THE COMPARISON OF ADJECTIVES

THE COMPARISON OF ADJECTIVES

Positive: it is an ordinary form of adjectives

A positive adjective is used to describe something without making any sort of comparison to anything else. For example, as seen in the sentence “I am kind.” or “This is a great movie.”

Comparative: shows when two persons or objects being compared

A comparative adjective is used in order to compare two things, it is quite often followed by the word than, you can see this is the following examples. “I am nicer than him.” or “This movie is better than the first one.”

Superlative: indicates that the quality or quantity is at its highest or is most intense

A superlative adjective is used as a way of comparing more than two things and as a way to say that the thing you are talking about is the ‘most’, you might notice this in the following examples. “I am the nicest of all the students.” or “This is the best movie out of the entire series.”

FORMING COMPARATIVE ADJECTIVES

A: ONE-SYLLABLE ADJECTIVES

1. Form the comparative forms of a one-syllable adjective by adding –er.

Examples:

long – longer

tall – taller

2. If the one-syllable adjective ends with an e, just add –r for the comparative form.

Examples:

cute – cuter

large – larger

3. Add –er to adjectives that end in consonant-vowel-consonant and double the last consonant.

Examples:

big – bigger

hot – hotter

B: TWO-SYLLABLE ADJECTIVES

1. With most two-syllable adjectives, you form the comparative with more.

Examples:

honest – more honest

famous – more famous

2. If the two-syllable adjectives ends with –y, change the y to i and add –er for the comparative form.

Examples:

happy – happier

crazy – crazier

3. Two-syllable adjectives ending in –er, –le, or –ow take –er to form the comparative forms.

Examples:

narrow – narrower

gentle – gentler

C: Adjectives with Three or More Syllables

Add more to adjectives that has 3 or more syllables.

Examples:

expensive – more expensive

difficult – more difficult

D: Irregular Adjectives

good – better

bad – worse

far – farther

little – less

many – more

NOTE: When comparative adjectives are used, the word “THAN” appears after the adjective.

Comparative Examples

List of affirmative and comparative adjectives in English.

EXAMPLES OF COMPARATIVE ADJECTIVES
Affirmative	Comparative
slow	slower
fast	faster
cheap	cheaper
clear	clearer
loud	louder
new	newer
rich	richer
short	shorter
thick	thicker
old	older
tall	taller
large	larger
wide	wider
wise	wiser
nice	nicer
big	bigger
fat	fatter
fit	fitter
polite	more polite
helpful	more helpful
useful	more useful
obscure	more obscure
hungry	hungrier
happy	happier
pretty	prettier
heavy	heavier
angry	angrier
dirty	dirtier
funny	funnier
narrow	narrower
shallow	shallower
humble	humbler
gentle	gentler
clever	cleverer
interesting	more interesting
comfortable	more comfortable
beautiful	more beautiful
difficult	more difficult
dangerous	more dangerous
expensive	more expensive
popular	more popular
complicated	more complicated
confident	more confident
good	better
bad	worse
far	farther
little	less
much/many	more
stupid	less stupid

Superlative: indicates that the quality or quantity is at its highest or is most intense

Forming Superlative Adjectives

Learn how to form superlatives in English with examples.

A: One-syllable Adjectives

1. Form the superlative forms of a one-syllable adjective by adding –est.

Examples:

long – longest

tall – tallest

2. If the one-syllable adjective ends with an e, just add –st for the superlative form.

Examples:

cute – cutest

large – largest

3. Add –est to adjectives that end in consonant-vowel-consonant and double the last consonant.

Examples:

big – biggest

hot – hottest

B: Two-syllable Adjectives

1. With most two-syllable adjectives, you form the superlative with most.

Examples:

honest – most honest

famous – most famous

2. If the two-syllable adjectives ends with –y, change the y to i and add –est for the superlative form.

Examples:

happy – happiest

crazy – craziest

3. Two-syllable adjectives ending in –er, –le, or –ow take –est to form the superlative forms.

Examples:

narrow – narrowest

gentle – gentlest

C: ADJECTIVES WITH THREE OR MORE SYLLABLES

Add most to adjectives that has 3 or more syllables.

Superlative Examples:

expensive – most expensive

difficult – most difficult

D: IRREGULAR ADJECTIVES

good – best

bad – worst

far – farthest

little – least

many – most

Superlative Examples

List of affirmative and superlative adjectives in English.

EXAMPLES OF SUPERLATIVE ADJECTIVES
Affirmative	Superlative
slow	slowest
fast	fastest
cheap	cheapest
clear	clearest
loud	loudest
new	newest
rich	richest
short	shortest
thick	thickest
old	oldest
tall	tallest
large	largest
wide	widest
wise	wisest
nice	nicest
big	biggest
fat	fattest
fit	fittest
polite	most polite
helpful	most helpful
useful	most useful
obscure	most obscure
hungry	hungriest
happy	happiest
pretty	prettiest
heavy	heaviest
angry	angriest
dirty	dirtiest
funny	funniest
narrow	narrowest
shallow	shallowest
humble	humblest
gentle	gentlest
clever	cleverest
interesting	most interesting
comfortable	most comfortable
beautiful	most beautiful
difficult	most difficult
dangerous	most dangerous
expensive	most expensive
popular	most popular
complicated	most complicated
confident	most confident
good	best
bad	worst
far	farthest
little	least
much/many	most

COMPARATIVE ARE USED TO DESCRIBE PEOPLE AND THINGS.

– My car is fast but John’s car is faster.

– Emily is tall but Sophia is taller.

– I need a bigger car

“Than” is used to compare one thing with another.

– Henry is older than Tom.

– Emily is smarter than Sophia.

– The second test was easier than the first one.

“The” is used with a superlative:

– Where Are the Tallest Buildings in the World?

– Harry is the tallest student in this class.

“As…as” is used to compare the attributes of two things that are equal

– Emily is as tall as Sophia.

– The first test is as easy as the second one.

There are basic rules in forming the degrees of comparison:

For one-syllable adjective, add –er to form comparative and –est for superlative.

Examples:

clear / clearer / clearest,

dark / darker / darkest

For most two-syllable adjectives, add –er for comparative and – est for superlative.

Examples:

simple / simpler / simplest,

gentle / gentler / gentlest

For three or more syllables, always use more and most to form the comparative and superlative.

Examples:

creative / more creative / most creative

Some adjectives end with a consonant letter y, change y to I and add –er or -est.

Examples:

busy / busier / busiest,

merry / merrier / merriest

Some adjectives end with a single vowel and single final consonant letter. Double the final consonant and add –er/-est.

Examples:

thin / thinner / thinnest,

fat / fatter / fattest

When the adjectives end in “e”, add –r for the comparative and –st for superlative

Examples:

wise / wiser / wisest,

simple / simpler / simplest

Irregular comparisons of adjectives are compared irregularly

Examples:

good / better / best

ill / worse / worst

Notes for Irregular Comparison of Adjectives

(Exceptions)

Irregular Comparisons:

Far / Farther than / the Farthest

Far / Further than / the Furthest

Farther and Farthest generally refer to distance

Further and Furthest also refer to distance but they may have the meaning of “additional”

“His voice carried farther than mine.”

“Further analysis of the data is needed.”

Old / Older than / the Oldest

Old / Elder than / the Eldest

Older and Oldest refer to persons or things;

Elder and Eldest can only be used for members of the same family

“My elder sister is a doctor.”

“The older generation doesn’t like pop music.”

but Elder cannot be placed before Than so Older is used:

“Henry is my elder brother; he is two years older than I.”