Degrees of Comparison
|
|
| This
material describes degrees of comparison of adjectives and adverbs,
general rules of adding the suffixes "er, est", using "more, most, less,
least", and typical constructions expressing comparison. A shorter
description of these questions in Russian can be found in an answer to a
visitor's question in the subsection Messages about Grammar of the
section Messages or by searching this site for the phrase Degrees of
comparison of adjectives. |
|
Degrees of comparison of adjectives
|
|
| Most
descriptive adjectives can show degree of quality or quantity by
forming two degrees of comparison: the comparative degree and the
superlative degree. These degrees are formed from the positive degree,
which is the usual form of adjectives. The comparative and superlative
forms can be simple (bigger, biggest) or compound (more attentive, most
attentive). |
|
| The
comparative degree and the superlative degree are formed by adding the
suffixes ER and EST to the positive form of the adjective or by using
MORE and MOST before the positive form of the adjective. The choice of
ER, EST or MORE, MOST depends mostly on the number of syllables in the
adjective. |
|
| Positive degree: bright; important. |
|
| Comparative degree: brighter; more important. |
|
| Superlative degree: brightest; most important. |
|
| An
adjective in the comparative or superlative form can stand before the
noun that it modifies or after the verb BE in the predicative. For
example: Try an easier exercise. This exercise is easier. |
|
| As
a rule, the definite article is required before the superlative form of
the adjective: the nearest hospital; the largest room. |
|
Monosyllabic adjectives
|
|
| One-syllable
adjectives form the comparative and superlative degrees by adding the
suffixes ER, EST: black, blacker, blackest; cheap, cheaper, cheapest;
clear, clearer, clearest; cold, colder, coldest; green, greener,
greenest; high, higher, highest; large, larger, largest; long, longer,
longest; loud, louder, loudest; new, newer, newest; nice, nicer, nicest;
poor, poorer, poorest; rich, richer, richest; short, shorter, shortest;
slow, slower, slowest; soft, softer, softest; sweet, sweeter, sweetest;
tall, taller, tallest; tough, tougher, toughest; warm, warmer, warmest;
wise, wiser, wisest. |
|
| Anna is tall. Ella is taller than her sister. Maria is the tallest girl in her class. |
|
| Anatoly is older than Tatiana. Katya is the youngest of my students. |
|
| My house is smaller than your house. Your car is larger than mine. Moscow is the largest city in Russia. |
|
| The highest peak in Africa is Mount Kilimanjaro. The Himalayas are the highest mountains in the world. |
|
Disyllabic adjectives
|
|
| Most
two-syllable adjectives, including adjectives ending in the suffixes
"al, ant, ent, ish, ive, ic, ous, ful, less", form the comparative and
superlative degrees with the help of MORE, MOST: active, more active,
most active; careless, more careless, most careless; distant, more
distant, most distant; eager, more eager, most eager; famous, more
famous, most famous; foolish, more foolish, most foolish; formal, more
formal, most formal; modern, more modern, most modern; private, more
private, most private; recent, more recent, most recent; secure, more
secure, most secure; tragic, more tragic, most tragic; useful, more
useful, most useful. |
|
| Laura is more selfish than Anita. |
|
| A more distant object seems to be smaller than a closer object. |
|
| The Taj Mahal is one of the most famous buildings in the world. |
|
| Two-syllable
adjectives ending in "y, er, ow" usually form the comparative and
superlative degrees by adding ER, EST: angry, angrier, angriest; busy,
busier, busiest; crazy, crazier, craziest; dirty, dirtier, dirtiest;
easy, easier, easiest; early, earlier, earliest; funny, funnier,
funniest; happy, happier, happiest; heavy, heavier, heaviest; lucky,
luckier, luckiest; noisy, noisier, noisiest; pretty, prettier,
prettiest; silly, sillier, silliest; sunny, sunnier, sunniest; ugly,
uglier, ugliest; clever, cleverer, cleverest; narrow, narrower,
narrowest. |
|
| Your repair work will be much easier if you use a good set of tools. |
|
| My dog is the cleverest dog in the whole world. |
|
| The narrowest of the three tunnels leads to a small chamber under the engine room. |
|
| Two-syllable
adjectives ending in "y, er, ow" often have variants with MORE, MOST:
lazy, lazier / more lazy, laziest / most lazy; fancy, fancier / more
fancy, fanciest / most fancy; friendly, friendlier / more friendly,
