203 Chapter 15: Going on Location: Placing Descriptions Correctly U The sentence begins with a verb form (To form the “Greeting Turtle Posture”), so the subject of the sentence must be the person who is supposed to do this ridiculous exercise. In the cor- rected sentence, an understood “you” fills that need. V The laundry description belongs to mat, not to armpits, though I do think fluffy armpits are nice. W In the original sentence the subject of bending is implied, not stated, so by default, the other subject in the sentence (the left ankle) takes that role. But the left ankle can’t bend the right knee, so the logic is flawed. Changing the second half of the sentence to “relax the left ankle” makes the subject you (understood), and “you” works as the understood subject you want for the first half of the sentence. Another possible solution: Change the first half of the sentence to “While you are bending. . . .” X The description almost applies to minute, not to bending. Y In the original sentence now is equidistant from throw and extending, creating a vague state- ment. Moving the description clarifies the meaning. Once you move now, add a comma between back and extending to help the reader separate these two actions. z The description only applies to the number of times one should breathe, not to the number of actions one should be doing. Z The introductory verb form must be an action done by the subject, and the nose can’t tuck the chin. The understood subject you can tuck the chin. 1 The color description belongs to sky, not to yoga posture. Another, more concise correction is to delete “that is blue” and simply say, “blue sky.” 22_599321 ch15.qxp 4/3/06 11:31 PM Page 203 204 Part IV: All You Need to Know about Descriptions and Comparisons 22_599321 ch15.qxp 4/3/06 11:31 PM Page 204 Chapter 16 For Better or Worse: Forming Comparisons In This Chapter ᮣ Creating the comparative and superlative forms of adjectives and adverbs ᮣ Dealing with irregular comparisons ᮣ Identifying absolutes that may not be compared D oes Nellie have a bigger ice cream cone? Whose cold is worse? Do you think Tom Cruise is the most attractive, strongest, and richest star in Hollywood? If human beings weren’t so tempted to compare their situations with others’, then life — and grammar — would be a lot easier. Comparisons may be expressed by one word (higher, farther, or sooner) or two words (more beautiful, most annoying, or least sensible). Sometimes many words are needed (taller than any other Lincoln impersonator or as much electricity as Con Edison). I deal with extended comparisons in Chapter 17. In this chapter you get to practice creating and placing one- or two-word comparisons that make your meaning come through loud and clear (Oops! What I meant was more loudly and more clearly). Visiting the -ER (And the -EST): Creating Comparisons Adjectives (words that describe people, places, things, or ideas) and adverbs (describing actions, states of being, or other descriptions) are the basis of comparisons. Regular unadorned adjectives and adverbs are the base upon which two types of comparisons may be made: the comparative and the superlative. Comparatives (dumber, smarter, neater, more interesting, less available, and the like) deal with only two elements. Superlatives (dumbest, smartest, neatest, most interesting, least available, and so forth) identify the extreme in a group of three or more. To create comparisons, follow these guidelines: ߜ Tack -er onto the end of a one-syllable descriptive word to create a comparative form showing a greater or more intense quality. For descriptions of more than one syllable, the -er may sound awkward. Generally, comparatives of long words are created by tack- ing more onto the description. For a comparative that shows inferiority, use less. ߜ Glue -est to one-syllable words to make a superlative that expresses superiority. Most does the trick for most longer words. Superlatives expressing inferiority are created with the word least. 23_599321 ch16.qxp 4/3/06 11:30 PM Page 205 ߜ Check the dictionary if you’re not sure of the correct form. The entry for the plain adjective or adverb normally includes the comparative and superlative forms, if they’re single words. If you don’t see a listing for another form of the word, take the less/more, least/most option. As you may have guessed, a few comparatives and superlatives are irregular. I discuss these in the next section, “Going from Bad to Worse (and Good to Better): Irregular Comparisons.” Ready for some comparison shopping? Insert the comparative or superlative form, as needed, into the blanks for each question. The base word is in parentheses at the end of the sentence. Q. Helen is the _______________ of all the women living in Troy, New York. (beautiful) A. most beautiful or least beautiful. The sentence compares Helen to other women in Troy, New York. Comparing more than two elements requires the superlative form. Because beautiful is a long word, most and least create the comparison. Which should you choose? The answer depends on your opinion of Helen’s looks. Personally, ever since the do-it- yourself face-lift, I’m going with least. 1. Helen, who manages the billing for an auto parts company, is hoping for a transfer to the Paris office, where the salaries are _______________ than in New York but the night life is _______________. (low, lively) 2. Helen’s boss claims that she is the _______________ of all his employees. (efficient) 3. His secretary, however, has measured everyone’s output of P-345 forms and concluded that Helen is _______________ than Natalie, Helen’s assistant. (slow) 4. Natalie prefers to type her P-345s because she thinks the result is _______________ than handwritten work. (neat) 5. Helen notes that everyone else in the office writes _______________ than Natalie, whose penmanship has been compared to random scratches from a blind chicken. (legibly) 6. Helen has been angry with Natalie ever since her assistant declared that Helen’s coffee was _______________ than the tea that Natalie brought to the office. (drinkable) 7. Helen countered with the claim that Natalie brewed tea _______________ than the office rules allow, a practice that makes her _______________ than Helen. (frequently, productive) 8. The other