Large comparative and superlative. What are the degrees of comparison of adjectives in English? Detailed guide. Degrees of Comparison of adjectives in English

English adjectives do not have the morphological characteristics of case, gender and number. Their only morphological characteristic is degrees of comparison. By degrees of comparison, only quality adjectives- that is, those that denote any sign that can manifest itself to a greater or lesser extent. These adjectives answer the question “what?”. For example, adjectives big, cheerful, beautiful can have degrees of comparison. It's easy to imagine something prettier, or someone smarter. But relative adjectives (book, yesterday) or possessive adjectives (paternal, hare) do not have degrees of comparison. It is impossible to imagine anything more yesterday or less paternal.

Exist three degrees of comparison: positive, comparative and superlative.

Formation of degrees of comparison of adjectives in English.

positive degree.

positive degree(positive degree) indicates the presence of quality. She is the adjective itself:

full (full), polite (polite), profound (solid), noble (noble), beautiful (beautiful).

Comparative.

comparative(comparative degree) indicates a greater intensity of quality. This degree according to the nature of education can be simple or compound. A simple degree of comparison is formed by adding the ending -er to the stem of the adjective:

full - fuller (full - fuller)

If the adjective ends in -e, then add only -r :

If the adjective ends in -y , then -y becomes -i :

happy - happier (happy - happier)

The final consonant will be doubled if the vowel in the last syllable of the word is short and stressed:

simple form comparative degree characteristic of

monosyllabic adjectives:

Full - fuller (full - fuller)

deep - deeper (deep - deeper)

big - bigger (big - more)

disyllabic adjectives if the stress falls on the last syllable:

polite - politer (polite - more polite)

profound - profounder (solid - more thorough)

disyllabic adjectives ending in -le , -y, -some, -ow, -er .

noble -nobler (noble - more noble)

silly - sillier (stupid - dumber)

handsome - handsomer (handsome - more beautiful)

narrow - narrower (narrow - already)

tender - tenderer (gentle - more tender)

The remaining two-syllable and all three- and more-complex adjectives have a compound form of the comparative degree. It is formed by adding the word more.

beautiful - more beautiful (beautiful - more beautiful)

curious - more curious (curious - more curious)

Here are a few sample sentences using a comparative degree.

Holidays at the seaside are more splendid than in the country.

The street I live in is much narrower than this one.

Which of the two lakes is deeper?

Mary is more beautiful than her cousin.

Superlative degree.

Superlatives(superlative degree) comparison of adjectives indicates the greatest manifestation of quality. This degree also has a simple and compound form similar to the comparative degree. In most cases, adjectives in the superlative degree are preceded by the article the.

The simple form is formed by adding the ending -est :

full - the fullest (full - the most complete)

deep - the deepest (deep - the deepest)

polite - politest (polite - the most polite)

happy - the happiest (happy - the happiest)

silly - the silliest (stupid - the most stupid)

big -the biggest (big - largest)

A complex form of superlative degree of comparison is formed by adding the word most:

beautiful - the most beautiful (beautiful - most beautiful)

curious - the most curious (curious - the most curious)

Here are the usage examples superlatives in offers.

Bob is the cleverest man I've ever met.

Molly is the most attentive girl in her class.

Lack of money is our biggest problem.

Yours is the silliest joke I've ever heard.

Special cases of formation of degrees of comparison of adjectives.

There are a number of adjectives that form degrees of comparison not by the rule. These adjectives and their derivatives must be memorized. Here is a complete list of such adjectives.

good - better - the best (good - best - best)

bad - worse - the worst (bad - worst - worst)

many - more - most (many - more - largest / most)

little - less - the least (small / few - less - smallest / least)

far - further - the furthest (far - further - the most distant (about time))

Pay attention to the following pairs, in which, depending on the semantic meaning, the forms of degrees also change:

old - older - oldest (old / older - older - oldest / oldest)

old - elder - the eldest (old / eldest - older - oldest / eldest (only in the description of brothers or sisters))

near - nearer - the nearest (closest - closer - closest (about distance))

near - nearer - the next (close - closer - next (in time))

late - later - the latest (later - later (about time) - the latest / latest at the moment)

late - last - the last(later - later (of those mentioned) - most recent (will not happen again) / past.

You can practice using degrees of comparison by doing the following.

A separate topic for consideration is also the strengthening of the degrees of comparison of adjectives. I devoted a whole to this topic.

You can practice exponents of comparison using value amplification by going through the following.

adjectives in English language have two degrees of comparison: the comparative degree ( comparative form) and superlatives ( superlative form).

comparative (comparative form) is used when comparing one person or object/phenomenon with another. For example, "colder than".

