English 3 Unit 3 Wonders of the world Learning Objectives By the end of this lesson you will be able to: Use the superlative form of the adjectives. Use superlatives with nouns Use superlatives to emphasis. Talk about human and natural wonders. Ask and answer questions about measurements with How + adjectives? 1
Introduction I went to Egypt in my last trip and I have to say, it was the most exciting experience of my life. The pyramids are the most impressive structures made by men I have ever seen. The people are the kindest and the most hospitable I ve ever met. We rode camels into the dessert and it was the best part of the trip, we were there for 3 weeks and when we left I was so sad. I hope I can go back soon. In this unit you will learn to use the superlatives; a grammatical structure that we use in order to compare more than two people, places or things from a certain group. In this case you will use it to talk about the wonders of the world, mankind constructions or natural sceneries that can take your breath away. The superlatives are used extremely often while communicating in English since it gives certain emphasis to the things you want to express. You just need to learn the spelling rules to form statements and remember that this is not the same as the comparatives. Comparatives just compare two things, people or places. So let s begin! 2
Use this form of adjectives to compare more than two people, things and places. It is also used to compare something over a group. I am the smartest kid of my class! I am the strongest boy in my family. are used with the before the adjective. To form superlatives follow the next spelling rules: One syllable adjectives ending with e add st. Adjective Superlative Nice the nicest Wise the wisest One syllable adjectives ending with consonant vowelconsonant, double the last consonant and add est. Adjective Superlative Hot Big the hottest the biggest 3
One syllable adjectives ending with y, change it for i and add est. Adjective Superlative Happy the happiest Crazy the craziest He is the craziest guy I have ever met For adjectives with more than one syllable. Write the most + adjective. Adjective Comfortable Beautiful Superlative the most comfortable the most beautiful The least + adjectives. Means the opposite to more. Adjective Superlative Interesting the least interesting Adjective Expensive Superlative the least expensive Irregular adjectives This is the best place on the world. Adjective Good Bad Far Superlative The best The worst The furthest 4
The most + nouns. Superlative The most kids The most visited place Examples of superlatives Tlaxcala is the smallest state in Mexico. Coco bongo is the hottest night club in Cancun. Today was one of the happiest days of my life. Cancun has the most beautiful beaches in the world. The last Harry Potter s movie is the least interesting one. IPAD has the most fans around the world. Comparatives vs adjectives Comparatives are used to compare two: people, things or places. On the contrary the superlatives compare one thing over a group or more than two things. I m shorther than my brother! She is the prettiest baby girl! 5
How + adjectives.? Ask and answer questions with how, when you want to know information about size and other measurements. How tall are you? I m 1.60 meters. How heavy is the table? It is 20 kg. How deep is the pool? Not so much, 1.70 meters. How hot is today? 40 degrees Celsius. How high is the building? I don t know exactly, more than 1,000 meters. Using superlatives to talk about wonders This topic will help you to describe natural and human wonders of the world. Example: The coolest place, I have ever visited, is Petra. This city is located in Jordan and I love it because is a city surrounded by rocks and water. I think is one of the most interesting places you can visit. My friend is an architect and he was the happiest guy, learning everything about the way people from this civilization used the technic of carving rocks to build the city. It is just the most amazing place you can visit. 6
Vocabulary: Natural wonders Mountains Cliff Canyon Volcano Waterfall Desert Closing My boss is the most annoying person in this world, he s the rudest and the most unprofessional person I have ever worked with. He comes late all the time and he yells at us like if we were kids. I can t stand working for him, but I need the job. I need to start looking for a better job right away. At least I will have vacations soon. You learned to use superlatives in this unit, and as you can see it is a grammatical structure we used to describe what we see but in a way that intensify what we feel. 7
Even if you talk about people, places or things, we always have something to say when something make us feel nice and also when something goes wrong, so this topic is suitable for you to express that emotions. The wonders of the world can be every natural place, the relation with a person or the things people do that make you feel something when you are there. Remember to use the superlatives in an appropriate way, using the spelling rules and the forms to make the right statements. Now you can describe what you see! Bibliography McCarthy, Michael. Et al. (2008) Touchstone Full Contact 3.Cambridge University Press. Murphy, R., et al. (2009): Grammar in Use Intermediate Student's Book with answers. Cambridge University Press. Heacock, P. (2008): Cambridge Dictionary of American English. Cambridge University Press. 8
Credits Content design: Lic. Adriana Bernardino Mosqueda Academic Coordinator: Lic. Jessica Patricia Garza Macías Content edition: Lic. Ann Elisabeth Mancillas Hinojosa, MAD Production and content editing: Tecnología Educativa Universidad Virtual, ITESM 9