MARCO SUCUPIRA LANGUAGE MATERIALS
THE COMPARISON OF ADJECTIVES
There are three degrees of
comparison:
POSITIVE degree, COMPARATIVE degree, SUPERLATIVE degree:
| POSITIVE | COMPARATIVE | SUPERLATIVE |
| cool | cooler | coolest |
| intelligent | more intelligent | most intelligent |
01. COMPARATIVE OF EQUALITY
AS .... AS (for
positive comparisons),
(NOT)
SO .... AS (for negative comparisons).
Her
pronunciation is AS good AS yours.
His pronunciation is NOT SO good AS yours.
Note: We may say NOT AS .... AS, especially after a contracted form: Her pronunciation isn't AS good AS yours.
02. COMPARATIVE OF INFERIORITY
LESS ..... THAN + the adjective.
It is LESS
cold today THAN it was yesterday.
Kelly is LESS old THAN Sandra.
03. SUPERLATIVE OF INFERIORITY
THE LEAST ....... OF (or IN) + the adjective.
Sunday was THE
LEAST cold day of the week.
Christina is THE LEAST old girl in that class.
04. COMPARATIVE and SUPERLATIVE OF SUPERIORITY
a) Monosyllabic adjectives form their COMPARATIVE and SUPERLATIVE by adding - ER and - EST to the POSITIVE degree.
| tall | tallER THAN | THE tallEST |
| warm | warmER THAN | THE warmEST |
Exceptions:
| just | MORE just THAN | THE MOST just |
| right | MORE right THAN | THE MOST right |
| real | MORE real THAN | THE MOST real |
| wrong | MORE wrong THAN | THE MOST wrong |
b) Adjectives with more than two syllables form their COMPARATIVE and SUPERLATIVE by putting MORE and THE MOST in front of the adjective.
| difficult | MORE difficult THAN | THE MOST difficult |
| important | MORE important THAN | THE MOST important |
c) Disyllabic
(two syllables) adjectives form their COMPARATIVE
and SUPERLATIVE in two different ways:
1. Adjectives ending in ED, ING, RE, FUL, OUS and those with the stress on the first syllable usually take MORE and THE MOST:
| charming | MORE charming THAN | THE MOST charming |
| famous | MORE famous THAN | THE MOST famous |
| hopeful | MORE hopeful THAN | THE MOST hopeful |
| learned | MORE learned THAN | THE MOST learned |
| obscure | MORE obscure THAN | THE MOST obscure |
2.
Adjectives ending in ER, Y, LE, OW and those with the stress
on the second syllable add ER and EST
to the POSITIVE degree.
| clever | cleverER THAN | THE cleverEST |
| narrow | narrowER THAN | THE narrowEST |
| pretty | prettiER THAN | THE prettiEST |
| polite | politER THAN | THE politEST |
| simple | simplER THAN | THE simplEST |
Note: Adjectives ending in SOME and the words cheerful, common, cruel, pleasant, quiet, civil may be compared by adding ER and EST or by MORE and MOST.
| pleasant | pleasantER THAN | THE pleasantEST |
or
| pleasant | MORE pleasant THAN | THE MOST pleasant |
05.
ORTHOGRAPHIC NOTES
a)
Add R and ST to adjectives
ending in E.
| large | largeR THAN | THE largeST |
| ripe | ripeR THAN | THE ripeST |
b) VOWEL SANDWICH (VOWEL + CONSONANT + VOWEL) (THE LAST VOWEL IS DOUBLED)
| big | bigGER THAN | THE bigGEST |
| fat | fatTER THAN | THE fatTEST |
NO SANDWICH (JUST THE SUFFIX)
| small | smallER THAN | THE smallEST |
| sweet | sweetER THAN | THE sweetEST |
c) Adjectives ending in - y preceded by a consonant, change Y into I before ER and EST.
| happY | happIER THAN | THE happIEST |
Exceptions:
| shY | shYER THAN | THE shYEST |
| gaY | gaYER THAN | THE gaYEST |
| greY | greYER THAN | THE greYEST |
6. IRREGULAR COMPARISONS
| good | better than | the best |
| bad | worse than | the worst |
| little | less than | the least |
| much | more than | the most |
| many | more than | the most |
| far | farther than | the farthest |
| far | further than | the furthest |
| old | older than | the oldest |
| old | elder than | the eldest |
NOTES:
1.
FARTHER and FARTHEST generally refer to distance; FURTHER and
FURTHEST also refer to distance but they may have the meaning of
"additional".
I live farther
from here than you do.
Give me further details.
2. 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 afraid of mice.
My older friend is afraid of wasps.
but ELDER can
not be placed before THAN so OLDER is
used:
My
sister is two years older than I am.
7. CONSTRUCTIONS WITH COMPARATIVES
a)
Gradual increase:
Those
exercises are getting EASIER AND EASIER. OR
Those
exercises are getting MORE AND MORE EASY.
The weather
is getting NICER AND NICER. OR
The
weather is getting MORE AND MORE NICE.
The rent of our flat is getting MORE AND MORE EXPENSIVE.
B)
Parallel increase: (THE + comparative ...... THE + comparative).
THE
MORE I see you THE MORE I want you.
THE HOTTER, THE BETTER.
THE MORE he studies, THE BETTER he
becomes.
COMPARISON OF ADVERBS
1. COMPARATIVE and SUPERLATIVE of SUPERIORITY.
a) Monosyllabic adverbs from their comparative and superlative of superiority in the same way as monosyllabic adjectives.
| high | highER THAN | THE highEST |
| soon | soonER THAN | THE soonEST |
| fast | fastER THAN | THE fastEST |
b) Adverbs of more than one syllable take MORE and MOST.
| quickly | MORE quickly THAN | THE MOST quickly |
| slowly | MORE slowly THAN | THE MOST slowly |
| seldom | MORE seldom THAN | THE MOST seldom |
Exception:
| early | earliER THAN | THE earliEST |
2. IRREGULAR COMPARISONS
| well | better than | the best |
| badly | worse than | the worst |
| little | less than | the least |
| much | more than | the most |
| late | later than | the last |
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