1. He is rather an old man.
1-2. He is a rather old man.
(Are both OK and grammatical?)
Both are fine.
2. She is quite a good pianist.
2-2. She is a quite good pianist.
(Are both OK and grammatical?)
#2 is fine; 2-2 is not used.
3. I feel better than last night.
(What is the postive degree of 'better', good or well?)
In this case, "good." Without any comparison with something else, you'd say, "I feed good."
4. They came home earlier than usual.
(What is the full form of this sentence? They came home earlier than they came home usual.--Is this the full form?)
I'd say, "...earlier than [their] usual [time]." Otherwise, you'd have to be using "usually."
5. Let's wash our hands for the meal.
5-1. Let's wash our hands for the next meal.
5-2. Let's wash our hands after the meal is ready.
5-3. Let's wash our hands after the meal is over.
(Are all the expressions grammatical?)
All are fine.
6. I have to get up at sunrise to catch the train.
6-1. I have to get up around sunrise to catch the train.
6-2. I have to get up at the sunrise to catch the train.
6-3. I have to get up around the sunrise to catch the train.
(Which expressions are correct? Do we have to use 'the' or not?)
#s 6 and 6-1 are fine; the others are not used.
7. He was rather angry, so she didn't want to have a seat next to her.
(Can we use 'a little', 'kind of',or 'somewhat' instead of 'rather' in this sentence?
I think you mean "he" instead of "she," right? You can use all those variations, yes, but only "rather" and "somewhat" are grammatical; the other two are very informal. Technically, "a little" and "sort of" need to be followed by nouns, not adjectives.
1. He is rather an old man.
1-2. He is a rather old man.
(Are both OK and grammatical?)
2. She is quite a good pianist.
2-2. She is a quite good pianist.
(Are both OK and grammatical?)
3. I feel better than last night.
(What is the postive degree of 'better', good or well?)
4. They came home earlier than usual.
(What is the full form of this sentence? They came home earlier than they came home usual.--Is this the full form?)
5. Let's wash our hands for the meal.
5-1. Let's wash our hands for the next meal.
5-2. Let's wash our hands after the meal is ready.
5-3. Let's wash our hands after the meal is over.
(Are all the expressions grammatical?)
6. I have to get up at sunrise to catch the train.
6-1. I have to get up around sunrise to catch the train.
6-2. I have to get up at the sunrise to catch the train.
6-3. I have to get up around the sunrise to catch the train.
(Which expressions are correct? Do we have to use 'the' or not?)
7. He was rather angry, so she didn't want to have a seat next to her.
(Can we use 'a little', 'kind of',or 'somewhat' instead of 'rather' in this sentence?
4 answers
I should have written this:
3. I feel better than last night.
(What is the postive degree of 'better', good or well?)
In this case, "good." Without any comparison with something else, you'd say, "I feel good."
3. I feel better than last night.
(What is the postive degree of 'better', good or well?)
In this case, "good." Without any comparison with something else, you'd say, "I feel good."
Or, in #6, "he was rather angry, so she didn't want to have a seat next to HIM."
Sra
Sra
Ahhh, yes -- Sra is right.