Table 2.3 Comparative form
Pattern II: addition of the word more- Adjective and
Adverb Rules
The words Comparative
form I.
Adjective of two syllables
ended by –ful, -re, -ed, -ing, -
ish, -ous
II. Adjective of three or more
syllables
III. Most adverbs that admit of
the notion of comparison,
these include mainly adverb
of manner with the suffix –ly,
and a few adverb of
frequency Put more-
before the positive form
Put more- before the
positive form
Put more- before the
positive form doubtful,
obscure, amused,
boring, foolish,
nervous
interested, amusing,
beautiful, magnificent
sweetly, carefully,
accurately, seldom
more doubtful, more
obscure, more
amused, more
boring, more
foolish, more
nervous more
interested, more
amusing, more
beautiful, more
magnificent
more sweetly, more
carefully, more
accurately, more
seldom
3 Superlative Degree: regular adjectives and adverbs make their superlative
form in two ways: by adding the suffix –est for one or some of two syllables adjective or adverb, and adding the word most- for three or some of two
syllables adjective or adverb.
Table 2.4 Superlative form
Pattern I: addition of the suffix –est Adjective and
Adverb Rule
The words Superlative form
I. Adjectives of one syllable
ended by “e” ended by
vowel+consona nt, except
h,w,x,y ended by all
other words II. Adjective of two
syllables Ended by –er, -
ow Ended by –y
Ended by consonant + le
III. Adverb of one syllable mostly
identical in form with
adjectives, and sometimes not
clearly distinguished
from adjective in function.
9
Add –st Double the last
consonant before adding –
est Add –est
Add –est Change “y” to
“I” and add –
est Add –st
Add –est brave,
wide flat, big,
hot short,
cheap, long
clever, narrow
pretty, happy
gentle, noble
hard, fast, soon
bravest, widest flattest,
biggest, hottest shortest,
cheapest, longest
cleverest, narrowest
prettiest, happiest
gentlest, noblest
hardest, fastest, soonest
9
C E Nuttall, English Language Units: Comparison of Adjectives and Adverbs, London: Longman Group Ltd, 1971, p.8
Table 2.5 Superlative form
Pattern II: addition of the word the most- Adjective and
Adverb Rules
The words Comparative form
I. Adjective of two syllables
ended by –ful, -re, -ed, -ing, -
ish, -ous
II. Adjective of three or more
syllables
III. Most adverbs that admit of
the notion of comparison,
these include mainly adverb
of manner with the suffix
–ly, and a few adverb of
frequency Put the most-
before the positive form
Put the most- before the
positive form
Put the most- before the
positive form doubtful,
obscure, amused,
boring, foolish,
nervous
interested, amusing,
beautiful, magnificent
sweetly, carefully,
accurately, seldom
the most doubtful, the
most obscure, the
most amused, the
most boring, the
most foolish, the
most nervous
the most interested, the
most amusing,
the most beautiful, the
most magnificent
the most sweetly, the most
carefully, the most
accurately, the most
seldom
Besides the regular form which has been discussed above, degrees of comparison has also the irregular form of adjective and adverb. It will be mentioned in the
table below:
Table 2.6 Irregular Forms of Comparison
10
Positive form Comparative form
Superlative form Good
Well adjective Well adverb
Better Best
Bad Badly
Worse Worst
Many Much
More Most
Little Less
Least Old
Elder preferably used in family
Eldest Far
Farther Further
Farthest of distance only
Furthest used more widely
b. The Patterns of Degrees of Comparison in sentences Besides knowing the forms of degrees of comparison, we also have to
know about the pattern or structure of degrees of comparison when it is put in the sentence. And here the writer will explain about it as clearly as he knows.
1 Structures of Positive Degree Pattern 1
S + Be + as + adjective + as + NNPOClause EX: He is as tall as me.
Note : We can use “so” in place of “as” in negative statements:
EX: You aren’t so tall as her. Pattern 2
S + Be + times + as + adjective + as + NNPOClause
10
A. J. Thomson and A. V. Martinet, A Practical English Grammar, New York: Oxford University Press, 1986 Fourth Edition, p.37
EX: Salt Lake is five times as salty as any oceans. Pattern 3
S + V V+O + as + adverb + as + NNPOClause EX: I run as fast as you do.
I will practice English as hard as you will. Pattern 4
S + V V+O + times + as + adverb + as + NNPOClause EX: A plane can fly three times as fast as a helicopter can.
2 Structures of Comparative Degree Pattern 1
S + Be + adj-er more-adj + than + NNPOClause EX: You are taller than me.
My shoes is more expensive than yours. Pattern 2
S + V + adv-ermore- adv + than + NNPOClause EX: She can type faster than me.
Jim works more carefully than Jane
Pattern 3 S + Be + period of time + adj-ermore- adj + than + NNPOclause
EX: She is twelve years younger than her husband. My car is three times more expensive than your car.
Pattern 4 S + V + times + adv-ermore- adv + than + NNPOClause
EX: A computer can work 500,000 times faster than a person. Pattern 5
S + BeV1 + Adj-er + and + Adj-ermore- adj EX: It is getting darker and darker.
She looks more and more beautiful. Pattern 6
S + BeV1 + Adv-er + and + Adv-ermore- adv EX: They are learning more and more actively.
4 Structures of Superlative Degree
Pattern 1 S + Be + the + Adj-estmost- adj + Singular Noun + Of allin + NP
EX: English is the most international language of all. Pattern 2
S + Be + the + Adj-estmost- adj + Of all + Plural Noun EX: English is the most international of all languages.
