Collins Cobuild English Grammar (49 page)

Increasingly
can be used instead of
more and more
and
decreasingly
instead of
less and less
.

I was becoming
increasingly
depressed.
It was the first of a number of
increasingly
frank talks.

2.162
  If you want to say that something has a little more or a little less of a quality than something else, you use
rather
,
slightly
,
a bit
,
a little bit
, or
a little
with comparative adjectives.

It’s a
rather more complicated
story than that.
She’s only
a little bit taller
than her sister.

You also use these forms to say that something has a little more or a little less of a quality than it had before.

We must be
rather more visible
to people in the community.
…the little things that made life
slightly less intolerable
.

2.163
  If you want to say emphatically that something has no more of a quality than something else or than it had before, you can use
no
in front of comparative adjectives.

Some species of dinosaur were
no bigger
than a chicken.

Any
is used for emphasis in front of comparatives in negative clauses, questions, and conditional clauses. For example,
He wasn’t any taller than Jane
means the same as
He was no taller than Jane
.

I was ten and didn’t look
any older
.
If it will make you
any happier
, I’ll shave off my beard.
Is that
any clearer
?

Note that you only use
no
and
any
like this when comparatives are being used after a linking verb. You cannot use
no
and
any
with comparatives when they are being used in front of a noun phrase. For example, you cannot say
It was a no better meal
or
Is that an any faster train
?

2.164
  When you use the comparative structure
as
…
as
… (see paragraphs
2.124
to
2.130
), submodifying words such as
just
,
quite
,
nearly
, and
almost
can be used in front of it, modifying the comparison with their usual meanings.

Mary was
just as pale as
he was.
There is nothing
quite as lonely as
illness.
…a huge bird which was
nearly as big as
a man.
The land seemed
almost as dark as
the water.

Nearly
is also used when the
as
…
as
… structure is preceded by
not
with the meaning
less
……
than
. You put it after the
not
. For example,
I am not nearly as tall as George
means the same as
I am much less tall than George
.

This is
not nearly as complicated as
it sounds.

2.165
  When you use
like
to describe someone or something by comparing them with someone or something else (see paragraphs
2.132
to
2.134
), you can use a submodifying adverb in front of it.

…animals that looked
a little like
donkeys.
It’s a plane
exactly like
his.

Here is a list of modifying words and phrases used with
like
:

a bit

a little

exactly

just

quite

rather

somewhat

very

2.166
  When you use
the same as
and
the same
to describe someone or something by saying they are identical to someone or something else, you can use a number of submodifying adverbs in front of them, including
just
,
exactly
,
much
,
nearly
,
virtually
, and
more or less
.

I’m
just the same as
everyone else.
The situation was
much the same
in Germany.
The moral code would seem to be
more or less the same
throughout the world.

2.167
  When you are using superlative adjectives, you may wish to say that something has much more or much less of a quality than anything else of its kind.

The submodifying adverbs
much
,
quite
,
easily
,
by far
, and
very
can be used with the superlative adjectives.

Much
,
quite
, and
easily
are placed in front of
the
and the superlative.

Music may have been
much the most respectable
of his tastes. …the most frightening time of my life, and
quite the most dishonest
.
This is
easily the best
film of the year.

By far
can be placed either in front of
the
and the superlative or after the superlative.

They are
by far the most dangerous
creatures on the island. The Union was
the largest by far
.

2.168
  
Very
is only used with superlatives formed by adding
-est
or with irregular superlatives such as
the best
and
the worst
.
Very
is placed between
the
and the superlative.

…
the very earliest
computers.
It was of
the very highest
quality.

Very
is also used to modify superlative adjectives when you want to be very emphatic. It is placed after a determiner such as
the
or
that
and in front of a superlative adjective or one such as
first
or
last
.

…in the
very smallest
countries.
…one of the
very finest
breeds of dogs.
…on the
very first
day of the war.
He had come at the
very last
moment.
That
very next
afternoon he was working in his room.
He spent weeks in that
very same
basement.

Modifying using nouns: noun modifiers

2.169
  Nouns can be used as modifiers in front of other nouns when you want to give more specific information about someone or something.

Sometimes, when nouns are used like this they become fixed expressions called
compound nouns
(see paragraphs
1.83
to
1.92
).

When the nouns used in front of other nouns are not in fixed expressions, they are called
noun modifiers
.

…the
car
door.
…
tennis
lessons.
…a
football
player.
…
cat
food.
…the
music
industry.
…a
surprise
announcement.

singular and plural forms

2.170
  You normally use the singular form of a
countable noun
(see paragraphs
1.15
to
1.22
) as a noun modifier, even when you are referring to more than one thing. For example, you refer to a shop that sells books as
a book shop
, not
a books shop
, even though it sells a large number of books, not just one.

Many
plural nouns
lose their
-s
endings when used in front of other nouns.

…my
trouser
pocket.
…
pyjama
trousers.
…
paratroop
attacks.

Here is a list of common plural nouns that lose their
-s
and
-es
endings when they are used as modifiers:

knickers

paratroops

pyjamas

scissors

spectacles

troops

trousers

However, some plural nouns keep the same form when used in front of other nouns.

…
arms
control.
…
clothes
pegs.

Here is a list of common plural nouns that remain the same when they are used as modifiers:

arms

binoculars

clothes

glasses

jeans

sunglasses

Plural nouns are explained in paragraphs
1.41
to
1.46
.

using more than one noun modifier

2.171
  If you want to be even more specific, you can use more than one noun modifier. For example, a
car insurance certificate
is a certificate that shows that a car has been insured, and a
state pension scheme
is a scheme that is run by the state and concerns workers’ pensions.

…a
Careers Information
Officer.
…
car body repair
kits.
…a
family dinner
party.
…a
school medical
officer.

used with adjectives

2.172
  If you want to give more information about a noun that has a noun modifier in front of it, you can put
adjectives
in front of the noun modifier.

…a
long
car journey.
…a
new scarlet
silk handkerchief.
…
complex
business deals.
…this
beautiful
morning sunlight.
…the
French
film industry.

When an adjective comes in front of two nouns, it is usually obvious whether it is modifying the two nouns combined or only the noun modifier.

For example, in
an electric can opener
, the adjective
electric
is modifying the combination
can opener
; whereas in
electric shock treatment
,
electric
is modifying the noun
shock
and then both the adjective and the noun modifier are modifying the noun
treatment
.

Adjectives are explained in paragraphs
2.2
to
2.102
.