Phrasal verbs bring along – if you ask someone to bring something along, it means that you want them to bring it with them; it’s a bit like come along (Unit 5). drop by – ‘visit at home’; if you want to invite someone to call on you at home next week, you can say Why don’t you drop by next week? hand in – if we find someone’s wallet in the street and we take it to the police station, we call this handing something in. invite round – ‘invite to your home’. pick up – ‘collect’. We use this phrasal verb for both things and people – We can pick up the food on the way back; Can you pick me up from the station? 154 10 Which do you prefer? In this unit you will learn how to: • compare things • express preferences • compare and contrast what people do • use adverbs of degree Dialogue 1 Rosemary and Stuart are discussing preferences. S TUART : Which do you prefer – Indian or Chinese food? R OSEMARY : Well, I really like both. [thinks for a moment] I suppose I prefer Chinese when it’s a takeaway, but I’d rather have Indian when I go out. What about you? S TUART : Indian is my favourite. And I don’t like Italian food at all. R OSEMARY : Neither do I. Dialogue 2 Hannah and Natalie are trying on clothes in an expensive shop. H ANNAH : What do you think of this jumper? N ATALIE : You can’t afford that – it’s £60! 1111 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 1211 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 4211 H ANNAH : I know. But what do you think of it? N ATALIE : I prefer the red one. H ANNAH : You’re just saying that because it’s cheaper. N ATALIE : No I’m not! I really think it’s better. H ANNAH : That’s fine, then – you buy the cheap one, and I’ll buy the nice one. 156 Idioms • We use I suppose to show that we are not quite certain about the statement we’re going to make. I suppose I prefer Chinese food means ‘I think I prefer Chinese food, but I’m not quite sure’. See also Language point 89. • at all after a NEGATIVE verb means ‘completely’ – I don’t like Italian food at all means ‘I really dislike Italian food’. • favourite means ‘(the one) I like best’ – you can use it as a NOUN : Curry is my favourite or as an ADJECTIVE : Curry is my favourite food • can’t afford means ‘haven’t got enough money for . . .’ Language point 59 – comparatives and superlatives When we compare two things we can use the COMPARATIVE form of the ADJECTIVE . Here are some examples: cheap These shoes are cheaper than those heavy Steel is heavier than aluminium comfortable My new armchair is more comfortable than my old one good I think brown bread is better than white There are two ways of forming comparatives of regular adjectives: 1 with short adjectives, we add -er (so cheap → cheaper) 1111 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 1211 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 4211 157 Spelling rules • When the adjective ends in -e, we add -r: fine → finer blue → bluer • When the adjective ends in a single vowel + single consonant, we double the consonant: big → bigg er hot → hott er • When the adjective ends in CONSONANT + y, we change -y to -ier: happy → happier heavy → heavier 2 with longer adjectives (more than two syllables) we simply put more before the adjective: comfortable → more comfortable expensive → more expensive Notice that you can’t use -er with longer words, and you can’t use more with short words: comfortable → more comfortable not ‘comfortabler ’ cheap → cheaper not ‘more cheap ’ There are also some IRREGULAR comparatives that you simply have to learn: good → better bad → worse /ws/ We use than /ðn/ , WEAK FORM /ðən/, between the comparative and the second thing compared: London is bigger than Paris James is taller than Ben And when we compare three or more things or people, we use the SUPERLATIVE – you can form it directly from the COMPARATIVE that we’ve just seen: • change -er to -est: cheaper → cheapest hotter → hottest heavier → heaviest • change more to most: more comfortable → most comfortable more expensive → most expensive • irregular: better → best worse → worst /wst/ Unlike the comparative, the superlative is always used with the: The blue shirt is cheaper than the red one The white shirt is the cheapest (of them all) 158 Exercise 1 Complete these sentences using the correct adjective from the box. Remember to use the correct comparative form. 1 Leasa’s ______ than Justine. 2 A sofa’s ______ than a wooden chair. 3 Gold is ______ than silver. 4 This suitcase feels ______ than that one. 5 My car’s ______ than yours. 6 This film’s much ________ than the one last night. 7 Australia’s ______ than New Zealand. 8 A trip from the UK to New Zealand’s ______ than one to France. 9 Wolves are ______ than hamsters. 10 Swords are ______ than hammers. interesting intelligent tall expensive fast sharp heavyvaluable comfortable big Exercise 2 Complete the sentences using the correct comparative form. Use a dictionary if you need to. The first one is done for you. 1 This bag is too heavy. Can I have a lighter one? 2 These toys are expensive now, but they’ll be _______ after Christmas. 3 The exam was very easy. I was expecting it to be ______ . 4 Could you put some more sugar in this? I prefer _______ tea. 5 What a boring programme. I though it was going to be _______ . 6 We arrived late. We should have taken an ________ train. 7 This coat is too big for me – have you got a _____ one? 8 This CD’s far too noisy – put on a ________ one, will you? 9 Henry’s room is a real mess, but Tom’s is much _______ . 