HANOI PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY No.2 FOREIGN LANGUAGE FACULTY
PHAM THI NGUYET
COMMON ERRORS
IN THE USE OF COMPARATIVE SENTENCES OF ADJECTIVES MADE BY NAM TIEN HAI
HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS
(Graduation paper submitted in partial fulfillment of the Degree of Bachelor of Arts in English)
Trang 2
HANOI PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY No.2 FOREIGN LANGUAGE FACULTY
PHAM THI NGUYET
COMMON ERRORS
IN THE USE OF COMPARATIVE SENTENCES
OF ADJECTIVES MADE BY NAM TIEN HAI
HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS
(Graduation paper submitted in partial fulfillment of the Degree of Bachelor of Arts in English)
SUPERVISOR: PHI THI THO, B.A
Hanoi, May 2013
Trang 3ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I own Mrs Phi Thi Tho, B.A, my supervisor, great gratitude for her inestimable support and careful guidance throughout the process of writing this research
Also, I would like to express my great thanks to my all beloved lecturers who always motivated and suggested me to finish my research soon
Furthermore, I want to express my special thanks to all the students in grade 11 from Nam Tien Hai high school because of their support in the survey
Last but not least, I would like to thank my beloved family and all my friends who never stop encouraging me to finish my research
Trang 4ABSTRACT
Comparison of adjectives are a basic and interesting category of English
grammar There are many types of comparison of adjectives, and each type has its own characteristics as well as uses So far the uses of the adjectives referred in some books have not been dealt with in full and it is sometimes difficult for students to understand and use correctly Therefore, learners sometimes confuse types of comparison of adjectives and usually make errors in the uses of comparison with adjectives
Therefore, this study focuses on common errors in the uses of comparison of adjectives The most important objectives of the research work is to show how to make a correct comparison of adjectives and suggest some solutions to the common errors in the uses of comparison of adjectives
Based on material analysis and error analysis with the assistance of the test survey, common errors in the uses of comparison of adjectives have been analyzed clearly Consequently, the noticeable rules as well as solutions to these problems are convenient to understand in using comparison of adjectives in English
Trang 5STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP
Title: Common errors in the use of comparative sentences of adjectives made by Nam Tien Hai high school students
(Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for degree of bachelor of Arts in English)
I certify that no part of the above report has been copied from any other
person’s work without acknowledgements and that the report is originally
written by me under instructions of my supervisor
Date submitted: May 2013
Student Supervisor
Trang 6TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT, 5-5 <5 Sư nh ngu mgmge i
ABSTRACT iv STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP “Vv IV 3;)02/9)2609)600016)00151515554.4 vi PART ONE INTRODUCTION I2 V019) 7.302 0155 1 II RESEARCH PRESUPPOSITIONN - 5-5 «55s exexsrsexesee 2 TIT RESEARCH OBJEC TIV ES s-< 55x neeeerereeeeree 2 IV RESEARCH SCOIPE 5-5 <1 ng 00010104 2 V RESEARCH TA SÍS o 2-5-5 như nh nung 2 VI RESEARCH MIETHODS - 5-5 5555 S33 xxSeEeEeeeeersrsesee 3 VỊI RESEARCH SIGNIFICANNCCE 5° 5-5 55x nerxeseserseee 3 M008 423279(0.0))25(601555 3
PART TWO
DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER ONE
THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
1.1 LITERA TURE REVIEW IN BRIEEE 55555 sen eeesee 5
I2 COMPARISON OE ADJECTTV ES .-s 5555 SĂssxseeseeeersesesee 6
II ðioo0 T0 oan e 6
I9 va 7 1.2.2.1 The main functions of descriptive adj€CfÏV€S 55c ccssexsexesee 7 1.2.2.2 Classification of adJectives used 1n cofnpar1SOH - «+ s« «<< +++ 9 PA N d0 an 9 1.2.2.2.2 Long adjectives (disyllabic adjectÏV€S) 5c cS+cs+sesseeeses 11
Trang 7ID Nho eo canh 12
1.2.3 Comparative forms of adjectives and their functions -«- 13
1.2.3.1 Single v0ai 0 13
1.2.3.2 Double Comparison 18
1.2.3.3 Multiple Numbers Comparison ::ceccescesececeeceeseeeeeceeeeeeeeeeeeaeeaeeaes 18 1.2.4 Substitutions, omissions and additions in comparative patterns 19
1.2.4.1 Substitufions in comparafIVe Daff€TTS Ăn Si 19 1.2.4.2 Omissions in comparatIVe pafÍ€TTNS c5 SSc*+sesrererreee 20 1.2.4.3 Additions in comparatIVe paff€TTIS - -ó- 55 S2 se x+++Esseererres 20 In a 21
CHAPTER TWO: COMMON ERRORS IN THE USE OF COMPARATIVE SENTENCES TI.1 SUVỀEYY 5< Ă họ Họ họ HH Hư ne 22 IL.1.1 Purpose 0á 22
ID Population of the 22
IL.1.3 Type of the survey .22
IL.1.4 Construction of the test 22
IL.1.5 Preparation of the 20 23
IL 1.5.1 Test items eee ce ceeeceecseceeceaeeaeseeseesaesaeseaseeeseesseseaeeaeeaes 23 II.1.5.2 Arrangement of the f€Sf I{€TTS .- -.- 6 55 S6 St + ++Esseeseeees 23 IL.1.6 Administration of the try-OUt - -ó- <6 St k21 91 91 91 1 11 ni 24 IDRO ii vo 0á co 1 24
IEDRZA0au 5 24
TL.1.7 iu tui Số 25
INR N00 Toà 0 25
II.2 COMMON ERRORS AND CAUSES <-<=55cscsesseseeesse 27
II.2.1 Errors when using multiple numbers compariSOH .- - 5+ +s+ 27 IL2.2 Errors when using absolufe adj€CfIV€S - S5 se + S++ssrerrrrres 28 II2.3 Errors when using double cormpar1SOI1 - 5+5 «+5 £+s+*++e++e+2 28
Trang 811.2.4 Errors when using intensifier in €Orpar1SOH 5 «5s<++s+s+2 29
II.2.5 Confusion between short adjectives and long adjectives - 29
IL.2.6 Wrong form of irregular adjectives cceccesceeeseeseeeeeeseeseeeeeeeeeeeeaeeaes 30 IL.2.7 Wrong forms of superlatIV€ SfTUCẦUT€ .- 5 5< se *+e++E+seererres 30 1I.2.8 Wrong forms of comparafIVe SÍTUCfUTC€ .- 55x 31 IL.2.9 Errors when adding er and CSt .ccccceeceeccesseececeeceeseeaeeeceeaeeeeeeseeaeeateaes 31 I1.2.10 Wrong forms of comparion at the lower degree - - ‹ «+- 32
IL.2.11 Wrong forms of comparison at the same degree - - -‹+s+++ 32 IL.3 SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS AND SUGGESTED EXERCISES 33
IESSNRSAI 000 17 33
II.3.1.1 Thorough lecture can solve the difficuÏty «++5<<<<+<<<<s+2 33 II.3.1.2 Negative influences of mother tongue should be limited 33
1L3.1.3 Paying attention to difficult strucfures 1S nec€SSaTy 34
IL3.1.4 Studenfs also should study more about adjectives - 34
I6 2Á 34
PART THREE
CONCLUSION
TREFERENCES - 5-5 nhọ Họ nh HH Hưng mem 38 APPENDICES << 5 << ng HH ng ngu ng ng nen nenre 40
Trang 9PART ONE: INTRODUCTION
I RATIONALE
In Vietnam as well as in other countries, there is a greater and greater
need to learn English No one can deny the importance of English in Vietnam at
present Therefore, English is being taught at every educational level
However, using English grammar structures is never easy to Vietnamese learners because of the complex structures and the differences between the two languages
There is a fact that comparative structures are an important part of English grammar that high school students often see in exercises Using comparison of
adjectives correctly is rather complex because there are many types of comparison of adjectives, and each type has many rules of adjective forms and structures It is assumed that there are many errors which maybe made Students sometimes can not distinguish comparative types or some often give a wrong form of comparative structures due to the influence of mother tongue For example:
He is more happyer than me She ate as twice as much as me Mary is so beautiful as Anna
Trang 10Il RESEARCH PRESUPPOSITION
1 What kinds of errors in using comparison of adjectives are made by the high school students?
2 What are the causes of the errors in using comparison of adjectives made by high school students?
3 What are the effective ways to minimize the errors made by the high school
students?
