b. You would think it was her native language.
c. We spent the whole day indoors.
d. She made herself ill.
e. I couldn't keep my eyes open.
f. I didn't eat anything else for the rest of the day.
g. We decided to go to the beach.
h. I don't know where to begin.
I. We didn't want to come home.
1. _She worked so hard she made herself ill._
2. It was, such a beautiful day we decided to go to the beach._
3. I was ---.
4. ---.
5. ---.
6. ---.
7. ---.
8. ---.
9. ---.
101.3 Use your own ideas to complete these pairs of sentences.
1. a. We enjoyed our holiday. It was so _relaxing._
b. We enjoyed our holiday. We had such _a good time._
2 a. I don't like London very much. It's so ---.
b. I don't like London very much. It's such ---.
3. a. I like Ann. She's so ---.
b. I like Ann. She's such ---.
4. a. I wouldn't like to be a teacher. It's so ---.
b. I wouldn't like to be a teacher. It's such ---.
5. a. It's great to see you again! I haven't seen you for so ---.
b. It's great to see you again! I haven't seen you for such ---.
UNIT 102 Enough and too
A. The position of enough
Enough goes after adjectives and adverbs:
* He didn't get the job because he wasn't experienced enough. (not 'enough experienced')
* You won't pass the examination if you don't work hard enough.
* She shouldn't get married yet. She's not old enough.
The opposite is too. (too hard/too old etc.):
* You never stop working. You work too hard. Enough normally goes before nouns:
* He didn't get the job because he didn't have enough experience. (not 'experience enough')
* I'd like to go away on holiday but I haven't got enough money.
* Some of us had to sit on the floor because there weren't enough chairs.
You can also use enough alone (without a noun):
* I'll lend you some money if you haven't got enough.
The opposite is too much.../too many ...:
* We can't go away on holiday. It costs too much (money).
* There are too many people and not enough chairs.
B. We say enough/too ... for (somebody/something):
* I haven't got enough money for a holiday.
* He wasn't experienced enough for the job.
* This shirt is too big for me. I need a smaller size.
But we usually say enough/too ... to do something (not 'for doing'). So we say:
enough money to buy something, too young to do something etc.
For example:
* I haven't got enough money to go on holiday. (not 'for going')
* He wasn't experienced enough to do the job.
* She's not old enough to get married. or She's too young to get married.
* Let's get a taxi. It's too far to walk home from here.
* There weren't enough chairs for everyone to sit down.
* They spoke too quickly for us to understand.
C. We say:
The food was very hot. We couldn't eat it.
and: The food was so hot that we couldn't eat it.
but: The food was too hot to eat. (without 'it')
Some more examples like this:
* The wallet was too big to put in my pocket. (not 'too big to put it')
* These boxes are too heavy to carry. (not 'too heavy to carry them')
* The water wasn't clean enough to swim in.
EXERCISES
102.1 Complete these sentences using enough with one of the following adjectives or nouns:
adjectives: big old warm well,
nouns: cups milk money qualifications room time
1. She shouldn't get married yet. She's not _old enough._
2. I'd like to buy a car but I haven't got ---.
3. Have you got --- in your tea or would you like some more?
4. Are you ---? Or shall I switch on the heating?
5. It's only a small car. There isn't --- for all of you.
6. Steve didn't feel --- to go to work this morning.
7. 1 didn't answer all the questions in the exam. I didn't have ---.
8. Do you think I've got --- to apply for the job?
9. Try this jacket on and see if it's --- for you.
10. There weren't --- for everybody to have coffee at the same time.
102.2 Complete the answers to the questions. Use too or enough with the word in brackets.
1. Is she going to get married?
(old) No, she's not _old enough to get married._
2. I need to talk to you about something.
(busy) Well, I'm afraid I'm --- to you now.
3. Let's go to the cinema.
(late) No, it's --- to the cinema.
4. Why don't we sit in the garden?
(warm) It's not --- in the garden.
5. Would you like to be a politician?
(nice) No, I'm --- a politician.
6. Do you want to play tennis today?
(energy) No, I haven't got --- tennis today.
7. Did you hear what he was saying?
(far away) No, we were --- what he was saying.
8. Can he read a newspaper in English?
(English) No, he doesn't know --- a newspaper.
102.3 Make one sentence from two. Complete the new sentence using too or enough.
1. We couldn't cat the food. It was too hot. _The food was, too hot to eat._
2. I can't drink this coffee. It's too hot. This coffee is ---.
3. Nobody could move the piano. It was too heavy.
The piano ---.
4. I don't wear this coat in winter. It isn't warm enough.
This coat ---
5. I can't explain the situation. It is too complicated.
The situation ---.