10 This road’s very narrow – I though it was _______, didn’t you? 1111 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 1211 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 4211 159 Language point 60 – ‘which’ We use which /w/ to ask about a choice of options or possibilities – it can be a PRONOUN : Which do you prefer? (= ‘Which one . . .?’) or an ADJECTIVE with a noun: Which shirt do you prefer? It’s often used with verbs of liking, wanting, etc. Here are some examples. Notice that we can use one, ones with which if we want to: Which one do you want? Which would you like? Which would you prefer? Which ones do you like best? And sometimes we use which with a following to-form of a verb: I don’t know which one to choose I’m not sure which to have We need to decide which CD to buy for Stuart Dialogue 3 Su’s brought Jenny along to the phone shop to help her choose a new mobile. S U : I can’t decide which of these two mobiles to have. J ENNY : Well, you could have either. Which one do you like more? S U : Hmmm . . . well, this blue one is nicer, but it’s more expensive. J ENNY : And what about the black one? S U : The black one’s cheaper, but it’s more basic. [Jenny picks both mobiles up] J ENNY : And heavier. S U : Yes. And it’s less elegant as well, don’t you think? J ENNY : Looks like you have decided after all! S U : Yes – I think I’ll be a lot happier with the blue one. Actually, I don’t really like the black one. J ENNY : I don’t either. 160 Language point 61 – ‘either’ When Su is trying to decide between two mobile phones, and Jenny says: You could have either she means that it doesn’t matter which one Su has – she could have the blue one or the black one. Either /`ɑiðə r / or /`iðə r / is rather like a statement equivalent of the question word which: Which would you like? – I’ll have either We also use either in a completely different way at the end of a negative sentence. Su says: I don’t really like the black one and Jenny replies: I don’t either She means: ‘Su doesn’t like it, and she also doesn’t like it’. Here are some more examples: Fred doesn’t speak Russian, and Charlie doesn’t either We don’t buy a Sunday paper, and our neighbours don’t either I’m not working tomorrow, and my wife isn’t either Candace isn’t coming to the meeting. – No, and I’m not either! 1111 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 1211 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 4211 161 Be careful! We can only use either when we are talking about two things. Compare these two sentences: There are two mobile phones here – you can have either. There are three mobile phones here – you can have any (one) of them. ƽ In this meaning either in negative sentences corresponds to as well or so in statements: + Diane reads Latin poetry, and Gary does as well + Diane reads Latin poetry, and so does Gary – Diane doesn’t read junk mail, and Gary doesn’t either . Exercise 3 Look at the information in the box about what languages Jack speaks, and what languages Jill speaks. Then say who speaks what, using (not) either, and, but, so and as well – the first two have been done for you. 1 Jack doesn’t speak Italian, and Jill doesn’t either. 2 Jack doesn’t speak Chinese but Jill does. 3 Jack ____________ Swedish ___ Jill _____________ . 4 Jack ____________ German ___ Jill _____________ . 5 Jack ____________ Arabic ___ Jill _____________ . 6 Jack ____________ Welsh ___ Jill _____________ . 7 Jack ____________ Klingon ___ Jill _____________ . 8 Jack ____________ French ___ Jill _____________ . 9 Jack ____________ Hindi ___ Jill _____________ . 10 Jack ____________ Spanish ___ Jill _____________ . 162 Language Jack Jill French yes yes German no yes Spanish yes no Italian no no Swedish yes yes Chinese no yes Arabic no no Hindi no yes Welsh yes yes Klingon no no Dialogue 4 Helen takes an item of clothing back to the shop where she bought it. H ELEN : Can I change this top? It was too small for me. Here’s the receipt. A SSISTANT : Unfortunately the next size up is sold out. Would you like your money back or would you prefer to choose something else? H ELEN : Have you got any other tops in a bigger size? A SSISTANT : Certainly. Try some of these. [Helen holds them up against herself] H ELEN : These are all quite nice. Which one do you think looks best? A SSISTANT : That green one really suits you. H ELEN : Better than the blue one? A SSISTANT : Oh yes, very nice – green is definitely your colour! H ELEN : Are you quite sure? A SSISTANT : Of course I am! Look in the mirror! H ELEN : OK – I’ll take the green one. How much is it? A SSISTANT : It’s the same as the one you brought back. H ELEN : Perfect! Language point 62 – ‘quite’, ‘very’ and ‘too’ When we use adjectives to describe things, there are special words we can put before the adjective to show different degrees of the quality described: too hot highest degree very hot This tea is hot quite hot not very hot not hot lowest degree 1111 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 1211 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 4011 41 4211 163 . Look at the information in the box about what languages Jack speaks, and what languages Jill speaks. Then say who speaks what, using (not) either, and,. a takeaway, but I’d rather have Indian when I go out. What about you? S TUART : Indian is my favourite. And I don’t like Italian food at all. R OSEMARY