Топик: Adjectives

d) comparison of inferiority ( less ... than)

e.g. John is less musical than his sister.

He had the consolation of noting that his friend was less sluggish than before.

e) comparison of parallel increase or decrease (the ... the, ...-er as)

e.g. The longer I think of his proposal the less I like it.

The sooner this is done, the better .

He became more cautious as he grew older.

There are set phrases which contain the comparative or the superlative degree of an adjective:

a) a change for the better (for the worst) – перемена к лучшему ( к худшему)

e.g. There seem to be a change for the better in your uncle. He had a very hearty dinner yesterday.

b) none the less – тем не менее

e.g. It did not take him long to make up his mind. None the less she showed her scorn for his hesitation.

c) so much the better ( the worst) – тем лучше (хуже)

e.g. If he will help us, so much the better.

If he doesn’t work, so much the worst for him.

d) to be the worst for – делать что-то хуже, еще больше

e.g. He is rather the worst for drink.

e) no (none the) worse for – хуже не станет (не стало) от ...

e.g. You’ll be no worse for having her to help you.

You are none the worse for the experience.

f) if the worst comes to the worst – в худшем случае

e.g. If the worst comes to the worst, I can always go back home to my parents.

g) to go from bad to worse – становиться все хуже и хуже

e.g. Thinks went from bad to worse in the family.

h) as best - в полную меру старания, как только можно

e.g. He made a living as best he could.

i) at (the) best - в лучшем случае

e.g. She cannot get away from her home for long. At (the) best she can stay with us for two days.

Substantivization of Adjectives.

Sometimes adjectives become substantivized. In this case they have the functions of nouns in the sentence and are always preceded by the definite article. Substantivized adjectives may have two meanings: