Ep 254:Comparisons Made Easy: Speak English Like a Native!

In this episode of Englishway RD, host Thomas simplifies the art of making comparisons in English, helping you speak fluently and naturally like a native. Learn the essential structures, key phrases, and common mistakes to avoid in order to improve your English. With practical exercises and tips, you'll gain confidence in using comparatives and superlatives, expressing degrees of difference, and mastering the 'as...as' structure. Perfect for English learners looking to enhance their speaking skills and sound more native. Tune in and take your English to the next level!

Ep 236: Domina las comparaciones en inglés: ¡No te comas la cabeza, compara con cabeza!

EP 46: Domina el Comparativo y el Superlativo en Inglés!

Transcript

Hello, everyone. Welcome back to English way. Everyday I'm your host Thomas and today we are diving into a topic that can really boost your fluency in English making comparisons.

00:00:39

We've previously discussed this topic, however we did it in Spanish, so I'm going to leave on the notes of the episode. The link to that episode, in case that you want.

00:00:49

To check it out.

00:00:51

Now understanding how to make comparisons correctly will make your speech sound more fluent and natural. We'll cover key phrases, structures, and common mistakes to avoid. So grab a pen and paper and let's get started.

00:01:07

Let's start with the basics. When we compare things in English, we often use adjectives. There are two main type of comparisons, comparatives and superlatives.

00:01:21

Comparatives are used when comparing two things. We usually add ER to the end of the adjectives or use more before the adjective for example

00:01:34

Example

00:01:35

This book is bigger than that one.

00:01:40

This book is bigger than that one. If you notice, we double the G and at ER.

00:01:48

Another example is she's more intelligent than her brother.

00:01:53

She's more intelligent than her brother.

00:01:58

Superlatives are used to show that something has the highest degree of quality among three or more things. We typically add EST to the adjectives or use the most before the adjectives, for example.

00:02:17

He is the tallest in the class.

00:02:21

He is the tallest in the class.

00:02:25

If you notice, we add EST to tall.

00:02:28

This is the most beautiful painting in the gallery.

00:02:33

This is the most beautiful painting in the gallery.

00:02:38

Now let's talk about expressing equality using the structure as as.

00:02:46

This is very useful when you want to say that two things are equal in some way, for example.

00:02:55

She is as tall as her sister. She is as tall as her sister, meaning that they have kind of the same height.

00:03:07

This car is as fast as that one. This car is as fast as that one, meaning that they are equally fast or very close in speed.

00:03:20

When you use as as you are saying that two things being compared have the same level of the adjectives, meaning they are kind of at the same level.

00:03:35

Now let's talk about expressing degrees of difference.

00:03:39

To add nuance to your comparisons, you can use phrases like mush a little slightly.

00:03:47

And far these help you express different degrees of difference, for example.

00:03:54

This coffee is much better than the one we had yesterday. This coffee is much better than the one that we had yesterday.

00:04:05

Her new job is slightly worse than her old.

00:04:08

1.

00:04:10

Her new job is slightly worse than her old one. Using these modifiers can make your comparisons more precise and expressive now.

00:04:22

Let's go over some common mistakes people make when using comparisons.

00:04:28

Let's start with incorrect adjective forms.

00:04:31

A frequent error is using incorrect forms of adjectives. For example, saying more better instead of just better. That's very common. That's a mistake that we that are learning English.

00:04:48

Frequently made and I have seen it even in those that.

00:04:54

Speak that have been speaking English for quite some time, so let's pay close attention to this because it sounds very unnatural and weird, and it kind of throws you off when you listen to someone using more better.

00:05:12

For example, very common example is this movie is more better than the last one. This movie is more better than the last one. That's totally incorrect. The correct way to say it is this movie is better than the last one.

00:05:32

This movie is better than the last one.

00:05:36

Now another common mistake is using double competitives or superlatives. That's something very common.

00:05:44

Well.

00:05:45

How does that sound like this? He's the most tallest person here. He is the most tallest person here. That's quite incorrect. The the correct way to say it is he's the tallest person here. He's the tallest person here. So.

00:06:05

Let's be careful and watch out for those double competitives or superlatives.

00:06:10

Now let's put in practice what we have learned.

00:06:14

Today.

00:06:15

Here are some exercises that you can try. So first is daily comparisons.

00:06:22

Compare objects, people or situations you encounter daily. For example, compare the weather today to yesterday or compared to different books you have read.

00:06:35

Books will be a little.

00:06:37

Bit more complex, so I would recommend you to go with more dealing situations like the weather or why you felt like your feelings yesterday and today or how was work or how was school.

00:06:51

Another way to practice is to use prompt practice. What is that? Well, use prompts to practice making comparisons.

00:07:02

For example, compare your hometown to another.

00:07:06

City you have visited.

00:07:08

An example would be my hometown is smaller than the city I visited last summer, or my hometown is bigger than the city I visited.

00:07:20

Last year.

00:07:22

Try to incorporate these comparison exercises into your daily routine to get more comfortable with them. And of course to be more proficient to become more proficient the more you said.

00:07:36

Now this is not all I.

00:07:37

Have more tips for you guys that want to improve on your English, especially when it comes to using comparisons.

00:07:45

Record yourself. I know I have said this in many other podcasts, but try recording yourself making comparisons and then listen to the recordings to spot any mistakes. I do it. I know I do it because I listen. I record protest, but I do it because I want to know.

00:08:05

How my?

00:08:06

Speech is going how pretty much is speaking and that way I can spot my mistakes. I don't only do it because I record podcast, I also do it all my meetings with my bosses at work or whenever we have a meeting that we are that we need to record.

00:08:25

I record the meeting and then I listen to the recording.

00:08:29

And I go specifically to the part that I need to explain something or that I'm participating so I can listen to the way I speak and the way I was explaining something, this this helped me to pretty much spot those mistakes and correct them for my next meeting.

00:08:48

Also, something that you can do is language exchange.

00:08:51

Change partner with a friend or join to a language exchange group where you can practice making comparisons with others. Nowadays that's very easy to do, guys. It's all you gotta do is just go into the Internet and find one of those groups. There are many. We have a WhatsApp group that you can join and then there you can find.

00:09:11

A language exchange partner.

00:09:13

Also you can use flash cards. Create flash cards with adjectives and their competitive and superlative forms to help you memorize them.

00:09:25

That brings us to the end of today's episode. We hope you found these tips on making comparisons useful. Remember, the more you practice, the more naturally these comparisons will come to your conversations. Don't forget to subscribe to English way RD and share this episode with others who might find it helpful.