Toefl exam Essentials

TOEFL EXAM ESSENTIALS
MAKING COMPARISONS
Adjectives and adverbs change form when they are used to make
comparisons. To create comparisons, follow these general rules:
When comparing two things,
■
add –er to short modifiers of one or two syllables (taller,
wiser).
■
use the word more or less before the modifiers of more
than two syllables (more dependable, less outrageous).
When comparing more than two things,
■
add –est to short modifiers of one or two syllables
( funniest, rudest).
■
use the word most or least before modifiers of more than
two syllables (most intelligent, least precisely).
Special Cases: The following comparative modifiers don’t
follow these rules—they change form completely.
Modifier
Comparative
Superlative
good
better
best
well
better
best
many
more
most
much
more most
bad
worse
worst
little
less or lesser
least

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STRUCTURE
67
Practice
Circle the correct modifier in each sentence. Find the answers
on page 83.
18. The judge looked skeptical/skeptically at the attorney.
19. Pasta does not taste as good/well if it is overcooked.
20. Pleasant Lake is the best/better trout lake around.
ACTION WORDS
Verbs form the heart of a sentence—they express the action or
state of being of the subject. The tense of the verb tells readers
when the action happens, happened, or will happen. Verbs have
five basic forms:
1. The infinitive is the base form of the verb plus the
word to. 
→to swim, to hope, to be
2. The present tense expresses action that happens now
or happens routinely. 
→The baby smiles a lot.
3. The present participle describes what is happening
now. A helping verb (am, is, are) precedes the -ing form
of the verb. 
→The baby is smiling again.
4. The past tense shows an action that happened in the
past. 
→School officials warned the students last fall.
5. The past participle expresses an action that happened
in the past. It uses a helping verb such as has, have, or
had.
→The reporter has followed the story since it broke.
REGULAR VERBS
Regular verbs follow a standard set of rules for forming the 
present participle, past tense, and past participle forms. The

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68
TOEFL EXAM ESSENTIALS
present participle is formed by adding –ing. The past and past