Il RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
The objectives of the study is to:
1 Find out the kinds of errors in the use of comparison of adjectives made by the senior students
2 Find out the causes of the errors in the use of comparison of adjectives made by the senior students
3 Offer some suggestions to minimize errors in using comparison of adjectives IV RESEARCH SCOPE
The general research area of this study is grammar The phenomenon is the errors in using comparison of adjectives made by one hundred students at Nam Tien Hai high school One hundred students from class 12al and 1 1a4 are the subjects of the survey
V RESEARCH TASKS
The research work involves a number of tasks: 1 Studying the theory of comparison of adjectives
Trang 11make
3 Suggesting some solutions to minimize the students’ errors
VI RESEARCH METHODS
With the aim of finding the common errors as well as their possible solutions in using comparison of adjectives in English, the following methods
have been applied:
1 Selecting necessary data and synthesizing theoretical materials relating to
comparison of adjectives
2 Conducting a survey in order to find out common errors when using comparison of adjectives
3 Suggesting solutions
VII RESEARCH SIGNIFICANCE
The research is hoped to have significances as following:
1 Helping Nam Tien Hai high school students understand about comparison of
adjectives in English
2 Helping Nam Tien Hai high school students minimize their errors in using comparative of adjectives
3 Becoming a useful reference in the issue of comparison and adjectives for both teachers and students to make sure that they can deeply understand things relating to comparison of adjectives
VIII RESEARCH DESIGN
Trang 12The part Development consists of two chapters
Chapter one named Theoretical Background presents literature review in
brief and the definition, function, comparative forms of adjectives Also, the
differences among types of comparison of adjectives are mentioned
Chapter two is Common errors in the use of comparison of adjectives It consists of three sections Section one is devoted to survey The second
mentions to error types and causes The last one provides solutions to the
Trang 13PART TWO DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER ONE
THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
1.1 LITERATURE REVIEW IN BRIEF
Comparison of adjectives has been studied by many grammarians like Alexander (1988), Harrison (1998), Jocelyn (1997), Eastwood (1992) and so on In general, they focus their attention on classification of comparison of adjectives and their uses Most of the knowledge they present are really useful
for high school students
Eastwood (1992) focused on the differences between comparison of superiority and superlative comparison
Jocelyn (1997) studied comparative forms of adjectives He also mentioned some special notes when using comparison of adjectives such as substitutions, omissions and additions in comparative patterns
Vince (1851) introduced the uses of some types of comparative forms of adjectives
Brown (1851) showed both regular and irregular comparison
To sum up, many researchers have studied about comparison of adjectives However, not many of them have deeply studied the special cases of comparatives as well as the differences among types of comparison of adjectives Besides, the errors students make when using comparison of adjectives have not studied specifically
Trang 141.2 COMPARISON OF ADJECTIVES 1.2.1 Definitions of adjectives
According to Alexander (1988), an adjective describes the person or thing which a noun refers to We use adjectives to say what a person or thing is like or
seems like For example, adjectives can give us information about:
** Quality: a beautiful dress, a nice day “+ Size: a big car, a small coin ee
% « Age: a new handbag, a young man
» Temperature: a cool evening, a hot day
ae
** Shape: a round table, a square box
% « Color: blue eyes, grey hair
% % Origin: a Japanese camera, a Swiss watch
To identify whether a word is an adjective or not, learners can sometimes base on suffixes of the words Here are the main suffixes:
(1): -ful: wonderful, beautiful, forgetful (2): -less: thoughtless, worthless, lawless (3): -able: acceptable, likeable, charitable (4): -ible: edible, terrible, irresistible (5): -en: golden, woolen, wooden
(6): -ous: glorious, victorious, mischievous (7): -al: musical, national, natural
(8): -ive: imaginative, destructive, descriptive (9): -ic: heroic, scientific, poetic
(10): -ish: childish, selfish, English
Trang 15(12): -some: handsome, quarrelsome, lonesome (13): -y: silky, shady, smoky
(14): -ly: friendly, manly, lonely 1.2.2 Descriptive adjectives
Adjectives used in comparison are descriptive adjectives Therefore, in this research, only descriptive adjectives are studied
1.2.2.1 The main functions of descriptive adjectives
According to Quirk, et.al (1972), adjectives have main functions as following:
¢ Used as attributives and predicative
The major syntactic functions of adjectives are attributive and predicative
These are termed the major syntactic functions, since a word that cannot function either attributively or predicatively is not recognized as an adjective
Adjectives are attributive when they modify nouns Attributive adjectives appear between the determiner and the head of the noun phrase:
The beautiful painting A mere child
His main argument
Predicative adjectives can be:
(1): subject complement: there is co-reference between subject and subject complement, the two being in an intensive relationship:
Your daughter is pretty He is handsome
Trang 16I consider him foolish He made his wife happy ¢ Used as postposition
Adjectives can sometimes be postpositive; they can sometimes follow the noun or pronoun they modify A postposition adjective (together with any
complementation it may have) can usually be regarded as a reduced relative
clause
Complex indefinite pronouns ending in -body, -one, -thing, -where can be modified only postpositively:
Anyone (who is) intelligent can do it I want to try on something (that is) larger
Of course, adjectives that can occur only attributively are excluded: Something (which is) main
Somebody (who is) mere ¢ Used as heads of a noun phrase
Adjectives can function as heads of noun phrases and can be subjects of the sentence, complement, object, and complement of a preposition Adjectives as noun-phrase heads do not inflect for number or for the genitive case and they must take a definite determiner These types of adjectives function as noun-
phrase heads
All adjectives qualifying personal nouns can be noun-phrase heads: The poor are causing the nation’s leaders great concern
There is a lack of communication between the young and the old ¢ Used as supplementive adjective clauses
Trang 17the supplementive adjective clause
Nervous, the man opened the letter
The man, nervous, opened the letter
The man opened the letter, nervous
As the above examples demonstrate, the supplementive adjective clause is mobile, though it usually precedes or follows the subject of the super-ordinate
clause When it follows the subject, as in, it is in some respects like a non-
restrictive relative clause
The men, who was nervous, opened the letter
But the adjective clause suggests that the man’s nervousness was shown, whereas the relative clause does not convey that implication The difference is because the adjective clause is related to the predication as well as to the subject
Furthermore, unlike the relative clause, the adjective clause is mobile and its
implied subject is the subject of the sentence Thus, while we have “The man restrained the woman, who was aggressive”, we do not have as its equivalent “The man restrained the woman, aggressive.”
