Study sentences 1-5. Which words do we use
to form the comparative and superlative forms
of adverbs? Complete the table with the words
in blue.
Comparatives
Adjectives Adverbs
meaner
Superlatives
Adjectives Adverbs
the most
selfish
1 He's meaner than anyone I know. He's also
the most selfish person I know.
2 You should take life less seriously and more
positively,
3 We're the least successful team, but we're
the most optimistic.
4 l work more happily at home. It's more
comfortable and less stressful.
5 The richest people gave the least generously
and spoke to us the most rudely.
These days you can often hear «Be patient!» or «Be more tolerant!». What does that mean? Are these phrases the same? Firstly, we should find out what tolerance is itself.
Tolerance relates to society, so it's directly connected with people's behaviour and their ability to communicate and interact with others. It happens that you have to accept behaviour and beliefs that are different from your own, although you might not agree with or approve of them. But that doesn't mean you have to change your mind or your point of view. You just need to be able to deal with unpleasant or annoying situations. If you disagree with somebody, you should disagree respectfully. You have the right to think freely and come to your own conclusions, even if they differ greatly from other people's conclusions and views.
In my opinion, tolerance is not about how you treat people with whom you agree, it's about how you treat people with whom you disagree. I think tolerance means putting up with people's attitudes, actions and behaviour so that people can get along.