6. Three people can't sit on this sofa. It isn't wide enough.
This sofa ---.
7. We couldn't climb over the wall. It was too high.
The wall ---.
8. You can't see some things without a microscope, They are too small.
Some ---.
UNIT 103 Quite and rather
A. Quite = less than 'very' but more than 'a little':
* I'm surprised you haven't heard of her. She's quite famous. (= less than 'very famous' but more than 'a little famous')
* It's quite cold. You'd better wear your coat.
* Lucy lives quite near me, so we see each other quite often.
Quite goes before a/an:
quite a nice day (not 'a quite nice day'), quite an old house, quite a long way
Sometimes we use quite + noun (without an adjective):
* I didn't expect to see them. It was quite a surprise.
We also use quite with some verbs, especially like and enjoy:
* I quite like tennis but it's not my favourite sport.
Quite sometimes means 'completely'. See Section C.
B. Rather is similar to quite. We use rather mainly with negative words and negative ideas:
* It's rather cold. You'd better wear your coat.
* 'What was the examination like?' 'Rather difficult, I'm afraid.'
* Let's get a taxi. It's rather a long way to walk.
Quite is also possible in these examples.
Often we use quite with a positive idea and rather with a negative idea:
* She's quite intelligent but rather lazy.
When we use rather with positive words (nice/interesting etc.), it means 'unusually' or
'surprisingly'. For example, rather nice = unusually nice/surprisingly nice/nicer than expected:
* These oranges are rather nice. Where did you get them?
* Ann didn't like the book but I thought it was rather interesting. (=more interesting than expected)
Rather can go before or after a/an. So you can say:
a rather interesting book or rather an interesting book
C. Quite also means 'completely'. For example:
* 'Are you sure?' 'Yes, quite sure.' (= completely sure)
Quite means 'completely' with a number of adjectives, especially:
[sure, right, true, clear, different, incredible, amazing, certain, wrong, safe, obvious, unnecessary, extraordinary, impossible]
* She was quite different from what I expected. (= completely different)
* Everything they said was quite true. (= completely true)
We also use quite (='completely') with some verbs. For example:
* I quite agree with you. (= I completely agree) Not quite = 'not completely':
* They haven't quite finished their dinner yet.
* I don't quite understand what you mean.
* 'Are you ready yet?' 'Not quite.' (= not completely)
EXERCISES
103.1 Complete the sentences using quite + one of the following:
a busy day a good voice a nice time a lot of mistakes a nice day a long way a strong wind a frightening experience
1. The weather was better than we had expected. It was _quite a nice day._
2. Tom often sings. He's got ---.
3. The bus stop wasn't very near the hotel. We had to walk ---.
4. I'm tired. I've had ---.
5. Our holiday was OK. We had ---.
6. It's warm today but there's ---.
7. 1 hope that never happens again. It was ---.
8. She speaks English fluently but she makes ---.
103.2 Complete these sentences using the words in brackets. Each time use quite with the positive word and rather with the negative word.
1. She's _quite intelligent_ but _rather lazy._ (intelligent/lazy)
2. The car goes --- but it's ---. (well/noisy)
3. The programme was --- but ---. (long/interesting)
4. George is --- but he's ---. (a hard worker/slow)
5. I was --- with the hotel but Jim was ---. (disappointed/pleased)
6. It's --- job but it's --- work. (a well-paid/hard)
7. Sarah lives --- us but it's --- to get to her house. (near/difficult)
103.3 What does quite mean in these sentences? Tick (V) the right meaning.
(more than a little, less than very (Section A)), (completely (Section C))
1. It's _quite cold._ You'd better wear your coat.
2. 'Are you sure?' 'Yes, _quite sure._'
3. Maria's English is _quite good._ ( ), ( )
4. I couldn't believe it. It was _quite incredible._
5. The people I work with are _quite friendly._
6. My bedroom is _quite big._
7. You're _quite right._
103.4 Complete these sentences using quite with one of the following:
amazing different impossible right safe sure unnecessary true
1. I didn't believe her at first, but in fact what she said was _quite true._
2. You won't fall. The ladder is ---.
3. I'm afraid I can't do what you ask. It's ---.
4. I couldn't agree with you more. You are ---.
5. You can't compare the two things. They are ---.
6. You needn't have done that. It was ---.
7. 1 think I saw them go out but I'm not ---.
8. I couldn't believe what had happened. It was ---.
UNIT 104 Comparison (1)--cheaper, more expensive etc.
A. Look at these examples:
How shall we travel? By car or by train?
Let's go by car. It's cheaper.
Don't go by train. It's more expensive.
Cheaper and more expensive are comparative forms.
After comparatives you can use than (see also Unit 106):
* It's cheaper to go by car than by train.