Superlatives (superlative form) is used when comparing one person or object / phenomenon with other people or objects of the same group. The superlative degree is translated using the word "most". For example, "the coldest".

Table of formation of degrees of comparison of adjectives

Adjectives		Comparative degree (comparative)	superlative (superlative)
One-syllable and some two-syllable adjectives ending in -er-, -ow, -le		… + -er	the … + -est
	hot large fast narrow long simple thin	hotter larger faster narrower longer simpler thinner	the hot test the largest the fastest the narrowest the longest the simplest the thinner
-y adjectives	busy	busier	busiest
Disyllabic and polysyllabic adjectives		more/less + …	the most/least + …
	beautiful interesting	more beautiful more interesting	the most beautiful the most interesting
Exceptions	good bad old Much/many little	better worse older elder farther further more less	the best the worst the oldest the eldest the farthest the furthest the most the least

Note: Some disyllabic adjectives have TWO forms for the comparative degree and two forms for the superlative degree. For example: happy, clever, common, narrow, pleasant, quiet, simple, stupid.They are shaped like -er, -est, and the form with more/most.

Examples:
She is happier than him. She is the cleverest person Lady Connie knows. ⇒ She is happier than him. She is the smartest person Lady Connie knows.
Lady Connie is more happy than John. Lady Connie is the happiest woman in the world. ⇒ Lady Connie is happier than John. Lady Connie is the most happy woman in the world.

In monosyllabic adjectives ending in a vowel followed by a consonant, the final consonant is doubled:
big-big ger - the big gest

In disyllabic adjectives that end in a consonant followed by -y, -y is replaced by -i:
crazy - crazy ier - the crazy iest

Further and farther indicate distance:
Balmora is six miles further/farther.
But further(but not farther) can also mean "in addition":
There is no further books. ⇒ Besides these books, there are no more here.

The words elder/eldest used before nouns only with family members:
my elder sister/brother/son, my eldest son, she is the eldest(but not she is elder than me).

Older/oldest used in relation to people and objects / phenomena:
Connie is older than Kate. This sword is older. ⇒ Connie is older than Katya. This sword is older.

Lesser formed from less but it's not real comparative. We cannot use than after it: It means "not so good." It is usually used in phrases like:
the lesser of two evils.⇒ the lesser of two evils.

Forming sentences with comparisons

as ... asUsed in affirmative and interrogative sentences. It translates as "so (oh) the same ... as":
The game is as interesting as the film. ⇒ The game is as interesting as the movie.

twice as ... as,
three times as … as
…
It translates as "two / three times ...":
His sword is twice as big as mine. ⇒ His sword is twice the size of mine.
Bitcoin is three times as expensive as it was a few months ago.
She is twice as old. ⇒ Bitcoin is three times more expensive than it was a few months ago. She is twice as old.

half as much/many- twice smaller
half the size- twice smaller
half my age- twice as young
half the weight- twice as easy
Examples:
The box is half the size of previous. ⇒ The box is half the size of the previous one.
Lady Connie is half my age. ⇒ Lady Connie is half my age.
My trunk is half the weight of yours. ⇒ The chest is twice as light as yours.

not so/as … as
It translates as "not the same ... as":
Lady Connie is not so fat as her father. ⇒ Lady Connie is not as fat as her father.

much, far, a great deal, a lot- much, much, much
a bit, a little- Little
The book is far more interesting than the film. ⇒ The book is much more interesting than this movie.
Your website is a great deal better than mine. ⇒ Your site is much better than mine.

the most- most
most- extremely, very
most- majority, most
Examples:
This is the most interesting book. ⇒ This is the most interesting book.
Most young people are fond of vapes. ⇒ Many of the young people are vape fans.
This is most expensive book. ⇒ This is the most expensive book.

the the+ comparative adjective
It translates as "than ..., so ...":
The harder game, the better I play. ⇒ The tougher the game, the better we play.

the same …as
It translates as "the same ... as":
Lady Connie is same age as the witcher. ⇒ Lady Connie is the same age as the witcher.

than/as me/him/her/them/us
Lady Connie taller than me. ⇒ Lady Connie is taller than me.

Comparing degrees of adjectives is one of the easiest topics in English. But even despite the ease, it causes difficulties for some students. In this article, we have revealed the most important rules on this topic and provided many examples to make it easier to understand the material.

Education

To understand how to form the superlative degree of adjectives in English, count the number of syllables in the adjective. If there are only one or two of them, then feel free to add an ending to it -est . For example, tall - the tallest (highest - the highest), thin- the thinnest (thinnest - the thinnest). The ending -iest added to words that end in -y

• by adding an ending -est to all one-syllable and some two-syllable qualitative adjectives that end in -y, -e, -er, -ow.
• with the help of a word the most , which is placed before the adjective.