friendliest / most friendly; lovely, lovelier / more lovely, loveliest /
most lovely; risky, riskier / more risky, riskiest / most risky;
clever, cleverer / more clever, cleverest / most clever; slender,
slenderer / more slender, slenderest / most slender; tender, tenderer /
more tender, tenderest / most tender; shallow, shallower / more shallow,
shallowest / most shallow; yellow, yellower / more yellow, yellowest /
most yellow. |
|
| The
choice of ER, EST or MORE, MOST in the case of disyllabic adjectives
ending in "y, er, ow" depends to some extent on preferences in usage, on
what sounds better or more natural to an English speaker in the given
sentence. On the whole, variants formed with the help of ER, EST are
more traditional and more widely used than those with MORE, MOST. |
|
| There
are some other disyllabic adjectives which have variant forms with ER,
EST or MORE, MOST, for example, quiet, simple, stable, noble, gentle,
common, polite, pleasant, handsome. Though both variants are considered
correct, the following comparative and superlative forms seem to be more
frequently used for these adjectives at present: quieter, quietest;
simpler, simplest; gentler / more gentle, gentlest / most gentle; more
stable, most stable; more noble, most noble; more common, most common;
more polite, most polite; more pleasant, most pleasant; more handsome,
most handsome. |
|
| These questions are simpler than those. |
|
| She is more polite than her sister. |
|
Spelling note
|
|
| If
an adjective ends in a single consonant preceded by a single vowel, the
consonant is doubled before adding ER, EST: big, bigger, biggest; fat,
fatter, fattest; hot, hotter, hottest; red, redder, reddest; sad,
sadder, saddest; thin, thinner, thinnest; wet, wetter, wettest. |
|
| If
an adjective ends in mute E, the letter E is dropped before adding ER,
EST: blue, bluer, bluest; brave, braver, bravest; close, closer,
closest; fine, finer, finest; pale, paler, palest; rude, ruder, rudest;
simple, simpler, simplest; wide, wider, widest. |
|
| If
an adjective ends in Y preceded by a consonant, Y is changed to I
before adding ER, EST: busy, busier, busiest; dry, drier, driest; happy,
happier, happiest; lucky, luckier, luckiest; sleepy, sleepier,
sleepiest; scary, scarier, scariest. Note: sly, slier, sliest OR slyer,
slyest. |
|
| If final Y is preceded by a vowel, Y doesn't change before adding ER, EST: gray, grayer, grayest. |
|
Adjectives of three or more syllables
|
|
| Adjectives
consisting of three or more syllables form the comparative and
superlative degrees by using MORE, MOST before the adjective: beautiful,
more beautiful, most beautiful; comfortable, more comfortable, most
comfortable; curious, more curious, most curious; dangerous, more
dangerous, most dangerous; difficult, more difficult, most difficult;
expensive, more expensive, most expensive; important, more important,
most important; intelligent, more intelligent, most intelligent;
interesting, more interesting, most interesting; successful, more
successful, most successful. |
|
| This
book is interesting. This book is more interesting than that one. This
book is the most interesting of all the books that I have read recently.
This is the most interesting book I have ever read. |
|
| John
has a difficult task. My task is more difficult than John's task. I
have a more difficult task. The most difficult task will be discussed
tomorrow. |
|
| The accident, bad enough in itself, resulted in an even more terrible event. |
|
Adjectives formed from participles
|
|
| Adjectives
formed from participles form the comparative and superlative forms with
the help of MORE, MOST irrespective of the number of the syllables:
annoying, more annoying, most annoying; boring, more boring, most
boring; hurt, more hurt, most hurt; pleased, more pleased, most pleased;
surprised, more surprised, most surprised; tired, more tired, most
tired; worried, more worried, most worried. |
|
| I can't think of a more boring subject of conversation. |
|
| She seems more worried today. |
|
| He is the most annoying person I know. |
|
Notes
|
|
| 1.
The comparative degree indicates one of two objects, while the
superlative degree singles out one of three or more objects. Compare
these examples: |
|
| Alex is strong. Tom is stronger than Alex. Tom is the stronger of the two boys. |
|
| Alex, Tom, and John are strong. John is the strongest of the three boys. John is the strongest in his class. |
|
| Gina
is more attentive than Ella. Gina is the more attentive of the two
girls. Vera is the most attentive pupil in my English class. |
|
| 2.
