Cultural Diversity

Lessons

Senior 6 · English

Cultural Diversity

4 lessons

Lesson 3 of 4

Calmer, Quieter, the Friendliest I've Ever Known: Comparatives, the Present Perfect, Stress and Intonation

25 min

Let's begin

When people share cultural experiences they do two things constantly: they compare ("quieter than Accra") and they talk about experience up to now ("I've never drunk so much milk"). This lesson sharpens both, and ends with the sounds that carry meaning in speech: which syllable you stress, and whether your voice rises or falls.

Text: a blog post

Six months in Kigali by Ama (an imagined student)

I have lived in Kigali for six months now, and it has become far more familiar than I expected. The city is much hillier than Accra and considerably quieter; the traffic is no less busy, but drivers use their horns a lot less. Food here is simpler than at home, though not nearly as plain as I feared: isombe has become one of my favourite dishes.

I have made more friends this term than in my whole first year at university, and the longer I stay, the more I understand the long greetings that confused me at first. People here are just as warm as people at home; they simply show it more quietly. I haven't visited the Northern Province yet, but I have already booked a trip for the holidays.

It is the first time I have lived outside Ghana, and Kigali is the cleanest city I have ever lived in. Last month I joined my neighbours for umuganda for the first time, and I understood why.

Find five comparative or superlative forms. Which words make a comparison stronger or weaker?
Find four verbs in the present perfect, and one sentence in the past simple. Why does that sentence use the past simple?

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far more familiar; much hillier; considerably quieter; no less busy; a lot less; simpler than; not nearly as plain as; more friends; the longer … the more; just as warm as; more quietly; the cleanest. Stronger: far, much, considerably, a lot. Also: not nearly as … as (much less) and no less (just as).
have lived, has become (twice), have made, haven't visited, have already booked, have lived, have ever lived. Past simple: "Last month I joined my neighbours …" and "I understood why": the time (last month) is finished.

Definition

comparative: the form of an adjective or adverb that compares two things: quieter, more familiar, less busy, better.
superlative: the form that picks out one from a group: the cleanest, the most welcoming, the least expensive.
present perfect: have or has + past participle. It connects a past action or state to the present: I have lived here for six months (and still do).

Comparatives: beyond "-er than"

Structure	Example	Note
big difference: much, far, a lot, considerably + comparative	Kigali is far hillier than Accra.	Never very + comparative (very hillier is wrong).
small difference: slightly, a little, a bit + comparative	The bus was slightly cheaper.
as … as / not as (so) … as	People are just as warm as at home. It is not nearly as plain as I feared.	not nearly as = much less
multiples	The hall is twice as big as ours.	Never twice bigger.
the + comparative, the + comparative	The longer I stay, the more I understand.	One change causes the other.
comparative + and + comparative	Kigali is growing bigger and bigger.	A continuing change
less (uncountable) / fewer (plural)	less noise, fewer cars	Formal writing keeps this difference.
superlative + present perfect + ever	It is the cleanest city I have ever lived in.	The experience of a whole life up to now

Present perfect or past simple?

Experience up to now (no time given): Have you ever tried isombe? I've never been to Musanze.
A period that reaches now: for + length (for six months), since + starting point (since March); also this year, so far, recently.
A past action with a result now: just, already, yet: I've already booked a trip. I haven't visited the north yet.
"The first time": It is the first time I have lived abroad. (not I live)
Finished time → past simple: yesterday, last month, in 2024, when I was a child, two weeks ago. Wrong: I have visited Huye last year.
Present perfect continuous for an activity still going on, with its duration: I have been learning Kinyarwanda for three months.

Worked example

Choosing the tense. Complete: "I ___ (know) Kaliza since our first week at university, but I ___ (meet) her family only last August."

"since our first week" is a starting point, and the friendship continues now: present perfect, have known. (Know is a state verb, so not the continuous form.)
"last August" is a finished time: past simple, met.

Answer: I have known Kaliza since our first week at university, but I met her family only last August.

Worked example

Making a precise comparison. Data (illustrative): a school hall holds 600 people; a classroom holds 50. Compare them in two different ways.

Work out the ratio: 600 ÷ 50 = 12.
Multiple structure: The hall holds twelve times as many people as a classroom. (Many goes with the countable noun people.)
Modified comparative: The hall is far bigger than a classroom.

