This mini episode teaches you more about the mysterious word “ever,” which we started talking about in episode 181.
Episode 182 of the Everybody ESL podcast is a mini episode that teaches you more about the mysterious word “ever,” which we started talking about in episode 181. Send your questions about English and your suggestions for future episodes to EverybodyESL@gmail.com! (And let me know if you’d like to record the introduction to a future episode.)
Intro
Welcome to episode 182 of Everybody ESL, the podcast for everybody who wants to improve their English, practice their English, or just learn more English. My name is Ben, and I have a mini episode for you today, where I am going to teach you about one English topic. You can subscribe to the Everybody ESL podcast at Apple podcasts, on the Stitcher app, and wherever you find your podcasts. If you like Everybody ESL, leave it a good review so other people can find out about it too. And if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions for me, please send an email to EverybodyESL@gmail.com. Okay! Let's get on with this mini episode.
The episode
In the previous episode, number 181, I told you something interesting about how we use the word ever. And I told you that we use ever only in questions and in negative sentences. Well, as my listener Amy pointed out, I was simplifying things a little too much. Because there are some non-questions and non-negative sentences where it is okay to use ever. And that's what I want to talk with you about today: I want to give you more information about using the word ever.
I want to tell you about these two ways that we use ever in sentences that are not negative and are not questions. We can use ever in sentences with comparative adjectives and sentences with superlative adjectives. Do you know those terms? Comparative adjectives and superlative adjectives?
Comparative adjectives are adjectives that we use to compare things. These are adjectives that end in -er, like bigger or longer or tastier, or adjectives that include more, like more beautiful or more peaceful. And we can use ever in sentences that use comparative adjectives, like this one:
“I felt sick last week, but now I feel better than ever.” Better than ever. You can see that comparative adjective—better—and that is followed by than ever. I feel better than ever. In this sentence, ever means “at any time, at any time in the past.” I feel better than ever. In other words, I feel better than I have felt at any time in the past.
There's another kind of comparative structure where ever is okay, and that is in a sentence like this: “Last week, I tasted my grandmother’s soup, and it was as tasty as ever.” It was as tasty as ever. Here, we’re using this “as / as” construction to compare. And again, ever means “at any time in the past.”
I told you that ever can also be used with superlative adjectives. These are adjectives that end in -est or include the word most. For instance, biggest, smallest, tallest. Or most delicious or most wonderful. Those are all superlative adjectives. Superlative means “the most.”
I can make a sentence like this: “Last week, I was sick, but now I feel the best I have ever felt.” I feel the best I have ever felt. In other words, I feel the best I have felt at any time in the past. That's what ever means in a sentence like this: “at any time in the past.”
Those are two more ways we can use ever even in sentences that are not questions and are not negative. Maybe we will talk more about this mysterious word ever in a future episode.
Outro
And that's the end of episode 182 of Everybody ESL. Remember: if you have any questions about English, or if you have comments or suggestions about the podcast, or if you would like to record an introduction that I can use at the beginning of future episodes—the same way Soongjae recorded the introduction you heard at the beginning of this episode—send an email to EverybodyESL@gmail.com. I'll be back soon with another episode, and until then, keep going, keep practicing, and keep learning. Goodbye. I'll see you soon.