English Morphology Essay

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English majors year II Lecture 14 Comparison One of the most basic and powerful of human cognitive processes is the ability to comprehend and express the fact that two things are similar or different. Often such a similarity or difference is expressed in terms of degree, extent, or quantity. The most important English constructions used to express similarities or differences of degree or extent are the equative, the comparative and the superlative constructions. From the outset, it is important that we distinguish the absolute use of adjectives and adverbs from the relative use of such words. Absolute use: Relative use: John is tall. John runs fast. John is taller than Susan. John runs faster than Bill. The range of comparative construction types Most reference grammars centre their discussion of comparison in English around adjectives and adverbs. Actually, every major part of speech in English (i.e., nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs) permits comparison: Adjective Adverb: Noun: Verb: John is taller than Mary (is). Joe is less intelligent than Sam (is). Bill runs faster than Peter (runs/does). Judy dances less gracefully than Sally (dances/ does). Jack has more money than Harry (has/does). Max has fewer books/less money than I (have/do). Paul weighs more than Alex (does). This book costs less than that one (does). Other forms used to express comparison in English Besides the degrees of comparison, the English language has a number of other syntactic and lexical means to express comparison. Types • Some constructions limit the scope of an adjective or adverb, thereby making its meaning relative rather than absolute: Mary is tall for a girl. John is tall compared to Joey. • Sometimes special verbs are used to express a superior degree or extent: John’s height exceeds/ surpasses Mary’s height. • Some derived verbs using out-, under-,and over- as prefixes are

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