Learn how to form the superlative of English adjectives
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Natalie: Good afternoon! |
| Braden: Braden here. What's the Coldest Place in the US? |
| Braden: In this lesson, you'll learn about superlatives. |
| Natalie: This conversation takes place on the plane during the shift. |
| Braden: And it’s between Matthew and a Lady. |
| Natalie: Matthew is helping a passenger just before landing and is speaking professionally to the lady. |
| Braden: Let’s listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Matthew: Hello ma'am. We'll be landing in Minneapolis in a few minutes, and I need you to turn off your computer for landing. |
| Lady: Oh! Sorry about that. I guess I lost track of the time. |
| Matthew: That's all right. Is there anything you need before we land? |
| Lady: Oh, no no! I've been to Minneapolis many times before. I'm well prepared for the cold. |
| Matthew: That's good. I heard it's one of the coldest capital cities in the USA. |
| Lady: That's exactly right. I always bring clothes I can layer up with. |
| Braden: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly. |
| Matthew: Hello ma'am. We'll be landing in Minneapolis in a few minutes, and I need you to turn off your computer for landing. |
| Lady: Oh! Sorry about that. I guess I lost track of the time. |
| Matthew: That's all right. Is there anything you need before we land? |
| Lady: Oh, no no! I've been to Minneapolis many times before. I'm well prepared for the cold. |
| Matthew: That's good. I heard it's one of the coldest capital cities in the USA. |
| Lady: That's exactly right. I always bring clothes I can layer up with. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Braden: So, we wanted to talk a little bit about Minneapolis |
| Natalie: Minneapolis is the largest city in the state of Minnesota and is nicknamed the City of Lakes. This is because there are many lakes both within the city limits and surrounding the city. |
| Braden: Between Minneapolis and the adjoining capital of Minnesota, St. Paul, the metropolitan area has approximately 3.3 million residents. |
| Natalie: Six Fortune 500 corporations make their headquarters within the city limits Minneapolis some of which are, Target, American Express Financial, and Pepsi Americas. |
| Braden: The greater metropolitan area is ranked as the 13th largest in the United States. |
| Natalie: The city also has a high percentage of workers with advanced degrees. In fact, the number is so far above the national average that Popular Science once named Minneapolis the top Tech city in the United States. |
| Braden: The major university in the region is the University of Minnesota with more than 50,000 students. That means they're many openings at the university and many different degrees you can study for. |
| Natalie: Exactly. Let’s take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Natalie: minute [natural native speed] |
| Braden: unit of time that is sixty seconds |
| Natalie: minute [slowly - broken down by syllable] minute [natural native speed] |
| Braden: Next |
| Natalie: computer [natural native speed] |
| Braden: electronic machine which can store information |
| Natalie: computer [slowly - broken down by syllable] computer [natural native speed] |
| Braden: Next |
| Natalie: landing [natural native speed] |
| Braden: the act of coming or bringing something to land |
| Natalie: landing [slowly - broken down by syllable] landing [natural native speed] |
| Braden: Next |
| Natalie: track [natural native speed] |
| Braden: course marked for something to follow |
| Natalie: track [slowly - broken down by syllable] track [natural native speed] |
| Braden: Next |
| Natalie: prepared [natural native speed] |
| Braden: to be made ready for use |
| Natalie: prepared [slowly - broken down by syllable] prepared [natural native speed] |
| Braden: Next |
| Natalie: layer [natural native speed] |
| Braden: a sheet, quantity, or thickness of material |
| Natalie: layer [slowly - broken down by syllable] layer [natural native speed] |
| Braden: Next |
| Natalie: clothes [natural native speed] |
| Braden: fabric worn on body |
| Natalie: clothes [slowly - broken down by syllable] clothes [natural native speed] |
| Braden: Next |
| Natalie: coldest [natural native speed] |
| Braden: of or at the lowest or relatively lowest temperature |
| Natalie: coldest [slowly - broken down by syllable] coldest [natural native speed] |
| Braden: Next |
| Natalie: capital [natural native speed] |
| Braden: most important city or town of a country or region |
