The Communicative Grammar of English Workbook - Edward Woods, Rudy Coppieters 2002

11.4. Comparison 4
Unit eleven. Comparison

Sections 230-232

Comparison is implicit in structures with enough and too followed by a to-infinitive:

- You are old enough/too young to travel on your own.

Degree or amount constructions with so ... (that) and such ... (that) express a similar meaning. The that-clause adds a meaning of result:

- mr Simpson is so old/such an old man that he can ’t travel on his own any more.

The various types of comparison can also be applied to gradable countable nouns:

- I’m as much of a pessimist now as I’ve always been.

- I’m more/less of a pessimist now than before.

Task one ***

Complete the following sentences, adding a subclause that is compatible with the main clause.

Example: David is so poor .

→ David is so poor that he can t even afford to eat three decent meals a day.

1. Ann is not earning enough ...

2. The trainees were too inexperienced ...

3. The fog is so dense …

4. Tony is such a fool …

5. The witness was too afraid …

6. The suitcase is so heavy …

7. The patient was too weak …

8. Professor Puniverse is such a bore …

9. We had been practising long enough …

10. It had been snowing so heavily …

11. Some of the interviewees were too nervous …

12. Ms Lovelace is such a hard worker …

13. The president is too much of a realist …

14. Ted’s sudden departure was as much of a surprise …

15. Tracy’s poor marks at school are less of a worry …

Task two ***

Rephrase the completed versions of the above sentences without changing their meaning in a significant way. In some cases there may be more than one acceptable alternative.

Example: David is even too poor to afford three decent meals a day.

or: David is very poor so (that) he can’t even afford three decent meals a day.