Revise the following sources before doing the tasks given in this section:
В. Л. Каушанская и др. Грамматика английского языка, М. изд. Просвещение, 1987, стр. 47-51; 204-205
Гордон Е.М. и Крылова И.П. Грамматика современного английского языка, М. Высш. школа, 1980, стр. 261-268; 305-311
Н.А. Кобрина и др, Грамматика английского языка, М. изд. Просвещение, 1985, стр. 215-225; 269-272
*TASK 1. Underline the right forms in these sentences. Mind that in some cases both forms are right.
1. I bought the (last/ latest) edition of today’s paper.
2. My house is much (father/ further) than yours along the road.
3. Who is the (oldest/ eldest) in this class?
4. Your driving is (worse/ worst) than mine.
5. It's the (less/ lesser) of two evils.
6. Have you heard the (last/ latest) news?
7. We have no (further/ farther) information.
8. Jane Somers, (the last/ latest) Booker Prize winner, writes (good/well).
9. The dying man’s (latest/ last) words were: 'This is the end'.
10. This is the town's (oldest/ eldest) house.
11. My flat is (less/ smaller) than yours.
12. I've got (less/ lesser) time than you.
13. Jane is 5 years (older/ elder) than I am.
14. This dress is the (more/ most) expensive of the two.
15. His English is (the best/ better) of the four candidates.
16. It's the (better/best) alternative.
17. It's the (furthest/farthest) point west.
18. This oak is the (oldest/eldest) tree in the park.
19. There are five sisters in out family. Telma is my (elder/older) sister.
20. It’s not fair! I've got the (least/less)! And you've got the (more/most)!
*TASK 2. Revision: adjectives and adverbs. Put in the right forms. Alternatives are possible.
THE CHAMP
Two men were sitting at the bar. The one __________ (near) to me was the
__________ (big) and __________ (strong) man I have ever seen. The one __________ (far) from me was __________ (small/little) and __________ (weak). They were having the __________ (violent) argument I had ever heard. Suddenly the little man said. 'It's a case of the (small) __________ brain in the world fitted into the __________ (big) head!' They were his __________ (late) words. The little man didn't know what hit him as he fell to the floor. 'When Shortie wakes up, tell him that was my __________ (good) Karate chop,' the big man told the barman as he left. The next evening, King Karate was at the bar as usual when Shortie crept in quietly, swung his arm and the champ fell to the floor. 'When King Karate wakes up,' Shortie said, tell him it was my __________ (old) Land Rover starting handle.'
*TASK 3. Make up compound adjectives of measurement. Follow the example.
Example. a man who is twenty years old - a twenty-year-old man
NOTE: Don’t confuse compound adjectives of measurement with the use of possessive case in time references and money’s worth, compare:
Compound adjectives of measurement
Time references and money’s worth
a four-hour meeting
a two-day conference
a six-foot hole
a $50 dress; a $90,000 house
a ten-minute walk; a three-hour journey
a five-kilo bag of flour
a third-floor flat
a day’s work
an hour’s delay
a two months’ salary
today’s TV programs
a two days’ journey
twenty dollars’ worth of gasoline
a week or two’s time
1. a building that is three years old
2. a farm that has fifty acres
3. a car whose fuel tank can contain two litres of fuel
4. a meeting that lasts four hours
5. a ruler which length is 30 centimetres
6. a hole which is six metres deep
7. a dress that costs 50 dollars
8. a walk that lasts 10 minutes
9. a bag that weighs 20 kilos
10. an office-block that costs two million pounds
11. a woman who is seventy years old
12. a conference that lasts two days
13. a park that is eighty hectares
14. a journey that takes three days
15. a baby who weighs five kilos
16. an engine that is three litres
17. a note for fifty pounds
18. a fence that is twenty miles
19. a tunnel that is fifty kilometres
20. a bicycle that has five speeds
*TASK 4. Change the words in brackets to fill the spaces.