| Natalie: capital [slowly - broken down by syllable] capital [natural native speed] |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| Braden: Let's have a closer look at the usage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson. |
| Natalie: In the dialogue, we heard the phrase “lost track of time.” |
| Braden: Now the phrase, “lost track of time” refers to the idea of not being aware of what time it is. |
| Natalie: It is very common to hear parents say this to their children when they have arrived home late. |
| Braden: It's also common to hear children say this to their parents as an excuse for why they arrived home late. |
| Natalie: Very true! But just understand that they're talking about the awareness of the time of day or the current hour and minute of the present. They're not talking about time in some abstract way. |
| Braden: Could you break this down for us? |
| Natalie: (slowly) lost track of time |
| Braden: And one time fast? |
| Natalie: (fast) lost track of time |
| Braden: Perfect! What’s next? |
| Natalie: In the dialogue, we heard the phrase "layer up." |
| Braden: This phrase refers to the idea of putting on multiple layers of clothing to keep warm. |
| Natalie: This technique is very familiar to people who have lived in cold climates. |
| Braden: It is much more efficient and much more effective to “layer up” than it is to wear a single heavy coat. |
| Natalie: You'll often hear this on the news from the meteorologists explaining that "tomorrow's going to be a cold day so you'd better layer up.” |
| Braden: Could you break this down for us? |
| Natalie: (slowly) layer up |
| Braden: And one time fast? |
| Natalie: (fast) layer up |
| Braden: Excellent! Let’s take a look at the grammar point. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Braden: So Natalie, what’s the focus of this lesson? |
| Natalie: The focus of this lesson is "superlatives." |
| Braden: In the dialogue we heard the phrase |
| Natalie: It’s one of the coldest capital cities in the USA. |
| Braden: Okay so, Superlatives are special forms of adjectives. They are used to compare more than two things. |
| Natalie: Generally, superlatives are formed using a special ending; the "-est" ending. |
| Braden: In this lesson, we'll explain some of the rules for forming regular superlatives. |
| Natalie: For the most part, forming a superlative depends on how many syllables are in the adjective. |
| Braden: A syllable is kind of like a rhythmic beat. For example, “run” contains one syllable, but “running” contains to – “run” and “ing." |
| Natalie: Okay so our first rule is that If there is only one syllable and the word ends in “E" Then you add an "-st" at the end of the word. |
| Braden: For example, “close” becomes “closest” spelled “c-l-o-s-e-s-t" |
| Natalie: And “fine” becomes “finest” spelled “f-i-n-e-s-t” |
| Braden: Our second rule is – If there is only one syllable and that one syllable has one vowel and one consonant at the end then you double the consonant, and then add "est." |
| Natalie: For example, “Hot” becomes “hottest” spelled “h-o-t-t-e-s-t" |
| Braden: And “Big” becomes “biggest” spelled “b-i-g-g-e-s-t" |
| Natalie: Next we have Rule number 3 which states – If there is only one syllable and more than one vowel or more than one consonant at the end then you add "-est.” |
| Braden: For example, “fast” becomes “fastest” spelled “f-a-s-t-e-s-t" |
| Natalie: And “neat" becomes “neatest" spelled “n-e-a-t-e-s-t" |
| Braden: So, Rule 4 states that – If there are 2 syllables and the word ends in "y" then you change the "y" to and "i" and add "-est." |
| Natalie: For example, “Funny” becomes “funniest” spelled “f-u-n-n-i-e-s-t" |
| Braden: And “Happy” becomes “happiest” spelled “h-a-p-p-i-e-s-t" |
| Natalie: Last we have, Rule 5 which is that If there are 2 syllables or more and they do not end in Y then you use the word “most” before the adjective. |
| Braden: For example, “Beautiful” becomes “most beautiful” |
| Natalie: And “Capable” becomes “most capable” |
| Braden: Thank you for those examples. |
| Natalie: Uh...You're welcome! |
| Braden: I think we should review this lesson. |
| Natalie: Let's. |
| Braden: Okay so, superlatives are special forms of adjectives. |
| Natalie: These special forms “compare” more than two things. |
| Braden: Generally, superlatives are formed using a special ending. This “special ending” is the -est ending. |
| Natalie: However, sometimes you use and "-iest" ending or insert “most” before the adjective. |
| Braden: That's right. |
Outro |
| Braden: Well, that just about does it for today. Thanks for listening! |
| Natalie: Have a good day! |
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