Makalah Listening : LISTEN FOR NEGATIVES WITH COMPARATIVES

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

It is common in listening Part A to ask you to draw some kind of conclusion. In this type question the answer is not clearly stated, instead you must draw a conclusion based on clues given in the conversation. One kind of conclusion that is common in this part of the test is to ask you to determine who the speaker is based on clues given in the conversation.

The listening comprehension section is to check your ability about your understanding both short and long conversation in EEnglish. The section contains recorded material that is similar to what you might here if you were with a group of students at an EEnglish speaking college or university. The language includes:

1.                  Vocabulary and idiomatic expression common to spoken English.

2.                  Special grammatical constrictions used in speech.

Negatives can be used with comparatives in the short dialogues of the TOEFL test. A sentence with a negative and comparative has a superlative, or very strong, meaning. Negatives with comparatives have meaning that in the sentense that the speaker said it include the comparative but it has negative meaning. For the Example,  ‘I couldn’t be feeling any better today’, ‘He couldn’t have been more unfriendly’.

CHAPTER II

DISCUSSION

A.      Definition Of Negative

The definition of negative is something that refuses or denies a person or thing that is not positive, or the opposite of a positive electrical charge.

Negative are very common in the short dialogues, and the most common kind of correct response to a negative statement is a positive statement containing a word with an opposite meaning.

B.       Definition of Comparative

The comparative compares “this/these” to “that/those.” From: -er or more. A comparative is followed by than.

You can use the comparative form of adjectives to compare differences between people, places and things; you can use the comparative form of the adverbs to compare differences between actions.

EXAMPLE:

a.                   Alaska is larger than Texas.

b.                  Siska is older than me.

c.                   Chyntia is more intelligent than Wardani.

C.      Definition of Superlative

The superlative compares one part of a whole group to all the rest of the group. Form: -est or most. A superlative begin with the. It is the form of an adjective or an adverb that shows the highest degree of quality of what is described.

Example:

a.                   She is the best student in my class.

b.                  Listening skill is the most important in learning process.

c.                   I have a lot of friends, but you are the best!

D.      Listen for Negatives with Comparatives

Negatives can be used with comparatives in the short dialogues of the TOEFL test. A sentence with a negative and comparative has a superlative, or very strong, meaning.

Example:

On the recording, you hear:

(woman)   What do you think of the new student in math class?

(man)       No one is more intelligent than she is.

(narrator) What does the man say about the new student?

In your test book, you read:

(A)               She is not very smart.

(B)                He is smarter than she is.

(C)               Other students are smarter than she is.

(D)               (D)She is the smartest student in the class.

The man responds to the woman’s question with the negative No and the comparative more intelligent, and this combination has a superlative meaning, the smartest. The best answer is therefore answering (D).

The following chart outlines comparisons that you should be careful of when they are used with negatives:

	COMPARATIVES WITH NEGATIVES
Comparative	Example	Meaning
more	No one is more beautiful than she is.	She is the most beautiful.
-er	He couldn’t be happier.	He is extremely happy.

In this exercise, underline the negative and the comparative in the second line of each short dialogue. Then read the question and choose the best answer to that question. Remember that the best answer is one that expresses a superlative, or very strong, idea.

E.       Exercise

(woman)          : Have you gotten over your cold yet?

(man)               : I couldn’t be feeling any better today.

(narrator)         : What does the man mean?

a.    He’s feeling terrific.

b.    He felt a lot worse today.

c.    He’s not feeling too well today.

d.   He’s a bit better today.

(woman)          : What did you think of Mike when you first met him?

(man)               : He couldn’t have been more unfriendly.

(narrator)         : What does the man mean?

a.    Mike was extremely friendly when he met him.

b.    Mike could have met him sooner.

c.    Mike didn’t seem to like him at all.

d.   When he met Mike, he didn’t have a friend.

(man)               :Did you see Theresa’s grade on the math exam? It was unbelievable!

(woman)          :No one else could have done better.

(narrator)         :What does the woman mean?

a.    Theresa could’ve gotten a higher grade.

b.    Anyone could get a good grade.

c.    Theresa got the highest grade.

d.   A high grade is impossible for anyone.

CHAPTER III

CONCLUSION

The definition of negative is something that refuses or denies a person or thing that is not positive, or the opposite of a positive electrical charge.

Negative are very common in the short dialogues, and the most common kind of correct response to a negative statement is a positive statement containing a word with an opposite meaning.

The comparative is used to compare two things and to demonstrate the superiority, inferiority, or equality of one of them by respect to the other.

You can use the comparative form of adjectives to compare differences between people, places and things; you can use the comparative form of the adverbs to compare differences between actions.

The comparative is used to compare two things and to demonstrate the superiority, inferiority, or equality of one of them by respect to the other.

You can use the comparative form of adjectives to compare differences between people, places and things; you can use the comparative form of the adverbs to compare differences between actions.

REFERENCES

Ninsiana, Widhiya. Modul Listening III. Perc. Assalam fc.