WREN & MARTIN's English grammar-Degrees of Comparison: Comparative to Positive Degree

 

Degrees of Comparison: Comparative to Positive Degree

1. "Silver is cheaper than gold." (Change to Positive)

A. Gold is not as cheap as silver.

B. Gold is not as expensive as silver.

C. Gold is not as dear as silver.

D. Silver is as cheap as gold.

2. "He is stronger than I am." (Change to Positive)

A. I am as strong as he is.

B. I am not as strong as he is.

C. He is as strong as me.

D. I am stronger than him.

3. "The pen is mightier than the sword." (Change to Positive)

A. The sword is as mighty as the pen.

B. The sword is not as mighty as the pen.

C. The pen is not as mighty as the sword.

D. The sword is mightier than the pen.

4. "Australia is larger than any other island in the world." (Change to Positive)

A. No other island in the world is as large as Australia.

B. Very few islands are as large as Australia.

C. Australia is as large as any island.

D. No other island is larger than Australia.

5. "Prevention is better than cure." (Change to Positive)

A. Cure is not as good as prevention.

B. Cure is as good as prevention.

C. Prevention is as good as cure.

D. Cure is better than prevention.

6. "Mahabaleshwar is cooler than Matheran." (Change to Positive)

A. Matheran is as cool as Mahabaleshwar.

B. Mahabaleshwar is not as cool as Matheran.

C. Matheran is not as cool as Mahabaleshwar.

D. Matheran is not cooler than Mahabaleshwar.

7. "Iron is more useful than any other metal." (Change to Positive)

A. No other metal is as useful as iron.

B. Very few metals are as useful as iron.

C. Iron is as useful as other metals.

&D. Any other metal is as useful as iron.

8. "Shakespeare is greater than most other English poets." (Change to Positive)

A. No other English poet is as great as Shakespeare.

B. Very few English poets are as great as Shakespeare.

C. Shakespeare is as great as other poets.

D. Most other poets are as great as Shakespeare.

9. "A wise enemy is better than a foolish friend." (Change to Positive)

A. A foolish friend is as good as a wise enemy.

B. A foolish friend is not as good as a wise enemy.

C. A wise enemy is not as good as a foolish friend.

D. A foolish friend is better than a wise enemy.

10. "The airplane flies faster than birds." (Change to Positive)

A. Birds do not fly as fast as the airplane.

B. Birds fly as fast as the airplane.

C. The airplane does not fly as fast as birds.

D. Birds fly faster than the airplane.

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Answer Key

Question	Answer	Rule Applied
1	C	"Dear" is a synonym for expensive. Affirmative comparative becomes negative positive.
2	B	Swaps subjects and adds "not as... as."
3	B	Reverses the focus to the sword to maintain the pen's superiority.
4	A	"Than any other" in comparative becomes "No other... as" in positive.
5	A	"Better" (comparative) changes to its base form "good" (positive).
6	C	Ensures the meaning that Mahabaleshwar is the cooler one remains.
7	A	Standard transformation for absolute comparison.
8	B	"Than most other" in comparative becomes "Very few... as" in positive.
9	B	Highlights the deficiency of the foolish friend compared to the enemy.
10	A	Changes the verb structure to match the positive "as fast as."