Skip to Content
← English in Action B1 B1
5 Review Review

Unit 5 Review

Unit 5

  • I CAN review landscape vocabulary, comparatives, and superlatives
Unit 5 Review
Lesson Review

Lesson Review

14 cards

Welcome to the Unit 5 Review

This unit has been all about the natural world around us — the landscapes we see, walk through and dream about. In this review, we will refresh three big ideas: the words we use to describe natural places, the way we compare them with comparatives (e.g. taller, more dramatic, worse), and the way we pick out the very best, biggest or most impressive of them all with superlatives (e.g. tallest, most dramatic, worst).

Landscape vocabulary

A landscape is everything you can see in one place in nature. To describe a landscape well, you need a small toolkit of words. Try to group them in your mind:

Group Words
Height words mountain, hill, peak, cliff, summit
Land-cover words forest, desert, beach, island, cave, field, meadow
Water words river, lake, stream, waterfall, ocean, sea, coast, shore

When you describe a place, you usually mix these words together. For example: 'a small island with a sandy beach and a long river' or 'tall mountains covered in thick forest'. A useful habit is to add a small adjective in front (sandy, tall, thick, long) so the reader can really see the place in their head.

Comparatives

We use comparatives to compare two things. With short adjectives (one syllable, or two syllables ending in -y), we usually add -er: tall → taller, high → higher, happy → happier (drop the y and add -ier). With longer adjectives, we use more: beautiful → more beautiful, dangerous → more dangerous. After a comparative we usually add than: 'The Nile is longer than the River Thames.'

Some adjectives are irregular and you must learn them by heart: good → better, bad → worse, far → farther / further. We can also compare with as … as when two things are equal: 'This lake is as deep as that one.'

Superlatives

We use superlatives to talk about the number-one thing in a group of three or more. The short form is -est and the long form is most: tall → the tallest, beautiful → the most beautiful. Always use the before a superlative: 'Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in Africa.' The irregulars follow the same pattern as the comparatives: the best, the worst, the farthest / the furthest.

Using comparatives to organise a paragraph

When you write about places, do not just list facts. Compare them. A good paragraph has a clear topic sentence, two or three comparative sentences, and a final sentence with a superlative. For example:

'Norway and Switzerland both have beautiful mountains. Norway's fjords are deeper than Switzerland's lakes, but Switzerland's peaks are higher than Norway's. In my opinion, the most dramatic landscape in the world is the Norwegian coast.'

This is the model we will use in the writing task below.

Writing task

Write a short blog post (about 80–120 words) comparing two landscapes you know — for example, a place from your country and a famous place from abroad. Use at least three comparatives, one superlative, and six different landscape words from the unit.

مراجعة الوحدة الخامسة: الطبيعة والمقارنة

يا بطل، كده خلصنا الوحدة الخامسة وكلها كانت عن العالم الطبيعي — يعني الجبال والغابات والبحار والشواطئ. الواد جوز كان فيه ٣ أفكار كبيرة لازم تفضل في دماغك: كلمات وصف المناظر الطبيعية، والـ comparatives يعني صيغة المقارنة، والـ superlatives يعني صيغة التفضيل.

كلمات المناظر الطبيعية (Landscape vocabulary)

الكلام عن أي مكان في الطبيعة بيحتاج منك ٣ مجموعات في بالك:

  • كلمات الارتفاع: mountain, hill, peak, cliff, summit
  • كلمات الغطاء النباتي والأرض: forest, desert, beach, island, cave, field, meadow
  • كلمات المية: river, lake, stream, waterfall, ocean, sea, coast, shore

الحيلة الحلوة إنك تمزجهم مع بعض وتضيفلهم صفة صغيرة قدامهم زي a sandy beach أو tall mountains covered in thick forest عشان القارئ يحس إنه شايف المكان بعينه.

صيغة المقارنة (Comparatives)

دي بنستخدمها لما نقارن حاجتين بس. القانون بسيط:

  • الصفات القصيرة (مقطع واحد أو مقطعين وتخلص بـ y) بنضيفلها -er أو -ier: tall → taller, high → higher, happy → happier.
  • الصفات الطويلة بنحط قبلها more: beautiful → more beautiful, dangerous → more dangerous.
  • بعد الصفة المقارنة دايمًا بنحط than: The Nile is longer than the River Thames.

