Business Spotlight 08.2019

(Nancy Kaufman) #1

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GRAMMAR CHECK

Illustration: Bernhard Förth


  1. Short adjectives
    One-syllable adjectives normally
    have comparatives that end in -er
    and superlatives that end in -est
    (fast, faster, fastest). If we want to
    compare something specifically to
    something else, we use than after
    the comparative:


(^) Which expenses have a bigger
impact on the bottom line?
(^) They generate cash at a faster
rate than the bus operators.
With superlatives, we use a fol-
lowing prepositional phrase (most
typically with “of” or “in”) to name
what it is we’re talking about.
(^) They offered us the highest re-
turn of all the companies.
(^) We’re the largest technology
company in Germany.
Note: It is a mistake — commonly
made by speakers of German —
to say “of Germany” in place of
“in Germany” in the second exam-
ple.



  1. Long adjectives
    Adjectives with two or more sylla-
    bles — and most compound adjec-
    tives — have comparative forms
    with more or less, and superlative
    forms with the most or the least
    (more/less attractive, the most/
    least attractive):


(^) Production has become more
cost-effective over the last year.
(^) R&D needs the most signifi-
cant portion of cash flow.
(^) The Italian firm is the least prof-
itable in the group.



  1. Short or long?
    Some two-syllable adjectives
    (clever, narrow, simple) follow
    the same pattern as one-syllable
    adjectives. However, these adjec-
    tives can also be treated like long
    adjectives (see above):


(^) She’s introduced a cleverer/
more clever system.
(^) They’re operating on the nar-
rowest / most narrow of profit
margins.
Company comparisons
Here, we outline how to form comparative and superlative
adjectives. Basically, there are two main types of comparative
and superlative adjectives: short and long.

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