Understanding Vocabulary and Grammar in English
Vocabulary – Human-Made Wonders: Bridge (ponte), Canal (canal), Plaza (praça), Skyscraper (arranha-céu), Stadium (estádio), Subway System (metrô), Tower (torre), Tunnel (túnel).
Grammar: Comparisons with Adjectives and Nouns
– Use the –er ending or more… than with adjectives to make comparisons.
The Empire State Building is older, taller, and more famous than Rockefeller Center.
– You can also use not as… as to make comparisons with adjectives.
The lines at Rockefeller Center are not as long as the lines at the Empire State Building.
Tickets to the Empire State Building are not as expensive as tickets to Rockefeller Center.
– Use more… than to make comparisons with nouns.
The Empire State Building gets more visitors than Rockefeller Center.
Rockefeller Center has more observation space than the Empire State Building.
- I’m sure POA has more people than CB.
- CB is more exciting than POA.
- Beira Rio is older than Arena.
- Arena is bigger than Beira Rio.
- USP has more students than UFRGS.
- UFRGS is more beautiful than USP.
Expressing Disbelief: No way!; Seriously?; I don’t believe it!
Saying You Don’t Know: I really don’t know.; I have no idea.; I don’t have a clue.
Vocabulary – Geographical Features: Desert (deserto), Island (ilha), Lake (lago), Ocean (oceano), Rain Forest (floresta tropical), River (rio), Valley (vale), Waterfall (cachoeira).
- The largest desert in Asia is the Gobi Desert.
- There are about 17,000 islands in Indonesia.
- Siberia’s Lake Baikal is the world’s deepest lake.
- The Indian Ocean covers 20% of the earth’s surface.
- Rain forests cover almost 75% of Brunei.
- China’s Yangtze River is the longest river in Asia.
- Langtang Valley is one of the prettiest valleys in Nepal.
- The highest waterfall in India is Jog Falls.
Grammar: Superlatives with Adjectives and Nouns
– Use the –est ending or the most to express the superlative with adjectives.
The wettest time is from November to April.
Bali is the most beautiful island I’ve ever visited.
The dry season is the best time to visit.
– Use the most to express the superlative with nouns.
Java has the most people of all the islands in Indonesia.
Bali gets the most sunshine in the dry season.
- One of the most popular beaches in the country is there.
- I think it’s the most beautiful part of the country.
- It’s one of the driest places in the world, too.
- Remember, Chile is the longest country in the world.
- When’s the best time to visit?
Writing – A Wonderful Mountain: Mount Toubkal is the highest mountain in Morocco and one of the prettiest. The most popular time to visit is the summer. Many people climb the mountain, and you can hike it in two days. To me, the most interesting time to visit is the winter because you can ski. This is surprising to many people…
- Where is it? It’s in Gramado.
- What does it look like? It looks beautiful.
- What can you do there? Eat a lot and buy chocolate.
- When’s a good time to go there? The most interesting time to visit is the winter because it can snow.