1.2.2.2 Classification of adjectives used in comparison
There are some ways to classify adjectives They can be classified based
on their functions, their formations, their uses, etc In this research, adjectives
are divided into 3 types: short adjectives, long adjectives and irregular adjectives, so that the study on comparison of adjectives can be done conveniently
1.2.2.2.1 Short adjectives
Many short adjectives form comparatives and superlative with -er and
Trang 18
Positive degree Comparative degree | Superlative degree
cheap cheaper cheapest
tall taller taller
small smaller smallest
long longer longest
Monosyllabic adjectives can normally form their comparison by inflection Many disyllabic adjectives can also do so, though like most monosyllabic adjectives they have the alternative of the periphrastic forms:
My jokes are funnier/ funniest// more funny/ most funny
Common disyllabic adjectives that can take inflected forms are those ending in an unstressed vowel, syllabic /I/, or / (r)/ (Randolph Quirk and
Sidney Greenbaum, 1973):
(1) -y: funny, noisy, wealthy, friendly (2) -ow: hollow, narrow, shallow (3) -le: gentle, feeble, noble
(A) -er, -ure: clever, mature, abscure
*Note: spelling of comparative and superlative forms (Alexander, 1988) 1 Most one-syllable adjectives form their comparatives and superlatives are
added to their basic forms Some examples are hot, cold, strong, etc
2 Many one-syllable adjectives end with a single consonant after a single vowel-letter This consonant doubles in the comparatives and superlative, as in the case of big Other example like big are fat— fatter — fattest; sad — sadder
Trang 193 Many one-syllable adjectives ending in -e, like nice, are added -r and -st¢ to
the basic form Other examples like nice are fine, large, late, safe, etc
4 Some adjectives, like tidy, end in y with a consonant letter before it These adjectives are usually two-syllable In the comparative and superlative y is replaced by 7 other examples like tidy are busy, dirty, dry, easy, etc
1.2.2.2.2 Long adjectives (disyllabic adjectives)
Most long adjectives combine with the quantifiers more/less to form their comparatives and most/ least to form their superlatives Less can be used with one-syllable adjectives but more/ most and least are not normally used in this way More is occasionally used with one-syllable adjectives(e.g it’s more true
to say that British English is influenced by American, rather than the other way round.) more/ less can never be used in front of a comparative (e.g happier); nor
can most/ least be used in front of a superlative (e.g happiest)
less careful
Adjective Comparative Superlative
1 pleasant more pleasant the most pleasant less pleasant the least pleasant 2 careful more careful the most careful
the least careful
3 expensive
more expensive
less expensive the most expensive the least expensive
* Notes on the comparison of longer adjectives (Alexander, 1988):
(1): Some two-syllable adjectives can form their comparatives and superlatives either with -er and -est or with more/ less and most/ least Other examples like
pleasant are common, handsome, stupid, tired, etc The opposites of such words,
Trang 20when formed with the prefix un, can also form their comparatives and
superlatives in two ways: e.g uncommon, unhappy, unpleasant, unhappier or more unhappy, unhappiest or most unhappy Where there is uncertainly, it is safest to use more and most with two-syllable adjectives
(2): The comparatives and superlatives of other two-syllable adjectives must always be with more/ less and most/ least These include all adjectives ending in -full or -less (e.g careful, careless, useful, useless)
Other examples of adjectives which form comparisons in this way are
(un)certain, (in)correct, (in)famous, foolish, (in)frequent, modern, (ad)normal Adjectives with more than two syllable compare with more/most and less/ least
such as beautiful, comfortable, dangerous, expensive, important, etc
This applies to most compound adjectives as well, such as quick-witted,
waterproof However, note compounds with good, well, and bad: good-looking — better-looking (or more good-looking); well-built — better-built (but more well-built is sometimes heard); bad-tempered — worse-tempered (or more bad- tempered)
1.2.2.2.3 Irregular adjectives
A number of irregular comparative adjective forms in English cannot be
explained with reference to the -er inflection or the periphrastic form more:
Adjective Comparative Superlative
good better the best
bad worse the worst
far farther the farthest
further the furthest
old older the oldest
Trang 21
elder the eldest
much more the most
many
little less the least
1.2.3 Comparative forms of adjectives and their functions
Each comparative form of adjectives has its own function However, in general, comparatives are normally used to compare two things, people or ideas 1.2.3.1 Single comparison
mu The same degree
We use as as with an adjective in between to say that something or someone is like something or someone else, or that one situation is like another For example:
Was the film as funny as his last one?
