Unit 10 Communication: Lesson A Keeping in touch

Comparative adjectives
You can use comparative adjectives to compare two people or things – to say what is different.
Use thanbefore the second person or thing:

Texting is quicker and easier than calling.

It's nicer to get a real card than an e-card.

Short adjectives

Use adjective + -er to make a comparative adjective from a short adjective:

quick quicker
slow slower

But there are some spelling rules you should follow:

If the adjective ends in -e, just add -r:

nice nicer

If the adjective ends in a consonant (not a, e, i, o, u) + -y, change the -y to -i before adding –er.

easy easier

If the adjective ends in a vowel (a, e, i, o, u) + consonant (but not -w), double the consonant
before adding add –er.

big bigger

Long adjectives

Use more / less + adjective to make a comparative adjective from a longer adjective:

Real cards are more personal than e-cards.

Video conferences are less expensive than business trips.

Also use more with fun:

 Texting is more fun than calling.

Irregular adjectives

Some comparative adjectives are irregular:

good better
bad worse

Video calls are better than phone calls.

Nothing is worse than spam in your inbox.

Unit 10 Communication: Lesson B On the phone

More, less, fewer

You can make comparisons using nouns and verbs. You can use more, less, and fewer to
compare two nouns, and more and less to compare two verbs. Use than before the second
noun or verb.

Fewer and less are the opposite of more.

With countable nouns

You can use more / fewer + countable noun:

I get more calls than you (do). You get fewer calls than I do.

With uncountable nouns

You can use more / less + uncountable noun:

You spend less time on the

I spend more time on the phone.
phone.

With verbs

You can also use more / less with verbs:

She talks more than he does. He talks less than she does.
Unit 10 Communication: Lesson A Keeping in touch

Types of communication

an e-card (n)

instant messaging (IM) (n)

regular mail (n)

a social network / social

(n)
networking

a text (message) / texting (n)

a video call / video calling (n)

a video conference / video

(n)
conferencing

Comparisons

better (than) (adj)

bigger (than) (adj)

easier (than) (adj)

less (expensive) than . . . (adj)

more (fun) than . . . (adj)

more (interesting) than . . . (adj)

worse (than) (adj)

Descriptions

bad (adj)

convenient (adj)

personal (adj)

reliable (adj)

slow (adj)

Other words

just (adv)

inbox (n)

spam (n)

keep in touch with (v)

text (v)

video call (v)

Unit 10 Communication: Lesson B On the phone

Communication
voice mail (n)

interrupt (v)

return a call (v)

Other words

hard (adj)

by mistake (adv)

suddenly (adv)

charger (n)

Unit 10 Communication: Lesson C What were you

saying?

charger (n)

Unit 10 Communication: Lesson D Texting

annoying (adj)

punctuation (n)

Unit 10 Communication

Dealing with interruptions

When you are talking to someone, you may need to interrupt the conversation (stop it for a
short time). You can use expressions like these:

Just a minute / second.

Excuse me just a second.

I'm sorry. Hold on (a second).

Could / Can you hold on a second?

A Juan and I went out to a fancy restaurant last night and . . .

B Oh, just a minute. I've got another call.

When you restart a conversation after an interruption, you can use expressions like these:

What were you saying?

You were saying?

Where were we?

What were we talking about?

A Juan and I went out to a fancy restaurant last night and . . .

B Oh, just a minute. I've got another call. . . . Sorry. So, what were you saying?

Unit 10 Communication

just
You can use just to make the things you say softer.

This is useful when you tell someone to do something. Just is less direct and more polite:

Just (wait) a minute. I've a got another call.

You can also use just to make the things you say sound small or unimportant:

I was just calling to ask – will you be my maid of honor?

Unit 10 Communication
Writing an article giving pros and cons
When you write an article giving the good and bad things about a topic, you can use the
following structure:

 Write an introduction to the topic

Video calling is becoming more and more popular, and some of my friends now call me
every day.

 Write about the advantages (the reasons for the ideas in your article)
It's fun to video call with a close friend if you don't see him or her very often.

 Write about the disadvantages (the reasons against the ideas in your article). Useful
phrases are However, . . . and On the other hand . . .

However, for friends from class, a quick text message or call is much better.

On the other hand, video calls can be a problem.

 Write a conclusion giving your views. Useful phrases are I think . . . and In my opinion, .
..
In my opinion, video calling is good for friends you don't see very often.