Far better, slightly cheaper

  • B2 · Upper-intermediate
  • Grammar lesson
  • 60 min
  • much, far, a lot + comparative

How big is the difference? much, far and a lot for a big one, slightly, a bit and a little for a small one, and nowhere near as … as: The new phone is far faster, and the screen is only slightly bigger. The student reads a blog post about a phone upgrade, checks comparisons against numbers, fixes the usual mistakes, and advises the teacher on what to buy.

Teach this lessonDownload PDF

Free, no card needed. The PDF has every slide, the homework and an answer key.

far betterslightly cheapernowhere near as

What's in the lesson

  1. 1Warm-up
  2. 2In this lesson
  3. 3Reading: was it worth it?Reading comprehension
  4. 4What does it mean?Grammar exercise
  5. 5Find the comparisonsGrammar exercise
  6. 6How big is the difference?Grammar rule
  7. 7Check the numbersGrammar exercise
  8. 8Two apartmentsGrammar exercise
  9. 9Find the mistakeGrammar exercise
  10. 10Say it naturallySpeaking practice
  11. 11The shopping advisorSpeaking practice
  12. 12About youGrammar exercise
  13. 13Wrap-up

Homework

  1. 1Homework: which is right?Grammar exercise
  2. 2Homework: the train or the car?Grammar exercise
  3. 3Homework: build the comparisonsGrammar exercise
  4. 4Homework: was it worth it?Discussion

Two slides from the lesson

Warm-up

A few questions about you before we start.

  1. How old is the phone you have now? What do you like or dislike about it?
  2. Think of something you replaced recently: a laptop, a pair of shoes, a bike. Is the new one better? How?
  3. Do you read reviews before you buy something expensive? Which ones do you trust?

Grammar rule

How big is the difference?

A word before the comparative

The difference is…WordsExample
bigmuch, far, a lot (+ comparative)The new library is much bigger. Flying is far more tiring than people think.
big (informal American)wayThat test was way harder.
smallslightly, a bit, a little (+ comparative)The blue sofa is slightly wider. Could you drive a little more carefully?
much less, with as … asnowhere near as … as (= not nearly as … as)My cooking is nowhere near as tasty as my dad's.

They work with -er comparatives (much colder), more / less + adjective (far less useful), and comparative adverbs (a bit more quietly).

Watch out

  • Not very or too before a comparative: very warmer → much warmer / a bit warmer.
  • One comparative only: much more warmer, a bit more easier → much warmer, a bit easier.
  • much, far and a lot need a comparative: It's much expensive → It's much more expensive (or very expensive).
  • nowhere near as … as, never than: nowhere near as warm than → as warm as.
  • far here is not about distance: far better = much better.
  • a bit slow = slow, said softly; a bit slower = a small difference between two things.
  • Before more + a plural noun, use many, far or a lot, not much: many more people, far more people (not much more people). With an uncountable noun, much is fine: much more time.

Teach it live with video and a whiteboard, or print it: the PDF has every slide, the homework and the answers.

Teach this lesson
← Unit 7Whatever, whoever, wherever