 Re: pronouns and possessive
One reason for the com/sup problem can be the learners first language. Italian learners, for example have difficulties because Italian
a) makes no distinction between the two - it just uses the word pił, meaning more. For example, more intelligent is pił intelligente while the most intelligent is il pił intelligente - leading Italians to say the more intelligent
b) Italian has no equivalent of the er/more, est/most distinction, so learners will say eg He is more old.
c) Italian has no equivalent of than, and learners often use of
The first language isn't the only reason for error, but it's often a good place for a first look. You don't say where you are or what language your learners speak, but think about how they express comparative and superlative concepts in their own language and this may give you some clues to their difficulties. |