Living English Episode 9: The most beautiful city
They have lunch and talk about differences. Adjectives are words we use to describe things.
STEVE
So Anne, have you been to an Australian home before?
ANNE
No, never. It’s a beautiful home Sarah. So big! The rooms are much bigger than at home. There’s more space here.
STEVE
Do you live in a house?
MARK
No Steve – she lives in an igloo.
ANNE
Actually, no. We live in an apartment. Most people do. Singapore is much busier than Adelaide, and more crowded.
STEVE
Yeah, and more exciting. It’s so boring here.
SARAH
It’s quieter. Some people like that.
ANNE
I don’t think it’s boring.
MARK
Adelaide is a very beautiful city. It’s a better place to live than anywhere else I’ve been.
SARAH
But you haven’t been anywhere. (to ANNE) Mark hates travelling. I love it.
MARK
I just don’t see the point of it.
ANNE
What about you Steve? Do you like to travel?
STEVE
Yes. Yeah, I’ve been to Kula Lumpur, and to Bali. Bali’s great!
LOUISE
I’ve been to the zoo!
They laugh. ANNE smiles
ANNE
You’re lucky. I haven’t been to the zoo. I’d love to go to the zoo.
STEVE
I’ll take you!
There are raised eyebrows at the table.
| 1. COMPARING TWO THINGS | |||
| Adjectives are words we use to describe things. This is a small dog. The adjective is small. It describes the dog. | |||
| When we are comparing two things we use a comparative adjective. This is formed by addinger to the adjective. This dog is smaller than that one. | |||
| ANNE It’s a beautiful home Sarah. So big! The rooms are much bigger than at home. | |||
| If an adjective ends in e, just add r. large / larger Your house is larger than mine.
Adjectives which end in a single consonant, double that consonant before adding er.
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| For words with three or more syllables, and some words with two syllables, add more before the adjective. beautiful / more beautiful She is more beautiful than her sister. crowded / more crowded Sydney is more crowded than Melbourne. | |||
| ANNE Singapore is much busier than Adelaide, and more crowded.
STEVE | |||
| Notice that we add the word than after the adjective when comparing two things. This book is more interesting than that one. | |||
| ANNE The rooms are much bigger than at home. | |||
| Two comparative adjectives are irregular. They are very common words. good / better Your exam results this year are better than mine. bad / worse My results are worse than yours. | |||
| MARK Adelaide is a very beautiful city. It’s a better place to live than anywhere else I’ve been. | |||
| 2. LIKING / NOT LIKING | |||
| We use like and love to describe things positively. You can say that you like something or somebody. I like dogs. I like Josie. | |||
| To say this more strongly, we can add very much or really. I like dogs very much. I really like Josie. | |||
| Or to say it even more strongly, we can use love. I love dogs. I love Josie very much. | |||
| We can also say that we like, or love doing things. I like swimming. I love going to the beach. | |||
| The opposite is not liking. We say don’t like. I don’t like John. | |||
| To make this less blunt, we can use very much. I don’t like John very much. To make a very strong statement we use hate. I hate dogs.
This is a very strong statement, and you need to be careful when using the word hate in case you offend someone. | |||
| You can also use don’t like and hate with verbs. I don’t like travelling. I hate running. | |||
| SARAH Mark hates travelling. I love it. | |||
| 3. WOULD LIKE TO | |||
| You can use the expression would like (or love) to to talk about things you want to do. I would like to go to Japan. I would love to see an elephant. | |||
| Usually we say and write I’d for I would. I’d love to go to Japan. | |||
| |||
| ANNE I’d love to go to the zoo. | |||
| The opposite is would not, which is shortened to wouldn’t. |