auto-parts workers are trying to stay out of the feud; they know that both women are capable of making the work day _______________ and _______________ than it is now. (long, boring) 9. The _______________ moment in the argument came when Natalie claimed that Helen’s toy duck “squawked _______________ than Helen herself.” (petty, annoyingly) 10. I bought the duck for Helen myself, and it was the _______________ toy in the entire store! (expensive) 11. Knowing about Helen’s transfer request, I asked for a duck that sounded _______________ than the average American rubber duck. (international) 206 Part IV: All You Need to Know about Descriptions and Comparisons 23_599321 ch16.qxp 4/3/06 11:30 PM Page 206 12. The clerk told me my request was the _______________ he had ever encountered. (silly) 13. I replied that I preferred to deal with store clerks who were _______________ than he. (snobby) 14. Anyway, Helen’s transfer wasn’t approved, and she is in the _______________ mood imag- inable. (nasty) 15. We all skirt Natalie’s desk _______________ than Helen’s, because Natalie is even _______________ than Helen about the refusal. (widely, upset) 16. Natalie, who considers herself the _______________ person in the company, wanted a pro- motion to Helen’s rank. (essential) 17. Larry, however, is sure that he would have gotten the promotion because he is the _______________ of all of us in his donations to the Office Party Fund. (generous) 18. “Natalie bakes a couple of cupcakes,” he commented _______________ than the average Mack truck, “and the boss thinks she’s executive material.” (forcefully) 19. “I, on the other hand, am the _______________ of the three clerks in my office,” he contin- ued. (professional) 20. When I left the office, Natalie and Larry were arm wrestling to see who was _______________. (strong) Going from Bad to Worse (and Good to Better): Irregular Comparisons A couple of basic descriptions form comparisons irregularly. Irregulars don’t add -er or more/less to create a comparison between two elements. Nor do irregulars tack on -est or most/least to point out the top or bottom of a group of more than two, also known as the superlative form of comparisons. (See the preceding section, “Visiting the -ER (And the -EST),” for more information on comparatives and superlatives.) Instead, irregular compar- isons follow their own strange path, as you can see in Table 16-1. Table 16-1 Forms of Irregular Comparisons Description Comparative Superlative Good or well Better Best Bad or ill Worse Worst Much or many More Most Take a stab at this section’s practice exercises, but don’t go to the -ER if your aim is faulty and you put the wrong form of the description (which you find in parentheses at the end of each sentence) in the blank. Just read the explanation in the answers section of the chapter and move on. 207 Chapter 16: For Better or Worse: Forming Comparisons 23_599321 ch16.qxp 4/3/06 11:30 PM Page 207 Q. Edgar’s scrapbook, which contains souvenirs from his trip to Watch Repair Camp, is the _______________ example of a boring book that I have ever seen. (good) A. best. Once you mention the top or bottom experience of a lifetime, you’re in the superla- tive column. Because goodest isn’t a word, best is the one you want. 21. Edgar explains his souvenirs in _______________ detail than anyone would ever want to hear. (much) 22. Bored listeners believe that the _______________ item in his scrapbook is a set of gears, each of which Edgar can discuss for hours. (bad) 23. On the bright side, everyone knows that Edgar’s watch repair skills are _______________ than the jewelers’ downtown. (good) 24. When he has the flu, Edgar actually feels _______________ when he hears about a broken watch. (bad) 25. Although he is only nine years old, Edgar has the _______________ timepieces of anyone in his fourth grade class, including the teacher. (many) 26. The classroom clock functions fairly well, but Ms. Appleby relies on Edgar to make it run even _______________. (well) 27. Edgar’s scrapbook also contains three samples of watch oil; Edgar thinks Time-Ola Oil is the _______________ choice. (good) 28. Unfortunately, last week Edgar let a little oil drip onto his lunch and became sick; a few hours later he felt _______________ and had to call the doctor. (ill) 29. “Time-Ola Oil is the _______________ of all the poisons,” cried the doctor. (bad) 30. “But it’s the _______________ for watches,” whispered Edgar. (good) Words That Are Incomparable (Like You!) Because you bought this book, I’m assuming that you (like me) are perfect. Therefore you can’t be compared to anything or anyone else because the word perfect — as well as unique, round, circular, right, mistaken, and a few other terms — is an absolute. Logic, which pops up from time to time in English grammar, is the basis for this rule. If you reach an absolute state, you can’t be more or less absolute. Therefore an expression such as more circular or really unique is a no-no. You can, however, approach an absolute, being, for example, nearly perfect (okay, I admit that’s a better term for me) or almost round. Words for direction and shape tend to be absolutes. You can turn left and but not lefter or more left. Nor can you be the squarest or most square of them all, at least when you’re discussing a four-sided figure. Check out the following sentence pairs and circle the correct sentence. Just to keep you awake, I throw in some pairs in which both sentences are wrong or both sen- tences are right. (For those sentences, just write “both wrong” or “both right” in the margin.) 208 Part IV: All You Need to Know about Descriptions and Comparisons 23_599321 ch16.qxp 4/3/06 11:30 PM Page 208 . by one word (higher, farther, or sooner) or two words (more beautiful, most annoying, or least sensible). Sometimes many words are needed (taller than any other Lincoln impersonator or as much. Superlative Good or well Better Best Bad or ill Worse Worst Much or many More Most Take a stab at this section’s practice exercises, but don’t go to the -ER if your aim is faulty and you put the wrong form. Page 2 05 ߜ Check the dictionary if you’re not sure of the correct form. The entry for the plain adjective or adverb normally includes the comparative and superlative forms, if they’re single words.