Comparison Of Adjectives

COMPARISON OF ADJECTIVES

Most of Adjective has three form of degree of comparison.

          Positive                 – used to describe one thing.

          Comaparative        -used to compare two things.

          Superlative           – used to compare three or more things.

        That car is nice car.

          I tried two cars, and the better performer was the Ford.

          Which girl is nicer, Kathy or Marie.

          Which of the eight girls was the nicest?

          I tried three cars, and the best performer was Ford.

FORMING THE COMPARATIVE AND SUPERLATIVE

1.Most adjective of one syllables form their comparative and superlative degrees by adding er or est.

one syllable + -er + -est

        POSITIVE           COMPARATIVE   SUPERLATIVE

          cute                      cuter                     cutest

          short                     shorter                  shortest

          red                        redder                   reddest

Numb tall                        taller                     tallest

of syllables Comparative Superlative

2. one syllable with the spelling consonant + single vowel + consonant: double the final consonant:

fat                         fatter                    fattest

big                         bigger                    biggest

sad                        sadder                  saddest

Number of syllables Comparative Superlative

3. two syllables + -er OR more + adj + -est OR most + adj

ending in: -y, -ly, -ow

ending in: -le, -er or -ure

these common adjectives - handsome, polite, pleasant, common, quiet

happy happier/ more happy happiest/ most happy

yellow yellower/ more yellow yellowest/ most yellow

simple simpler/ more simple simplest/ most simple

tender tenderer/ more tender tenderest/ most tender

If you are not sure, use MORE + OR MOST +

Note: Adjectives ending in '-y' like happy, pretty, busy, sunny, lucky etc:. replace

the -y with -ier or -iest in the comparative and superlative form

busy busier busiest

4. Some adjective of two syllables form their comparative and superlative degrees by adding er or est; and other two syllables adjective form their comparative and superlative degrees by adding more and most.

        POSITIVE           COMPARATIVE   SUPERLATIVE

          sunny                     sunnier                           sunniest

          anxious                 more anxious                  most anxious

umber of syllables Comparative Superlative

5. three syllables or more more + adj most + adj

POSITIVE                COMPARATIVE        SUPERLATIVE

          wonderful              more wonderful               most wonderful

          difficult                 more difficult                  most difficult

important              more important               most important

expensive              more expensive              most expensive

Examples:

a. A cat is fast, a tiger is faster but a cheetah is the fastest

b. A car is heavy, a truck is heavier, but a train is the heaviest

c. A park bench is comfortable, a restaurant chair is more comfortable, but a sofa

is the most comfortable

COMPARISON OF ADJECTIVES

AS + ADJECTIVE + AS

To compare people, places, events or things, when there is no difference,

use as + adjective + as:

Peter is 24 years old. John is 24 years old. Peter is as old as John.

Moscow is as cold as St. Petersburg in the winter.

Ramona is as happy as Raphael.

Einstein is as famous as Darwin.

A tiger is as dangerous as a lion.

COMPARISON OF ADJECTIVES

NOT AS + ADJECTIVE + AS

Difference can also be shown by using not so/as ...as:

Mont Blanc is not as high as Mount Everest

Norway is not as sunny as Thailand

COMPARISON OF ADJECTIVES

COMPARISONS OF QUANTITY

To show difference: more, less, fewer + than

Examples:

With countable nouns: more / fewer

Eloise has more children than Chantal.

Chantal has fewer children than Eloise.

With uncountable nouns: more / less

Eloise has more money than Chantal.

Chantal has less money than Eloise

So, the rule is:

MORE + nouns that are countable or uncountable

FEWER + countable nouns

LESS + uncountable nouns

When we compare things to indicate less instead of more, we use the words less and least before the adjective.

          POSITIVE                COMPARATIVE        SUPERLATIVE

          tiresome                less tiresome                   least tiresome

          graceful                 less graceful           least graceful

To show no difference: as much as , as many as, as few as, as little as

as many as / as few as + countable nouns

as much as / as little as + uncountable nouns

Examples:

With countable nouns:

They have as many children as us.

We have as many customers as them.

Tom has as few books as Jane.

There are as few houses in his village as in mine.

With uncountable nouns:

John eats as much food as Peter.

Jim has as little food as Sam.

COMPARISON OF ADJECTIVES

IRREGULAR COMPARATIVES AND SUPERLATIVES

These adjectives have completely irregular comparative and superlative

forms:djmparative Superlative

Occasionally, adjective do not follow the regular methods in forming their comparative and superlative degrees. They are said to be formed irregularly.

          POSITIVE                COMPARATIVE                           SUPERLATIVE

          bad                       worse                                       worst

          evil                        -                                               -

          ill                          -                                               -

          good                     better                                       best

          well                       -                                               -

          little                      less                                           least

          many                     more                                        most                               far                         further / farther                       furthest / farthest

Avoid double comparison.

          Never say, “The coast was more sunnier than the mountains.”

COMPARISON OF ADJECTIVES

THE + SUPERLATIVE

'the' is placed before the superlative:

For example: He is the richest man in the world.

COMPARISON OF ADJECTIVES

COMPARATIVE + THAN

To compare the difference between two people, things or events.

Examples:

Mt. Everest is higher than Mt. Blanc.

Thailand is sunnier than Norway.

A car is more expensive than a bicycle.

Albert is more intelligent than Arthur.