Let's consider this rule in more detail using the examples in the table.

You can distinguish the superlative degree of adjectives by the expression have ever (ever) and prepositions at, on, in, among, of all, one of.

This is the most beautiful song I have ever heard. - This is the most beautiful song I have ever heard.
James is the strongest boy among us.- James is the strongest boy among us.

ТIf the adjective ends in a consonant, then the consonant when adding the ending -est doubles.

hot-the hot test . This is the hottest coffee I have ever drunk. This is the hottest coffee I have ever drunk.

Exception

But not all adjectives form the superlative form according to the rules. Such adjectives are an exception and must be remembered.

• good-best

Which of these trousers suit me best? Which of these trousers suit me best?

• bad-worst

John is the worst student in his class. John is the worst student in his class.

• little-least

At least wait until she calls you. At least wait until she calls you.

• many - most

It is the most expensive telephone in this shop. This is the most expensive phone in this store.

• far - farthest/furthest

farthest used to indicate distance furthest- in other meanings.

I live farthest from everybody in our class. – I live furthest in our class;
It is the furthest information about the accident. “This is the latest information about the incident.

Every day we compare different things: this car is better than that one, and the other, in general, is the best. One person is prettier than the other. And someone considers himself the most beautiful.Today you will learn about the degrees of comparison of adjectives in English: what they are and how they are formed.

What is an adjective?

An adjective is a word denoting a quality (attribute) possessed by an object or person. For example: tall, clear, smart.

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What are the degrees of comparison of adjectives?

Depending on what we are comparing, we can distinguish several degrees of comparison. Let's look at examples of how we can compare items.

1. Comparison of 2 items on a common basis.

• And we need to understand who has more of these qualities.

We can compare these apples by their redness.

Note that we can only compare things if they have the same qualities. For example, we cannot compare these apples by their redness:

2. Comparison of an object with it, but at different times.

• We have an object (person) that has some quality in some period of time.
• There is the same subject, but in a different period of time.
• And we need to understand what has changed in this quality over this period.

Apples can be compared by freshness:

3. Comparison of objects with each other, in order to identify the one with the most pronounced feature.

• We have an object (person) that has some quality.
• There are other items that have the same qualities.
• And we understand which object (person) of them all is the best in terms of these qualities.

This is the reddest apple of all the apples on this plate.

Thus, we can distinguish 2 degrees of comparison:

1. Comparative - we compare objects on the basis (1 and 2 examples).
2. Excellent - we compare objects in order to identify an object with the most pronounced feature (3rd example).

Now we will consider each degree of comparison separately.

How is the comparative degree of adjectives formed in English

We need it to compare something or someone with each other. For example, one car is more expensive than another, my girlfriend is older than me.

Depending on the adjective, there are 2 forms of the comparative degree:

1. A simple form of comparative degree formed with adjectives that have one, two or three syllables. For example: soft (soft), new (new), dirty (dirty), calm (quiet), cool (cool), deep (deep).

2. A complex form of a comparative degree formed with adjectives that have three or more syllables. For example: dangerous (dangerous), frightened (scared), effective (effective), handsome (cute), interesting (interesting), surprised (surprised).

1. A simple form of the comparative degree of adjectives formed by adding the ending -er.

adjective + -er

Small (small) - small er(smaller);
sweet (sweet) - sweet er(sweeter).

for example

Your hair is long er than mine.
Your hair is longer than mine.

Her car is cheap er than his.
Her car is cheaper than his.

A little lower we will tell you what are the nuances when adding -er.

2. Complex form of the comparative degree adjectives is formed using the words more (more) or less (less), which are placed before the adjective.

more/ less+ adjective

Cheerful (happy) - more cheerful (happier);
strange (strange) - less strange (less strange).

for example

Explain your ideas more clearly.
Explain your idea more clearly.

This book is more interesting than that.
This book is more interesting than that one.

Rules for adding the ending -er

1. If the adjective ends in -e, then only the letter -r is added:

larg e(huge) - larg er(larger);
simple e(simple) - simpl er(easier).

Boys are brav er than girls.
Boys are braver than girls.

2. The last consonant is doubled if it is preceded by a vowel:

b ig(large) - bi gger(more);
h ot(hot)-ho ter(hot).

China is bi gger than Japan.
China is bigger than Japan.

3. If the adjective ends in -y, then -y changes to -i:

dr y(dry)-dr ier(dry);
eas y(easy) - eas ier(easier).

