Exercise 36, p. 387

1, 2. We cannot use very with comparatives. Instead we use

(very) much,far, a lot and lots (the latter, two are informal).

3. Dead meaning completely can be used with the positive

degree of adjectives. Dead is more emotional than completely.

4. No here means not any. One might just as well say. You are

not any better than all those people.

5. In formal speech and writing most used without the definite

article before an adjective has the same meaning as very.

6. Pretty before an adjective in the positive degree is a colloquial

synonym offairly.

7, 15. Comparatives with the ... the are used to say that two

things change together one depending on the other. A short

form of this structure (7) is used in sentences ending with the

better (7) and in the expression. The more the merrier (В тесноте,

да не в обиде).

 

8. See 3.

9,10,11,13. See 5.

12 . As ... as with positive degrees of adjectives is used to say

that two people or things are equal in some way.

14. Imaginable is used after a superlative to emphasize that

something is the best, worst, smartest etc. that can be imagined.

It comes after the adjective in the superlative degree and the

noun it modifies.