Warning

No double comparatives: wrong more quieter, more better; right quieter, better.
than, not then, after a comparative: calmer than Accra.
Different from (or to in British English), not different than in formal writing; the same as, similar to.
Don't use the present perfect with a finished time: wrong I have seen him yesterday.

Sounds: word stress and intonation

Stress moves in word families. Before the endings -ic, -ical, -ity, -ion, -ian, the stress usually falls on the syllable just before the ending.

Base word	Family member	Rule at work
PHOtograph	phoTOgrapher, photoGRAphic	-ic: stress before the ending
HOSpital	hospiTAlity	-ity: stress before the ending
POlitics	poLItical, poliTIcian	-ical, -ian
CElebrate	celeBRAtion	-ion
diVERSE	diVERsity	-ity

Noun or verb? In many two-syllable pairs the noun is stressed on the first syllable and the verb on the second: a CONtrast / to conTRAST; a REcord / to reCORD; a PREsent / to preSENT; an OBject / to obJECT; a REbel / to reBEL.

Intonation: the rise and fall of the voice carries meaning.

Tune	Used for	Example
Fall ↘	statements, wh-questions, commands	I've lived here for six ↘months. · Where are you ↘from?
Rise ↗	yes/no questions; items in a list before the last	Have you tried ↗isombe? · milk ↗, tea ↗ and ↘juice
Fall-rise ↘↗	polite disagreement, doubt, "there's more to say"	It's ↘↗nice … (but I prefer home)
Question tag, falling	expecting agreement	It's beautiful here, ↘isn't it?
Question tag, rising	a real question	You've been to Huye, ↗haven't you?

Tip

Tap the table. Say a long word while tapping once for each syllable, and tap hardest on the stressed one: hos-pi-TAL-i-ty. If your hardest tap lands in the wrong place, the listener may not recognise the word at all.

Stop Saying … Stress in long words, from BBC Learning English (about 5 minutes). Listen for the words whose stress moves when an ending is added, and add two of them to the stress table above.

✦

Practice

Correct the mistakes: (a) Huye is more quieter than Kigali. (b) Our hall is twice bigger than yours. (c) There are less students this year.
Rewrite using the structure given: (a) Kigali is much bigger than Musanze. (not nearly as … as) (b) As you practise more, your Kinyarwanda gets better. (the … the …)
Choose the tense: (a) I ___ (visit) the Kigali Genocide Memorial last year. (b) She ___ (never / try) imigongo painting. (c) We ___ (study) English since S1.
Write a sentence with a superlative and ever about a place, a meal or a book.
Mark the stressed syllable: culture, cultural, hospitality, celebration, diversity, photographer.
Noun or verb? Mark the stress: (a) Please don't object to his idea. (b) She kept a record of her journey. (c) The two cultures contrast sharply.
Draw a falling or rising arrow on each question tag, and explain the meaning: (a) You've met my aunt, haven't you? (asking because you are not sure) (b) The festival was wonderful, wasn't it? (expecting agreement)
Write a paragraph of about 100 words comparing two places you know, using at least three comparative structures and two present perfect verbs.

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(a) Huye is quieter than Kigali. (b) Our hall is twice as big as yours. (c) There are fewer students this year.
(a) Musanze is not nearly as big as Kigali. (b) The more you practise, the better your Kinyarwanda gets.
(a) visited (b) has never tried (c) have studied (or have been studying)
Model: Brochettes at my uncle's wedding were the best I have ever eaten.
CUL-ture, CUL-tur-al, hos-pi-TAL-i-ty, ce-le-BRA-tion, di-VER-si-ty, pho-TO-gra-pher
(a) verb: ob-JECT (b) noun: RE-cord (c) verb: con-TRAST
(a) rising ↗: a real question. (b) falling ↘: the speaker expects agreement.
Open answer. Check each comparative structure against the table and the tense choice against the timelines.

Sources and credits

Blog post (imagined writer), grammar and stress tables, tense timelines, worked examples and practice written by Ganzaa. Hall capacities in the worked example are illustrative.
Video: Stop Saying … Stress in long words, BBC Learning English, embedded from YouTube.

1Text: a blog post

2Comparatives: beyond "-er than"

3Present perfect or past simple?

4Sounds: word stress and intonation

Text: a blog post

Comparatives: beyond "-er than"

Present perfect or past simple?

Sounds: word stress and intonation