He was luck ier than many painters.
He was more successful than many artists.

How the superlative degree of adjectives is formed in English

We need superlatives to show that the item has the best characteristics: the largest, the most expensive, the best. For example: "This is the most talented writer I have ever read."

Depending on the adjective, there are 2 superlative forms.

1. Simple form of superlatives formed with adjectives that have one, two or three syllables.

2. Complex form of superlatives It is used with adjectives that have three or more syllables.

1. Simple form of superlatives adjectives formed by adding the ending -est. Before the adjective itself, we put the article the.

the+ adjective + -est

The rules for adding the -est ending are the same as for the -er endings.

Small (small) - the small est(the smallest);
easy (easy) - the easy est(the easiest).

Examples

2. Complex form of superlatives adjectives is formed using the words most (most) or least (least), which are placed before the adjective. Before these words we put the article the.

the + most/least +adjective

beautiful (beautiful) - the most beautiful( most beautiful);
interesting (interesting) - theleast interesting( least interesting or most not interesting).

for example

How much is the most expensive car?
How much is the most expensive car?

Summer is the most favorite season of mine.
Summer is my favorite time of the year.

He is the least talented actor in our class.
He is the least talented actor in our class.

Exception adjectives in the comparative degree in English

In English, there are adjectives whose comparative and superlative degrees are not formed according to the rules. The only option is to remember them. Here are the most common ones.

Adjective	comparative	Superlatives
good good	better it is better	the best the best
bad bad	worse worse	the worst the worst
little little	less smaller	the least least
many/much numerous	more more	the most greatest
old (about family members) old	elder older	the eldest oldest
late late	later the last one listed	the last last in order

Examples

The weather today is worse than yesterday.
The weather today is worse than yesterday.

This pen is the best.
This pen is the best.

So, today we have analyzed the comparative and superlative degrees of comparison of adjectives. If you have any questions, ask them in the comments.

Reinforcement task

Now put the following adjectives into comparative and superlative forms:

• expensive,
• strong,
• loud,
• dangerous,
• high,
• clever,
• interesting,
• dirty,
• lazy,
• generous,
• clean,
• rich,
• good,
• important.

Leave your answers in the comments below the article.

Cold - colder - coldest. What were we doing now? Compared using Russian adjectives. Do you think this is not the case in English? You are welcome: cold - colder - the coldest. That's what it is degrees of comparison of adjectives. We were lucky: there are exactly the same degrees of comparison as in Russian. That is, simply comparative (colder) and excellent (coldest). Now let's find out how the degrees of comparison of adjectives are formed..

1. If an English adjective is taken from one syllable ( old , big , hot , kind , great), then the comparative degree is formed by the ending -er (older , kinder), and the superlative is the article the and ending - est (the oldest , the kindest ).

Two-syllable adjectives ending in - y , -er , -ow (spicy , clever , narrow) follow the same rules:

cleverer - the cleverest (smarter - smartest), narrower - the narrowest (narrower (narrower) - the narrowest)

However, adjectives ending in - y , change this letter to i :

spicier - the spiciest (sharper - the sharpest)

If a one-syllable adjective ends in vowel + consonant (hot, big, sad, fat), then in comparative degrees consonant doubles:

hotter - the hottest, fatter - the fattest.

2. All other two-syllable, three-syllable (and so on - in general, polysyllabic) adjectives form a comparative degree by adding more , and excellent - the most :

more significant - the most significant,more beautiful - the most beautiful

Exception examples(favorite section of all English learners):

Good-better-the best
Bad - worse - the worst
Little-less-the least

Far - farther(more distant (in distance)) - the farthest(the furthest),
but far - further(further/following) - the furthest(most remote)

Near - nearer - the nearest / the next (nearest (by distance) / next)

old-older(older) - the oldest(the oldest),
but old - elder(older)- the eldest(oldest)

late - later(later) - the latest(latest),
but late - last(later in order) - the last(most recent in order)

By the formation of degrees of comparison of adjectives- all. With which I congratulate you. But if you want more, then you are always welcome (recommended for those who have already understood everything with the previous part):

Use lesser degree of comparison (i.e. less cold, less bright) goes with less , and to denote the smallest degree - the least (least cold, least bright):

less strong(less strong) - the least strong(least strong) less wide(less wide) - the least wide(least wide).

To strengthen the comparative degree is used much , still , far :

much colder(much colder ), much more beautiful(much prettier).

In a sentence for comparing objects, a bunch is used than (how):

She is cleverer than her sister(She is smarter than her sister).

And now degree education scheme for those who love algorithms :)

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