HOME PAGE
Click Here for Back Issues of Language in India - From 2001
BOOKS FOR YOU TO READ AND DOWNLOAD FREE!
REFERENCE MATERIALS
BACK ISSUES
- E-mail your articles and book-length reports in Microsoft Word to
languageinindiaUSA@gmail.com.
- PLEASE READ THE GUIDELINES GIVEN IN HOME PAGE
IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE LIST OF CONTENTS.
- Your articles and book-length reports should be written following the APA, MLA, LSA, or IJDL Stylesheet.
- The Editorial Board has the right to accept, reject, or suggest modifications to the articles submitted for publication, and to make suitable stylistic adjustments. High quality, academic integrity, ethics and morals are
expected from the authors and discussants.
Copyright © 2015
M. S. Thirumalai
|
Custom Search
The Acquisition of the Comparative and Superlative Adjectives by Jordanian EFL Students
Alaa Al-Maani, M.A., Ph.D. Scholar
Abstract
This study examines the acquisition of the comparative and superlative adjectives by Jordanian EFL students. The data were collected from two groups of Jordanian EFL students, i.e. 30 tenth graders and 30 second year university students. Each group consists of 15 males and 15 females. The participants were given a questionnaire of 20 sentences which cover the regular rules for forming the comparative and the superlative forms using novel nonsense adjectives. According to the findings of the study, university students showed that they master the rules to some extent more than the tenth graders. The overall performance of both groups is better when it comes to monosyllabic adjectives; however, when adjectives are polysyllabic, students’ performance becomes worse. On the other hand, slight difference in favor of female was found in terms of students' gender.
Key words: Jordanian EFL, comparative and superlative adjectives, female and male difference
1. Introduction
English comparative and superlative adjectives formation are phonological processes that follow specific morphological rules which must be applied in order to form the correct adjective form. Comparatives are used to differentiate between two persons, objects, or places. In order to provide the correct comparative form, specific rules must be followed. First, if the adjective is monosyllabic, one adds (–er) at the end of the adjective, e.g. “small-smaller”. Second, if the monosyllabic adjective consists of a (consonant, vowel, and consonant) form, one must double the last consonant and add (-er), as in “fat-fatter”. Third, if the adjective ends with (-y), one needs to omit the (-y) and add (-ier), as in “funny-funnier”. Fourth, if the adjective is polysyllabic; consisting of more than two syllables; whether it ends with (-y) or not; one must add "more" before the adjective, as in “expensive- more expensive” and “satisfactory-more satisfactory”. Nevertheless “than” is the most important word to be included when comparing between two entities. For example: The elephant is bigger than the ant.
On the other hand, the use of the superlative is significant when showing the differences between three or more persons, objects, or places where one entity is superior to the others. The superlative formation process follows a certain set of rules somehow similar to those followed for comparatives. First, if the adjective is a monosyllabic adjective; consists of no more than two syllables, one must add (-est) to the end of the adjective as in “small- the smallest”. Second, if the adjective is formed of CVC the last consonant is doubled and (-est) is added at the end, as in “big-the biggest”. Third, if the adjective ends with (-y), one must delete it and add (-iest). Fourth, if the adjective is polysyllabic, whether it ends with (-y) or not, the expression “most” must be used before the adjective. For example: “The lion is the most courageous animal in the jungle”. Besides, “the” must precedes the desired superlative form. However, there are exceptions for the comparative and superlative adjectives. As for comparatives, we have “good-better than” and “far-farther than”, etc. and for superlatives, e.g. “good-the best” and “far- the farthest", etc.
This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.
Alaa I. Al-Maani, M.A., Ph.D. Scholar
English language Instructor
Language Center
Hashemite University
Zarqa
Jordan
alaa.maani@yahoo.com
Custom Search
|
- Click Here to Go to Creative Writing Section
- Send your articles
as an attachment
to your e-mail to
languageinindiaUSA@gmail.com.
- Please ensure that your name, academic degrees, institutional affiliation
and institutional address, and your e-mail address are all given in
the first page of your article. Also include a declaration that your
article or work submitted for publication in LANGUAGE IN INDIA is an
original work by you and that you have duly acknowledged the work or
works of others you used in writing your articles, etc.
Remember that by maintaining academic integrity we not only do the right
thing but also help the growth, development and recognition of Indian/South Asian scholarship.
|