It is said in the book Advanced grammar in use (1999) that if you put a countable noun between the adjective and the second as, you should use a/ an in front of the noun (if the noun is singular) For instance:
She was as patient a teacher as anyone could have had
Degrees of similarity can be expressed by means of almost, exactly, just, nearly + as + adjective For example:
Jeffrey is nearly as tall as his father now u The lower degree
Negative forms of sentences like this can use either not as or not so In formal speech and writing, it is more common to use /ess than For example:
Trang 22The gap between the sides is less wide than it was
The bees are plentiful, but not so common as last summer The bees are plentiful, but less common than last summer Not such a/ an (+adjective)+ noun is also possible For instance:
He’s not such a hard worker as his brother m= Comparatives
Comparatives can also be used to compare one thing and a group of many things considered together, or one thing and everything else in the group
For example:
Mary is cleverer than the three sisters
Mary is cleverer than everyone else in her class (= Mary is the
cleverest student in class.)
In all the above examples, there is a phrase beginning with than which states the thing(s) which the subject of the sentence is compared to In the following examples, the than phrase is left out and it is clear from the context, that the things or people concerned are compared with themselves over a period of time In the other words, comparatives are used to indicate changes over a
period of time For example:
With practice, we find the task easier As he grew older, he became wiser
We will have to be more careful
A few adjectives are spelt like comparatives and they convey the meaning
of comparison, but they do not serve the normal functions of comparatives They function more as adjectives of the positive degree and cannot be followed by a phrase beginning with than Such adjectives include upper, elder, utter,
inner, outer, interior, exterior, ulterior, major, minor
Trang 23For example:
He belongs to the upper class (CORRECT) His social class is upper than mine (WRONG) He is my elder brother (CORRECT)
He is elder than I (WRONG) John is an utter fool (CORRECT)
As a fool, John is more utter than others (WRONG) This is the inner wall (CORRECT)
This wall is inner than that wall (WRONG)
The following adjectives are not followed by than but by to: interior,
superior, anterior, prior, posterior, senior, junior:
For example:
John is interior than Tom in dancing skills (WRONG) John is inferior to Tom in dancing skills (CORRECT)
There are many managers senior than George (WRONG) There are many managers senior to George (CORRECT) * Notes: The use of than in the comparative
A comparative can stand on its own if the reference is clear
The grey coat is longer
This implies that the hearer understands that the grey coat is being compared with another coat or something similar If two things of exactly the same kind are being compared, we can use the before a comparative in formal style
Which is (the) longer? (of the two coats) The grey coat is (the) longer (of the two coats)
Trang 24However, if we need to mention each item, then we must use than after
the comparative: when than is followed by a noun or pronoun, it functions as if it were a preposition; when it is followed by a clause, it functions as if it were a conjunction, but note the ambiguity of “I know him better than you.” This could
mean:
I know him better than you know him (than is a conjunction) I know him better than (I know) you (than could be a preposition) = Superlatives
Superlatives are normally used when more than two things, people or
ideas are compared A superlative is used to refer to the thing, person or idea that is the most outstanding in a certain quality
For example:
Of all the projects that have been completed, mine is the best I’m the youngest in the family
Tom is the richest person in this district
It is important to remember that most is sometimes used to mean very So an adjective that has most in front of it is not necessarily a superlative It is a superlative only if it involves comparison of things, people or ideas
What you say is most interesting (most = very)
John is the most interesting person in this district (a superlative ) The definite article the is used before a superlative in a phrase or sentence Sometimes superlatives are qualified by ordinal numbers For example:
John is the second richest person in this country
Trang 25Who’s the most reliable, Frank or Alan?
Similarly, the is sometimes dropped, especially after which Which is best? The red one or the green one?
And when the superlative is in front of a to-infinitive I think it’s safest to overtake now
* Notes: The use of a qualifying phrase or a relative
A qualifying phrase is not necessary after a superlative if the reference is
clear, for example, John is the tallest
This implies that the hearer understands that John is being compared with two or more people in the same group If the comparison is not clear, then we must use a qualifying phrase after the superlative Phrases of this kind usually begin with in or (less frequently) of: For example:
John is easily the tallest boy in our class Yesterday is the hottest day of the year
Other fixed prepositional phrases are possible: For example: It’s the oldest trick on earth
Alternatively, we can use a relative clause after a superlative This is often accompanied by a present perfect with .ever heard, met, read, seen, etc For example:
“War and Peace” is the longest book I have ever heard Penfold is the most conceited man I have ever met
To make a superlative negative, put the least before the adjective For example:
The least funny The least polite
Trang 261.2.3.2 Double Comparison
¢ The same adjectives
Short adjectives: S + V + adj + er + and + adj + er
Long adjectives: S + V + more and more + adj
For example:
The weather gets colder and colder
His daughter becomes more and more intelligent
More than one repetition is also possible (Longman Grammar of Spoken
and Written English, 1999)
For example:
See the branches get smaller and smaller and smaller ¢ The different adjectives
