E17: FTCE | General Knowledge | English | Comparative and Superlative

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Welcome to episode 17 of FTCE seminar, the Florida Teacher Certification Exam Podcast, where we talk about testing tips, study hacks, and how to pass the FTCE. I'm your host, Mercedes Musto. In today's episode, I'll be talking about the FTCE General Knowledge English Subtest. This is part nine of a multi-series review

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of what you need to know to pass the English section of the GK. So let's get started. Today, we will learn about comparative and superlative forms, when to use them and how to use them correctly. Concept nine, comparative and superlative. Hmm, comparative and superlative adjectives

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are good for, well, comparing things. You may be familiar with the terms good, better, and best. You know, like the movie was good, but the book was better. And in fact, of the trilogy, I like the last book the best. Thesaurus.com puts it this way. Sometimes in an effort to describe things, we make comparisons. Like the English test was hard,

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but I thought the math section was harder. And now that I think about it, the reading portion was the hardest. But you'd never say that because you used FTCE seminar podcast to prep for your test, right? Therefore, the test ranged from easy to even easier because you studied. Okay, okay, enough silliness.

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Generally speaking, when you compare two things, use ER or add the word more or less, like in this sentence. The matinee movie tickets are less expensive than an evening show, or this sentence, the medium soda is larger than the small one. Here, we are comparing the matinee prices to the evening prices at the movie theater. In this sentence, we have used the word less

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to compare the ticket prices. Then in the next sentence, we're comparing soda sizes. So in this sentence, we're adding an ER to the word large. This is called the comparative form. I have a question. What if we're comparing more than two things? That's a really good question. I'm glad you asked.

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Again, and generally speaking, when you compare more than two things, use EST or add the word most or least. This is called the superlative form. Like in these sentences, the math portion of the FTCE is the longest of the four subtests. Or this podcast is the most convenient way to study on the entire internet. I know, okay, I mean, maybe I exaggerated there. In the first sentence, we are comparing the math portion of the test to three or more things

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being the other portions of the test. Therefore, we used EST added to the word long to indicate a properly used superlative. In the second sentence, this podcast is the most convenient way to study on the entire Internet. It's comparing one study method to every existing study method out there, which is definitely more than two. Therefore, we use the word most, the superlative form, because we are grammar grammar gurus and we know what we're doing. I mean, right?

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Okay, naturally this is English and things in English can get complicated. But for now, these two comparative and superlative rules are perfect for starters. You know what? Give yourself a selfie high-five because you've really rocked the grammar today. Let's review. When we know to select the comparative and superlative form

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based on some general grammar rules. Rule number one, we use the comparative form when we are comparing two things. Then we determine whether to add an ER to our modifier or to use the words more or less preceding the modifier, like Maria is taller than Liz. Rule number two, we use the superlative form when we're comparing more than two things.

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Then we determine whether to add EST to our modifier or to use words like most or least preceding the modifier, like this, Maria is the tallest girl on the sports team. Here, we are comparing Maria's height to the entire team. For more practice with comparatives and superlatives, visit ftceseminar.com to study the English portion of the test. The important thing is to start studying, and start studying today so you'll pass the teacher certification exam. Well, what are you waiting for? Check us out on YouTube at ftceseminar and start studying today. This is your host, Mercedes Musto, who is shorter than Samantha.

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See, see how easy it is to use a comparative correctly? All right, all right. Join me again on FTCE Seminar, a Florida teacher certification exam podcast, so you can pass the FTCE. I'd like to thank Kate and Samantha and Pickens Multimedia Studio at the University of West Florida

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for making this podcast possible.

Transcribed with Cockatoo