Pattern 3 S + V + O + the + Adv-estmost- adv + …..
EX: He likes football the most. Pattern 4
S + V2 + the + Adj-estmost- adj + Noun EX: He ate the biggest cake yesterday.
Pattern 5 S1 + Be + the + Adj-estmost- adj + Noun + that + S2 + hashave + ever + PP
EX: Shakespeare is the greatest dramatist that England has ever had.
B. The General Concept of Substitution Drills
1. The Definition of Substitution Drills
In teaching English material, there are so many techniques which can be used. One of those techniques is through drilling. There are many kinds of
drilling, such us: transformation drills, question-answer drills, repetition drills, substitution drills and so on. Specifically, the writer uses Substitution Drills in this
research. And here the writer tries to give the definition of drilling and also substitution drills by his own opinion and ofcourse it is in line with the opinions
of some experts in English teaching. A drill is an oral exercise aiming at giving the students methodical practice
of a particular syntactic structure in naturally expressed and easily remembered utterances in the target language. The aim of the exercise is to enable the students
to assimilate the structure and develop fluency using that same structure in natural conversations.
11
According to the Advanced Learner’s Dictionary “Drill is through training by practical experiences, usually with much repetition”.
12
Substitution drills is a classroom technique used to practice new language. It involves the teacher first modeling a word or a sentence and the learners
repeating it. The teacher then substitutes one or more keywords, or change the prompt, and the learners say the new structure.
13
From the statements above, the writer concludes that drilling is a guide repetition which is done by students through the models given by teacher. It
means that the technique involves the teachers and the students’ action. Firstly, the teacher modells the word or sentence and the students repeat it. Afterward
they are requaired to replace one or more words of the sentence by their own word which must be suitable. They may replace a word of the sentence with a pronoun,
number, verb or make some necessary changes. Students can be drilled individually or in a group.
Substitution drills can be a good technique for learning and practicing English. Because it allows the teacher to check the students’ erors. And it is also
11
http:teacher.bravehost.comdrill.html
12
AS.Hornby, The Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English, London: Oxford University Press, 1963 2
nd
edition, p. 305.
13
http:www.teachingenglish.org.ukthinkknowledge-wikisubstitution-drill
necessary to be used at all levels because it is a controlled practice activity. Using drills is not completely boring. Here the teacher can combine a lot of ways to
make it more interesting and challenging for students.
2. The Objective of Substitution Drills
Teaching English grammar subject by using Substitution Drills has some objectives, and the main objective of Substitution Drills is to enable the students
to begin to assimilate the structure and variation in a single frame. It enables them to recognize and use the class of segments that can fit into a particular frame.
14
Substitution Drills can be useful for the students or learners and also for the teacher. The following are some advantages of substitution drills technique for
the learners and the teachers: For the learners, drills can:
Provide for a focus on accuracy. Increased accuracy along with increased fluency and complexity is one of the ways in which a learners language
improves so there is a need to focus on accuracy at certain stages of the lesson or during certain task types.
Provide learners with intensive practice in hearing and saying particular words or phrases. They can help learners get their tongues around difficult
sounds or help them imitate intonation that may be rather different from that of their first language.
Provide a safe environment for learners to experiment with producing the language. This may help build confidence particularly among learners who
are not risk-takers.
Help students notice the correct form or pronunciation of a word or phrase. Noticing or consciousness raising of language is an important stage in
developing language competence.
Provide an opportunity for learners to get immediate feedback on their accuracy in terms of teacher or peer correction. Many learners want to be
corrected.
Help memorisation and automisation of common language patterns and language chunks. This may be particularly true for aural learners.
Meet student expectations i.e. They may think drilling is an essential feature of language classrooms.
For the teacher, drills can: Help in terms of classroom management, enabling us to vary the pace of
the lesson or to get all learners involved.
14
http:www.teachingenglish.org.ukthinkknowledge-wikisubstitution-drill
Help us recognise if new language is causing problems in terms of form or pronunciation.
15
3. The Procedures of Substitution Drills
Substitution Drills has been used in foreign language classrooms for many years. It is a key feature of audio lingual approaches to language teaching which
placed emphasis on repeating structural patterns through oral or written practice. Substitution Drills has the procedures or steps to do orderly. And the
teacher is expected to use the procedures accurately in order to obtain the successful in teaching learning process, so that the students can get more
understanding about the subject being learned. The procedures to teach English grammar subject by using substitution
drills is firstly the teacher presents the basic structure that needs to be practiced by the students. A cue word to substitute in a slot is given and the students are
expected to give the new sentence retaining the same pattern. The meaning of the words is already known. And those examples are given by the teacher himself to
illustrate and then the students are asked to process on similar line.
16
From the statement above, the writer concludes that the procedures or steps of substitution drills are by the following activities:
a. The teacher gives and explains the basic structure of the sentence that need to be practiced by students.
b. The teacher points the cue word of the sentence and then asks the students to change or substitute the cue word.
c. The students substitute the cue word by their own word which should be suitable.
C. Teaching Degrees of Comparison by Using Substitution Drills
Degrees of comparison are involved as one of materials which are taught in English grammar. In teaching English grammar, the teacher should be aware
about some important points that will help him to explain it to the students clearly, and as the result the students will get more understanding about the material being
15
http: www.teachingenglish.org.ukthinkarticlesdrilling-1
16
http:www.ciil-ebooks.nethtmldrillsch2.htm