The + comparative + S + V, the + comparative + S + V
For example:
The richer she is, the more selfish she becomes
The more intelligent he is the lazier he becomes 1.2.3.3 Multiple Numbers Comparison
The structure:
S + V+ multiple numbers + as + much/many/adj + (N) + as + N/pronoun
Trang 27For example:
In many countries in the world with the same job, women only get 40%-50% as much as salary as men
This encyclopedia costs twice as much as the other one
At the clambake last week, Fred ate three times as many oysters as Barney
* Note: Absolute adjectives
There are a number of adjectives called absolute adjectives Absolute adjectives should not have comparative and superlative forms because the positive form of these adjectives refers to a quality that is of the highest possible degree For example, if something is perfect, it is already in the best possible state So strictly speaking, it is wrong to say more perfect or the most perfect
Absolute adjectives include alone, correct, dead, deadly, blind, empty, everlasting, fatal, final, full, mortal, perfect, round, single, straight, square, supreme, unique, universal, vertical, and wrong
It should be noted that we can use nearly and more nearly with absolute adjectives: nearly perfect, more nearly perfect
1.2.4 Substitutions, omissions and additions in comparative patterns 1.2.4.1 Substitutions in comparative patterns
Since English comparative constructions often involve two clauses, the
second of which has been greatly reduced, certain substitute expressions commonly occur as part of a comparison The possessive pronouns are one such type of substitute expression For example:
This car is bigger than mine (mine = my car)
However, when a possessive pronoun is not appropriate, the substitute
«
expressions “one” and “ones” are often used along with an appropriate determiner such as the definite article or demonstrative:
Trang 28This car is bigger than that one (one = car)
The blues books are cheaper than the red ones (ones = books)
The nominal substitutes one and ones may also occur without a definite determiner to replace a modified noun with indefinite or generic reference:
A wool garments are warmer than a cotton one
Wool garments are warmer than cotton ones
In more formal contexts, the demonstrative pronouns that and those may be used in a comparison to introduce the second of two prepositional phrases;
possessive constructions formed with “of” are especially common in this type of
construction For example:
The financial resources of Mr Jones are greater than those of Mr Johnson
The demonstratives that and those also introduce relative clauses as part
of a comparison
Foods which we cook at home are often better than those which we eat
in a restaurant
1.2.4.2 Omissions in comparative patterns
Plural nouns after these and those are omitted For example: These vans are better than those vans
— These vans are better than those 1.2.4.3 Additions in comparative patterns
An auxiliary is added to the end of the sentence to make its meaning
clearer Sometimes auxiliary is necessary to avoid ambiguity For example:
Tim likes air-conditioning more than Jim
Trang 29Tim likes air-conditioning more than Jim does Tim likes air-conditioning more than he likes Jim 1.2.5 Intensifier
We can use intensifier and adverbs of degree like very, too and quite to modify adjectives: very tall, too cold, quite hot, etc however, we cannot use these intensifier with the comparative We must use a bit(informal), (very)much,
far, even, hardly, a lot, lots, a little, no, rather, somewhat(formal), etc
It’s much/far/a lot/ a little colder today than it was yesterday Houses are much/far/a lot more expensive these days
There have been many more/many fewer burglaries this year
Even and all the can often be used interchangeably for emphasis in front of more, especially with —=ed/
Modification of superlatives
Superlatives can be modified by adverbs of degree like almost, altogether, by far, far, much, nearly, practically, quite, the very
This is quite/far the most expensive bicycle in the shop This is much the worst stretch of motorway in the country Note the position of very after the
I want to give my children the very best education I can afford
Trang 30CHAPTER TWO: COMMON ERRORS IN THE USE OF COMPARATIVE SENTENCES
IL1 SURVEY
II.1.1 Purpose of the survey
The survey contains questionnaire related to comparison of adjectives Therefore, the purpose of the survey is to check how deep Nam Tien Hai high school students understand comparative sentences, then show common errors they often make Besides, according to the result of the questionnaire survey, the reasons why the students make mistakes when facing with comparative sentences can be identified
H.1.2 Population of the survey
The survey is conducted with the participation of one hundred students at
Nam Tien Hai high school They do the exercises and answer the questionnaire
so that the common errors and reasons of the errors are pointed out Some of them are really good at grammar but some of them are not good at grammar in general
11.1.3 Type of the survey
To collect data, a completion test was used It involves such activities as
choose the correct answer, rewrite the sentences and translate simple sentences from Vietnamese into English
II.1.4 Construction of the test
Trang 311)Exercise 1: Choose the correct answer This exercise consists of fourteen items 2)Exercise 2: Rewrite the sentences This exercise consists of eight items
3)Exercise 3: Translate the Vietnamese sentences into English sentences This exercise consists of five items
II.1.5 Preparation of the survey II.1.5.1 Test items
There are many possible errors in the use of comparison of adjectives that a survey cannot find out Therefore, it is necessary to predict possible errors and include them in the survey In this survey, possible errors were classified into the following categories
1 Wrong forms of comparison at the same degree 2 Wrong forms of comparison at the lower degree 3 Wrong forms of comparative structure
4 Wrong forms of superlative structure 5 Errors when using double comparison
6 Errors when using multiple-number comparison
