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It was way scarier and way faster and just way more horrible than I thought it would be.
And to be honest, I think I will never go on a roller coaster again.
When you're younger, it is a lot easier to wake up early, get yourself out of bed.
And I think as I'm getting older, I'm finding it more stressful than it used to be.
Hello and welcome to Learning English Grammar.
I'm Pippa.
And I'm Phil.
We've just heard Neil and Becca talking about some stressful things they've done.
And in this episode we'll talk about stressful things and learn the grammar of comparative and superlative sentences.
And you can find a transcript for this episode and subtitles to read along with at bbclearningenglishcom.
So, Pippa, what do you think is more stressful, learning to drive or learning a new language?
Oh, that's a difficult question, because I've always said that learning to drive was the most stressful thing I ever did.
But learning a new language, that's hard as well.
What about you, Phil?
Well, I'm not sure it's the learning that's stressful.
It's when you have to use it afterwards.
So driving around London in rush hour can be very stressful.
And also trying to do something in a language that you don't know very well.
That can also be a bit stressful as well.
So I don't know which is more stressful.
They can both be difficult.
That's true.
Well, let's listen to more from Neil and Becca talking about some stressful things they've done and also some of the interesting places they've been.
I think that going for a job interview is way more stressful than learning to drive.
I like to travel a lot and I think that I can do it.
Like I can make the very early flights in the morning.
And when you're younger, it is a lot easier to wake up early, get yourself out of bed and go on holiday.
I think as I'm getting older, I'm finding it more stressful than it used to be.
I really like roller coasters.
Well, I thought that I did, and then I discovered that I don't like them anymore when I was on one and it was way scarier and way faster and just way more horrible than I thought it would be and, to be honest, I think I will never go on a roller coaster again.
I think when I hiked a volcano in Bali.
That's the most exciting thing I've ever done.
So, yeah, Bali is the best place I've ever been.
The best place that I've been recently is Sicily.
So, I heard Neil use a comparative.
He said doing a job interview is more stressful than learning to drive.
And I heard some superlatives.
For example, Becca said climbing a volcano was the most exciting thing she's ever done.
So sometimes Becca and Neil are using the word than and sometimes they're using the word that.
I think we should bring in the big guns to explain what's going on here.
Comparatives and superlatives lovelier.
Or by using the word more for longer adjectives.
For example, more exciting, more stressful, more complicated.
Right, and I can do superlatives.
We make these by adding est, iest or using the word most.
So, some examples would be hardest, loveliest and most exciting.
That's right.
But let's listen to a comparative in action.
Here's Neil.
I think that going for a job interview is way more stressful than learning to drive.
Neil says, doing a job interview is more stressful than learning to drive, and we use this word than and complete the sentence with a comparison.
In the simplest form, we might just suggest another option.
For example, I could say dogs are happier than cats.
But we can also follow than with something more complicated.
Listen to Becca.
I think as I'm getting older, I'm finding it more stressful than it used to be.
Here, Becca is comparing how stressful getting up early is now to how stressful it was in the past.
And that little word than is essential here to create the comparative sentence.
OK, so another example.
Learning to drive was harder than I thought it would be.
Perfect.
The rule is follow a comparative with than and then complete the sentence.
And what about superlatives?
Should people use the word than here too?
No, they shouldn't.
With superlatives, we use that to introduce a relative clause.
Let's listen to Neil.
The best place that I've been recently is Sicily.
Neil uses a superlative, the best place, plus that, then finishes the sentence.
So altogether, the best place that I've been recently is Sicily.
OK, Georgie, so than works with comparatives and that works with superlatives.
But I also heard Becca use neither than nor that.
So, yeah, Bali is the best place I've ever been.
Yes, this is where things can get confusing.
So with superlatives, we often skip the word that and it still makes sense.
So you could say, London is the best city I visited in the UK.
Or you could say, London is the best city that I visited in the UK.
Both are correct.
But with comparatives, we can't skip than.
We have to say London is a better city than New York.
We can't say London is a better city New York.
That would be wrong.
Thanks, Georgie.
You explain these things better than I can.
I know.
I'm the best teacher that ever lived.
See you soon.
Bye.
OK Phil, let's play a game to test what we've learned.
I'll give you a sentence with a missing word, a blank, and you can tell me whether the word should be that, than or no word at all.
You can play along while you listen and see if you can answer before I do.
OK, let's start.
First off, I want to run faster blank you.
OK, faster is a comparative, so it's going to be than.
That's correct.
Another sentence.
The test was easier, blank, I thought it would be.
Easier.
Okay, that ends in er.
That's also a comparative.
It's than again, isn't it?
It is.
Okay, final one.
This is the best book blank I've ever read.
Aha, well, this one, best is definitely a superlative.
So actually, we can leave it blank with nothing, or we can use that.
Yes, that's right.
So you could say, this is the best book that I've ever read.
Or you could say, this is the best book I've ever read. to help you boost your speaking confidence.
Head to bbclearningenglishcom.
That's it for this episode.
We'll be back next week with more grammar.
In the meantime, try the worksheet and quiz on our website to test your knowledge of comparatives and superlatives.
Thanks for joining us and goodbye bye.
