5 Modifying comparisons
To modify a comparison, you can use qualifying phrases (known grammatically as ‘complements’) such as yī diănr 一点儿 (a little; a bit), duōle 多了(much; a lot more) after the adjective.
‘My elder sister is a lot taller than me.’
| Wǒ jiějie | bǐ | wǒ | gāo | duōle. |
| 我姐姐 | 比 | 我 | 高 | 多了。 |
| lit. My elder sister | compare | I | tall | a lot. |
Note the phrase duōle 多了, when it means ‘much, a lot’, must be placed after the adjective it modifies.
You can also make a comparison more specific by adding phrases with numbers and measurements.
‘My mum is one year older than my dad.’
| Wǒ māma | bǐ | wǒ bàba | dà | yī suì . |
| 我妈妈 | 比 | 我爸爸 | 大 | 一岁。 |
| lit. my mother | compare | my father | big | one year. |
Note: when it comes to forming comparisons, you can compare the difference between Chinese and English sentence structures. Write your summary in your language notebook.
Activity 4
a.
My elder sister is much taller than I am.
b.
My elder sister is taller than I am.
c.
I am taller than my elder sister.
The correct answer is a.
Part 2
Translate the given sentence into Chinese and record your speech. Press the ‘Start recording’ button once to start, and then click again when you have finished your recording. Listen to yourself speaking and then compare it to the model answer provided in the feedback. The transcript is also available. Try to copy the sound and tones of the model speech.