Gram. Supp.

7 Focus 2_Repeated Comparatives

Objective: Students will be able to use a repeated comparative to emphasise the rate or amount of
change.
REPEATED COMPARATIVES

Repeated comparatives describe things that are increasing or decreasing, or things that are
changing continuously.

- My uncle grew fatter and fatter over the years.

- The queue was getting longer and longer.
- The book gets more and more interesting with every chapter.
- These days more and more people are learning Chinese.
- As Microsoft grew, Bill Gates got richer and richer.
- Things are getting more and more expensive in Turkey.
- He spoke for over an hour and his explanation got more and more complicated.
- Your Spanish is improving. It’s getting better and better.
- There were less and less people at the end of the conference.

Be careful!
1. one syllable adjectives
The birth rate is getting lower and lower.
Finding a job abroad is getting harder and harder each day.
The caravan was rolling faster and faster down the hill.

2. two or three syllables adjectives

Cathy got more and more bored with her job. In the end, she left.
He got more and more exhausted at the end of the match
Prices go up and up. Everything gets more and more expensive.
.
3. one syllable adjectives ending with one vowel+one consonant
The city is growing fast. It is getting bigger and bigger each day.
She gets thinner and thinner every single day.

4. one or two syllables ending in -y

He is getting lazier and lazier every day.

5. irregular adjectives
Your English is improving. It is getting better and better.

6. more and more + noun

These days more and more people are emigrating to Europe.
The country is rapidly losing its workers, as more and more people are emigrating.
He decided to save more and more money to buy his favourite sports car.

7. We can also use ‘less and less’ for something decreasing.

As each new problem arose, we felt less and less enthusiastic.

Exercise 1: Complete the sentences using the structure above (repeated comparatives).

1. It’s becoming harder and harder to find a job these days. (hard)
2. That hole in your pullover is getting ___________________ (big)
3. My bags seemed to get ____________________ as I carried them. (heavy)
4. As I waited for my interview, I became __________________ (nervous)
5. As the day went on, the weather got _______________________ (bad)
6. Health care is becoming ___________________________ (expensive)
7. Since she went to Canada, her English got _____________________ (good)
8. As the conversation went on, he became ____________________________ (talkative)
9. The market for tablets is becoming _____________all the time. (competitive)
10. Billy's always lying and exaggerating. His stories get _________________________every time I
see him.  (unbelievable)

Exercise 2: Vicky works very hard at her studies, but she is worried that she is making no
progress. Complete her sentences.
1. This subject gets harder and harder (hard) all the time.
2. I’m just getting ________________________________ (confused).
3. It’s becoming _________________________________ (difficult) for me to keep up.
4. The textbook just gets __________________________(complicated).
5. I spend ____________________________________(time) on my work.
6. My list of things to do gets ___________________________(long).
7. My problems are getting _________________________(bad).

Exercise 3: Some of the sentences below are correct, but some of them aren’t. If a sentence is
correct, put a tick (√). If it is not correct, cross the unnecessary word out of the sentence and write it
in the space.

1. London is more bigger than Birmingham. ___more______

2. She isn’t as expensive as gold. _____________
3. Indian food is the nicer than Chinese. _____________
4. The longer you wait, so the harder it’ll be. _____________
5. The piano is heavier than the sofa. _____________
6. That;’s the most quickest way to the hotel. _____________
7. The weather is getting hotter and more hotter. _____________
8. The crowd is becoming more and more excited. _____________

Exercise 4: Rewrite the sentences using the brackets.

Example: This train is more convenient than all the other trains. (MOST)
This train is the most convenient train.

1. The living room isn’t as big as the kitchen. (BIGGER)

The kitchen _________________________________________________

2. I’m not as fit as you. (ME)

You _______________________________________________________.
3. The table and the desk are the same size. (THE SAME ….AS)

________________________________________________________

4. Prices just get higher all the time. ( AND)

Prices ______________________________________________________________

5. This dress is cheaper than the skirt. (LESS)

The dress __________________________________________________.

6. Their excitement was increasing all the time. (EXCITED)

They were getting ___________________________________________.

7. I’ve never read a more romantic story. (MOST)

It’s the__________________________________________________________.
ANSWER KEY

Exercise 1
2. bigger and bigger
3. heavier and heavier
4. more and more nervous
5. worse and worse
6. more and more expensive
7. better and better
8. more and more talkative
9. more and more competitive
10. more and more unbelievable
Exercise 2
2. more and more confused
3. more and more difficult
4. more and more complicated
5. more and more time
6. longer and longer
7. worse and worse

Exercise 3 Exercise 4
2.√ 1.The kitchen is bigger than the living room.
3. the 2. You are fitter than me.
4. so 3. The table is the same size as the desk. The desk is the
5. √ same size as the table.
6. most 4. Prices get higher and higher.
5. The dress is less expensive than the skirt.
7.√
6. They are getting more and more excited.
7. It’s the most romantic story I’ve ever read.

https://speakspeak.com/grammar-articles/better-and-better-more-and-more-repeating-comparative-adj
ectives-to-show-change

English Grammar in Use, Cambridge University Press, 2004

Oxford Practice Grammar İntermediate, John Eastwood, Oxford