"I'm not nearly as intelligent as her!"
"This painting is nowhere near as famous as the first."
"She's twice as old as him!
"He's half as interesting as you!"

ANOTHER EXPLANATION

Inequality: modifying with adverbs nearly, quite, nowhere near

When we want to show that there is a big or a small difference between the things being compared we can use the adverbs 'nearly', 'nowhere near' and 'quite'.

Emphasizing a big difference:

England isn't nearly as big as Russia.
England is nowhere near as big as Russia.
(Russia is much bigger than England.)

My shoes didn't cost nearly as much as yours.
My shoes cost nowhere near as much as yours.
(Your shoes cost much more than mine.)

There aren't nearly as many people here today as there were yesterday.
There are nowhere near as many people here today as there were yesterday.
(There were far more people here yesterday than there are today.)

Setting up a business isn't nearly such a complicated process now as it used to be.
Setting up a business is nowhere near such a complicated process now as it used to be.

(Setting up a business used to be a much more complicated process than it is now.)


Emphasizing a small difference:

My flat isn't quite as big as Jenny's.
(Jenny's flat is a little / a bit / slightly bigger than mine.)

The journey didn't take quite as long as it did last time.
(The journey took a little / a bit / slightly longer last time.)

It isn't quite such a nice restaurant as the one we used before.
(The restaurant we used before was a little / a bit / slightly nicer.)

Equality: adjectives, adverbs, quantity

We can use the as...as structure in a positive form to show that things are the same.

Adjectives
My cooking is as good as yours.
(The quality of my cooking is the same as yours.)

Adverbs
I can sing as well as you can.
(My ability to sing is the same as yours.)

Quantity
There are as many people here who can speak Chinese as English.
(The numbers of people here who can speak Chinese and English are the same.)

Equality: modifying with adverbs nearly and quite

When we use nearly and quite to modify positive as...as sentences, the meanings are different.

Small differences: nearly
With a positive as...as structure, 'nearly' shows a small difference

David is nearly as tall as Michael.
(Small difference: Michael is only a little taller than David.)

Compare this with the negative sentence:

David isn't nearly as tall as Michael.
(Big difference: Michael is much taller than David.)

Using 'quite' and 'just' for emphasis

If we want to emphasize that two things are the same, (for example, because the person we are speaking to may not accept what we are saying) we can use
'quite' and 'just':


A: You're a terrible tennis player!
B: I'm just as good as you!

This phone is quite as good as that one even if it does cost less.

…

My car has twice as much horsepower as yours.

It has twice as many megapixels as ours.

The lottery advert:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTgdG9jWxX8

And the original song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYeReAqfaRQ

necklace /ˈnekləs/

jewellery UK (jewelryn, at jewellery n US jewelry) /ˈdʒuːəlri/

bracelet /ˈbreɪslət/

Top:

CLOTHING [C] a piece of women's clothing worn on the upper part of the body

Stiletto /stɪˈletəʊ/ noun [C]

A shoe with a very high, pointed heel (= part at the bottom and back of a shoe)

A pair of stilettos

Plain:

NOT MIXED not mixed with other colours, substances, etc

A plain blue carpet

The upper / lower part of your body

Items or pieces of clothing /garments

Design or pattern

Material:

CLOTH [C, U] cloth for making clothes, curtains, etc.

Her dress was made of a soft, silky material.