Keeping-track4

c off

fire = lay off; end = break off; cancel = call off; postpone = put off

d up

rise = go up; raise = put up; arrange = fix up; develop = build up

e down

reduce = cut down; relax = calm down; reject = turn down; decrease = go down

Grammar: Comparatives and superlatives

1 clever 1, hot 3, dirty 4, helpful 5, hard 1, heavy 4, high 1, global 5, bad 6, wealthy 4, easy 4, rich 1, sad 3, thin 3, fat 3, late 2, effective 5, reliable 5

One- and two-syllable adjectives tend to take the -er and -est endings, sometimes with changes of spelling. Three-syllable adjectives use more and most to form the comparative and superlative.

3 a world’s highest b much better c a lot more d little safer e even worse f by far the lowest g compared with h 10% longer i twice as likely j one of the best k Half as many l significantly happier m as famous as n a little more

Phrase bank – checking understanding

a … didn’t her?

b … didn’t understand?

c … understood differently.

The effect of using the words in brackets is to make the expression less direct.