وفي صفات شاذة (irregular) لازم تحفظها زي اسمك: good → better, bad → worse, far → farther / further. وكمان عندنا تركيبة as … as لما الحاجتين يبقوا زي بعض: This lake is as deep as that one.

صيغة التفضيل (Superlatives)

دي لما نحكي عن الحاجة رقم واحد في مجموعة من ٣ حاجات أو أكتر. نفس القانون:

  • القصير: بنضيف -est: tall → the tallest.
  • الطويل: بنحط most: beautiful → the most beautiful.
  • لازم the قبلها دايمًا: Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in Africa.
  • والشاذ بيقول: the best, the worst, the farthest / the furthest.

كتابة فقرة بالمقارنة والتفضيل

الفقرة الكويسة مش مجرد كلام مرصوص. لازم تبقى فيها جملة موضوع واضحة، وجملتين أو ٣ بالمقارنة، وجملة أخيرة بالتفضيل تختم بيها. بص على الموديل ده:

Norway and Switzerland both have beautiful mountains. Norway's fjords are deeper than Switzerland's lakes, but Switzerland's peaks are higher than Norway's. In my opinion, the most dramatic landscape in the world is the Norwegian coast.

التكليف (Writing task)

اكتب بوست قصير من ٨٠ لـ ١٢٠ كلمة بتقارن فيه بين منظرين طبيعيين تعرفهم — واحد من بلدك وواحد مشهور بره. لازم تستخدم على الأقل ٣ comparatives وsuperlative واحد. وريني إبداعك يا فنان!

Required

Complete the comparative. The Amazon is ___ (long) than the Mississippi.

Required

Complete the superlative. Mount Everest is ___ (high) mountain in the world.

Required

Which sentence about the weather is correct?

  • The weather today is worse than yesterday.
  • The weather today is worst than yesterday.
  • The weather today is more bad than yesterday.
Required

Put the words in the correct order to make a sentence with a superlative.

  1. is
  2. mountain
  3. Mount
  4. the
  5. Africa
  6. Kilimanjaro
  7. in
  8. highest
Required

Drag the correct comparative or superlative form into each sentence.

  • deeper
  • more
  • highest
  • deepest

Mount Everest is the mountain in the world.

The Pacific Ocean is than the North Sea.

This view is beautiful than the last one.

Lake Baikal is the lake in the world.

Required

Match each definition with the correct landscape word.

Match each definition with the correct landscape word.

  • a very high, steep rock face
  • a natural stream of water falling from a height
  • a large area of sand in a very hot place
  • the land along the edge of the sea
  • a high area of land, often with a peak
  • cliff
  • waterfall
  • desert
  • coast
  • mountain
Required

What do you call a small, narrow river?

  • stream
  • ocean
  • lake
  • field
Required

Sort these landscape words into the correct group.

  • mountain
  • cliff
  • hill
  • peak
  • river
  • lake
  • stream
  • waterfall
  • forest
  • desert
  • beach
  • island

Height words

Water words

Land-cover words

Required

Read this sentence aloud at a steady pace. It contains one comparative and one superlative.

The Himalayas are higher than the Alps, and Everest is the highest mountain in the world.

PREPARE — gather your ideas

Before you write, take three minutes to make notes:

  1. Choose two landscapes. One from your country, one from abroad (real or imagined).
  2. For each place, write down three landscape words (e.g. mountain, lake, forest).
  3. Note two similarities and two differences between the two places.
  4. Decide which place you think is the most ___ (dramatic, beautiful, peaceful…).

Keep your notes short. You only need keywords, not full sentences yet.

WRITE — your blog post

Now write a blog post of 80–120 words comparing your two landscapes. Follow this structure:

  • Sentence 1 (topic): Say what the two places have in common.
  • Sentences 2–3 (comparisons): Use -er / more … than to compare them.
  • Sentence 4 (superlative): Say which place is the most ___ in the world / in your experience.
  • Sentence 5 (ending): Finish with your personal opinion.

Remember to use at least three comparatives, one superlative and six different landscape words from the unit.

REVIEW — check your writing

Read your blog post and check it against this list:

  • ☐ I have at least three comparatives (-er or more …).
  • ☐ I have at least one superlative (the -est or the most …).
  • ☐ I have at least six different landscape words.
  • ☐ Every sentence starts with a capital letter and ends with a full stop.
  • ☐ My topic sentence is clear, and my last sentence gives my opinion.

If anything is missing, go back and add it now.

Required