7 Confusion between short adjective and long adjective 8 Errors when adding “er” and “est”
9 Wrong form of irregular adjectives
10 Errors when using absolute adjectives 11 Errors when using intensifier in comparison IL.1.5.2 Arrangement of the test items
Trang 32numbers:
1 The test on the use of comparison at the same degree is in numbers 11, 12,
15, and 21
2 The test on the use of comparison at the lower degree is in number 22
3 The test on the use of comparative structure is in numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 19, 20, 21 and 24
4 The test on the use of superlative structure is in numbers 4, 13, 17, 21, 26
and 27
5 The test on the use of double comparative structure is in numbers 9, 10,
12, 16 and 18
6 The test on the use of multiple-number comparison is in number 25
7 The test on short adjective and long adjective is in numbers 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, and 13
8 The test on irregular adjectives is in numbers 1, 4 and 14
9 The test on using absolute adjectives is in number 12
10 The test on rules of adding “er” and “est” is in numbers is in numbers 2,
5, 7,9, 10, 15, and 19
11 The test on using intensifier in comparative structures is in numbers 8 and 23
II.1.6 Administration of the try-out IL.1.6.1 Preparation of the try-out
The try-out was prepared carefully The questionnaire had to be clear and easy to understand Before the try-out was carried out, the teachers in Nam Tien
Hai high school were asked for permission II.1.6.2 Try-out
Trang 33from the two classes were given the questionnaire Before starting doing the
exercises, they had a little time to review the theory of comparison They were instructed and explained clearly the survey questions They were also reminded to work independently because their results had no effect on their own study
results Hence, they made their real effort to do the questionnaire without
copying from the others The allocated time for the twenty seven questions was
forty minutes
II.1.7 Methods of data analysis
The data were analyzed in five steps The first step is the students’ self- assessment about their English level and their knowledge of comparison of adjectives In the second step, common errors on the use of comparison of adjectives were found out The average percentage of common errors at each level were calculated in step three Then, the error levels were ranked from the highest to the lowest Based on this arrangement, the highest was considered as
the major error in the use of comparison of adjectives The students who made
the most errors were identified in the last step 11.1.8 Results of the survey
In the first part of the survey, the students were asked to give their self- assessment of their English levels and their understandings of comparison of adjectives A great number of them (72%) said that their understandings about comparison of adjectives is not really good Twenty-one percent of them stated that they were quite good at this part of English grammar Four percent of the students stated that they were bad and only three students asserted that they were very good at using comparison of adjectives Therefore, most of them got difficulties when using comparison of adjectives and it was easy for them to make common errors as follows:
1 Wrong forms of comparison at the same degree 2 Wrong forms of comparison at the lower degree
Trang 343 Wrong forms of comparative structure 4 Wrong forms of superlative structure 5 Errors when using double comparison
6 Errors when using multiple-number comparison
7 Confusion between short adjectives and long adjectives
8 Errors when adding “er” and “est”
9 Wrong form of irregular adjectives 10 Errors when using absolute adjectives 11 Errors when using intensifier in comparison
Common errors in the use of comparative sentences of adjectives made by Nam Tien Hai high school students
Percent
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 I
Types of errors
Trang 35The chart shows the eleven commonest errors that the students at Nam Tien Hai high school made
As can be seen from the chart, errors when using multiple-number
comparison accounted for 67% which is the highest percentage Errors when
using absolute adjectives is a little lower with 62% of the students giving wrong answers Because using double comparison is rather complex, 56.80% of the students could not give the correct answer when facing with it The next errors the students made are errors when using intensifier in comparison (54%) Less than 7%, namely 41.25% is the percentage of confusion between short adjective and long adjective Besides, the use of irregular adjectives made 36.33% of the students embarrassed causing the errors The next common errors in the use of comparison of adjectives are wrong form of superlative structures which makes up 32.67% Similarly, the percentage of wrong forms of comparative structures
accounted for 30.22% It can be seen from the chart, errors when adding “er” and “est” and wrong forms of comparison at the lower degree are much little
(23.29% and 22%) Errors when using comparison at the same degree is the lowest percentage (15.75%)
In general, the results obviously showed that there are many errors in the use of comparison of adjectives made by Nam Tien Hai high school students IL.2 COMMON ERRORS AND CAUSES
H.2.1 Errors when using multiple-number comparison
The errors in the use of multiple-number comparison among the students at Nam Tien Hai high school are the most common The errors make up 67%
Based on theory, the structure of multiple-number comparison must be “S + V + multiple numbers + as + much/many/adj + (N) + as + N/pronoun.” However, when translating a sentence from Vietnamese into English, the students got difficulties and they didn’t know where to put the adjectives For
Trang 36example:
Giá của bộ sách giáo khoa này đắt gấp hai lần bộ sách kia A wrong answer:
This encyclopedia costs as twice as much the other one Or: This encyclopedia costs as much as twice the other one
The correct answer: This encyclopedia costs twice as much as the other one The cause is that the mother tongue influences students when they use multiple-number comparison Moreover, they were not taught carefully about this type of comparison in the class Therefore, they applied the rule of their