* Going by train is more expensive than going by car.
B. The comparative form is ~er or more ...
We use ~er for short words (one syllable):
cheap -> cheaper, fast-> faster, large -> larger, thin -> thinner
We also use ~er for two-syllable words that end in -y (-y -> -ier):
lucky -> luckier, early -> earlier, easy -> easier, pretty -> prettier
For spelling, see Appendix 6.
Compare these examples:
* You're older than me.
* The exam was quite easy - easier than we expected.
* Can you walk a bit faster?
* I'd like to have a bigger car.
* Last night I went to bed earlier than usual.
We use more... for longer words (two syllables or more):
more modern, more serious, more expensive, more comfortable
We use more... for adverbs that end in -1y:
more slowly, more seriously, more quietly, more carefully
Also: more often
but: earlier (not 'more early')
* You're more patient than me.
* The exam was quite difficult - more difficult than we expected.
* Can you walk a bit more slowly?
* I'd like to have a more reliable car.
* 1 don't play tennis much these days. I used to play more often.
You can use ~er or more... with some two-syllable adjectives, especially:
quiet, clever, narrow, shallow, simple
* It's too noisy here. Can we go somewhere quieter/more quiet?
C. These adjectives and adverbs have irregular comparative forms:
good/well -> better:
* The garden looks better since you tidied it up.
* I know him well - probably better than anybody else.
bad/badly -> worse:
* 'Is your headache better?' 'No, it's worse.'
* He did very badly in the exam - worse than expected.
far --> further (or farther):
* It's a long walk from here to the station - further than I thought.(or ...farther than...) Further (but not 'farther') can also mean 'more' or 'additional':
* Let me know if you hear any further news. (= any more news)
EXERCISES
104.1 Complete the sentences using a comparative form (older/more important etc.).
1. It's too noisy here. Can we go somewhere _quieter?_
2. This coffee is very weak. I like it a bit ---.
3. The hotel was surprisingly big. I expected it to be ---.
4. The hotel was surprisingly cheap. I expected it to be ---.
5. The weather is too cold in this country. I'd like to live somewhere ---.
6. My job is a bit boring sometimes. I'd like to do something ---.
7. 1 was surprised how easy it was to use the computer. I thought it would be ---.
8. Your work isn't very good. I'm sure you can do ---.
9. Don't worry. The situation isn't so bad. It could be ---.
10. 1 was surprised we got here so quickly. I expected the journey to take ---.
11. You're talking very loudly. Can you speak a bit ---.
12. You hardly ever phone me. Why don't you phone me ---.
13. You're standing too near the camera. Can you move a bit --- away?
14. You were a bit depressed yesterday but you look --- today.
104.2 Complete the sentences. Each time use the comparative form of one of the words in the list. Use than where necessary.
big crowded early easily high important interested peaceful reliable serious simple thin
1. I was feeling tired last night, so I went to bed _earlier than_ usual.
2. I'd like to have a _more reliable_ car. The one I've got keeps breaking down.
3. Unfortunately her illness was --- we thought at first.
4. You look --- Have you lost weight?
5. I want a --- flat. We don't have enough space here.
6. He doesn't study very hard. He's --- in having a good time.
7. Health and happiness are --- money.
8. The instructions were very complicated. They could have been ---.
9. There were a lot of people on the bus. It was --- usual.
10. I like living in the countryside. It's --- living in a town.
11. You'll find your way around the town --- if you have a good map.
12. In some parts of the country, prices are --- in others.
104.3 Read the situations and complete the sentences. Use a comparative form (~er or more ...).
1. Yesterday the temperature was nine degrees. Today it's only six degrees.
_It's colder today than it was yesterday._
2. The journey takes four hours by car and five hours by train.
It takes ---.
3. Dave and I went for a run. I ran ten kilometres. Dave stopped after eight kilometres.
I ran ---.
4. Chris and Joe both did badly in the exam. Chris got 20 % but Joe only got 15 %.
Joe did ---.
5. I expected my friends to arrive at about 4 o'clock. In fact they arrived at 2.30.
My friends ---.
6. You can go by bus or by train. The buses run every 30 minutes. The trains run every hour.
The buses ---.
7. We were very busy at work today. We're not usually as busy as that.
We ---.
UNIT 105 Comparison (2)
A. Before comparatives you can use:
much, a lot, far (=a lot), a bit, a little, slightly (= a little)
* Let's go by car. It's much cheaper. (or It's a lot cheaper.)
* Don't go by train. It's a lot more expensive. (or It's much more expensive.)
* Could you speak a bit more slowly? (or ... speak a little more slowly?)
* This bag is slightly heavier than the other one.