native language to English and made errors
1I.2.2 Errors when using absolute adjectives
The second common errors the students made are errors when using absolute adjectives It means that a lot of students didn’t know that absolute adjectives can’t be used in comparison For example, in the survey, 62% the of students stated that the sentence “This answer is the most perfect one” is a correct one However, it is wrong We can correct it as following: “This answer is a perfect
” one
11.2.3 Errors when using double comparison
Double comparison often appears in tests and exams, but 56.80% of Nam Tien Hai students made errors when using it For instance, when they were required to rewrite the sentence “Prices just get higher all the time” they often made errors as following:
Prices just get more higher all the time Or: Prices get higher than in the past
Trang 37The correct answer: Prices are getting higher and higher Another example:
The more the customer complained, the manager became
Wrong answers: the more unpleasant and rude, or the more rude and unpleasant The correct answer: the ruder and more unpleasant
The reason why they made this type of errors is that they rarely faced with multi-adjectives in a clause, so they got troubled in how to arrange the
adjectives in a suitable way
11.2.4 Errors when using intensifier in comparison
The errors related to the use of intensifier in comparison make up 54% There were five students who made 100% of errors in using intensifier Many of
the students didn’t know which words would be suitable for intensifier For
example:
A DUS is Defter than a taxi
A far B more C many D most
Many students choose “B more”, however, the correct answer is “A far” The cause was that the students didn’t pay attention to some words which
can be used to intensify such as far, much, a lot, a little, so on
II.2.5 Confusion between short adjective and long adjective
It can be seen from the analysis that the errors Confusion between short adjective and long adjective stand at 41.25% There were no students whose percentage of this type of errors is 100% Most of the students who made errors didn’t know exactly the rule of distinguishing a short adjective and a long adjective For example:
8 —— /ˆ
A happier B happyer C more happy _ D more happier
A wrong answer: more happy
Trang 38The correct answer: happier
Some two-syllable adjectives are considered as one-syllable adjectives based on some rules that are presented in the theory part Because the students didn’t remember these rule, they made errors
II.2.6 Wrong form of irregular adjectives
The errors when using irregular adjectives among the students at Nam Tien Hai high school account for 36.33% There are no students whose percentage of this type of errors is 100% Dealing with some popular irregular adjectives is not difficult, but the students got a big trouble with some others For example:
The pollution here is than in my city
A bad B badder C worse D worst
Wrong answer: badder or worst
The correct answer: worse
The cause is that some of the students didn’t know that bad is an irregular adjective and we couldn’t add er to make comparative Some others confused the form of bad in comparative and superlative
Another example:
He is than I
A older B elder C age
The correct answer: Older
Many students at Nam Tien Hai school chose elder, they didn’t know that we couldn’t use e/der in this case
II.2.7 Wrong forms of superlative structure
Using comparative and superlative structures is much more difficult than
Trang 39comparative and superlative structures of both long adjectives and short adjectives Therefore, the students often make errors when using superlative and comparative form than using comparison at the same degree Besides, the students often got confusion between superlative structures and comparative
structures However, superlative structure is taught carefully in the class, wrong
forms of superlative structure errors make up 32.67% For example: It was (boring) speech I’ve ever heard
A the most boringer B the most boring C the best boring Answer: the most boringer
Correct answer: the most boring
II.2.8 Wrong forms of comparative structure
The same to superlative structures, the students at Nam Tien Hai high
school had difficulties in distinguishing the comparative structures between long adjectives and short adjectives There were 30.22% of the students who made errors when using comparative structure For example:
Tìm iS Peter
A intelligent than C intelligent more than B more intelligenter than D more intelligent than The correct answer: D more intelligent than
Some of the students chose A intelligent than or C intelligent more than because of the influence of mother tongue Whereas, some of them thought that intelligent must be added er to create a comparative like B more intelligenter than
HI.2.9 Errors when adding er and est
The rule of adding er and est to the adjectives sometimes makes the students get trouble There are 23.29% of the students made this type of the errors, however, there are no students whose percentage of these errors is 100%
Trang 40Some difficulties many of them often had as following: This month is than that one
A, wet B more wet C weter D wetter The correct answer: D wetter
Another example:
TWAS , 1 71
A happier B happyer C more happy _ D more happier Correct answer: B Happier
The cause of these errors is that the students didn’t learn exactly the rules
of adding er and est which were presented in the theory part of this thesis II.2.10 Wrong forms of comparison at the lower degree
Twenty-two percent of the students at Nam Tien Hai high school were confused when making a comparison at the lower degree They made this type of errors because of the mother tongue transference when they translating For example:
She is not as beautiful as Anna
D> SNC IS ee cee cee cee cee cen cee eee cen cee eee ANG Wrong answer: She is not beautiful as Anna
The correct answers: She is not so beautiful as Anna Or: She is less beautiful than Anna
II.2.11 Wrong forms of comparison at the same degree