MOST + adjective is not always the superlative degree. MOST may have
the meaning "very, extremely, highly". In such cases, a singular noun is
used with the indefinite article, and a plural noun is used without an
article. In this meaning of MOST, monosyllabic and disyllabic adjectives
are used with MOST. |
|
| She is a most beautiful woman. |
|
| They are most interesting people. |
|
| Yesterday I had a most strange dream. |
|
| I'm most pleased to see you here. |
|
| In
most of such cases, the meaning will be clearer if you use "very"
instead of "most": a very beautiful woman; very interesting people; a
very strange dream; very pleased. |
|
| 3.
The definite article before the superlative form may be omitted in some
cases, for example, in those cases where the adjective is used in the
predicative after the verb BE (or other linking verbs), and there is no
noun or defining phrase after the adjective. Compare these examples: |
|
| She felt like the happiest girl in the whole wide world. She is happiest when she is alone with her books. |
|
| She is the prettiest of his three daughters. She is prettiest when she lets her hair down and puts on a white dress. |
|
Uncomparable adjectives
|
|
| Some
adjectives should not be used in either the comparative or the
superlative degree because, logically, their meaning does not admit of
comparison. Such adjectives are sometimes called absolute adjectives. |
|
| Examples
of uncomparable adjectives: absent, absolute, chief, complete,
contemporary, daily, dead, essential, eternal, excellent, empty, full,
entire, fatal, final, honest, impossible, infinite, inevitable, ideal,
junior, meaningless, perfect, main, major, minor, round, sufficient,
supreme, senior, square, unique, universal, utmost, vital, weekly,
whole, wooden, worthless, wrong. |
|
| If
it is necessary for you to make some kind of comparison of such
adjectives, use "almost, nearly, quite" with them, for example, "almost
perfect; almost empty; nearly full; quite sufficient". You can also use
the constructions "as...as" or "not as...as" described at the end of
this article. |
|
| Note:
In everyday speech, phrases like "emptier than; more complete than;
more correct than; more honest than; more perfect", etc., are sometimes
used. Examples: He looks more dead than alive. Karl is more honest than
Bart. Now you are more wrong than ever. |
|
Predicative adjectives
|
|
| Some
adjectives, such as "afraid, alike, alive, alone, ashamed, asleep,
awake, aware", are used only predicatively after linking verbs (i.e.,
they are not used in the position before a noun). Predicative adjectives
can form the comparative degree with the help of MORE, but are hardly
ever used in the superlative degree. |
|
| As time passed, he became more and more ashamed of himself. |
|
| She is more afraid of him than of his father. |
|
Irregular adjectives
|
|
| Several
adjectives have irregular forms of the comparative and superlative
degrees: good, better, best; bad, worse, worst; many/much, more, most;
little, less (lesser), least; far, farther, farthest; far, further,
furthest. "Less" can be an adjective or an adverb; "lesser" is only an
adjective; "farther, farthest" refer to distance; "further, furthest"
refer to distance or addition. |
|
| The hotel was better than we expected. This is the best layer cake I've ever had. |
|
| His health is becoming worse. Her examination paper was the worst in class. |
|
| I bought many books. Mike bought more books than I did. Nick bought the most books. |
|
| I don't have much work today. Mike has more work than I do. Nick has the most work to do today. |
|
| He spent less money than you. She has the least time of all of them. |
|
| All of them are suffering from an allergy, to a greater or lesser degree. Choose the lesser of two evils. |
|
| His house is farther down the street. It is the farthest house on the opposite side of the street. |
|
| I have no further questions. Further information can be obtained at our office. |
|
| The adjective "less" is used with uncountable nouns; the adjective "fewer" is used with plural countable nouns. |
|
| He has less time than she does. She has fewer books than he does. |
|
| The
adjectives "ill" and "well" (referring to health) have the same
comparative and superlative forms as the adjectives "bad" and "good":
ill, worse, worst; well, better, best. |
|
| Is he well? Is he ill? He felt worse yesterday. He feels better today. |
|
Set expressions
|
|
| There
are quite a few set expressions containing the comparative or
superlative forms of irregular adjectives. For example: a change for the
better; a change for the worse; at best / at the best; at most / at the
most; at worst / at the worst; get the worst of it; go from bad to
worse; if worst comes to worst / if the worst comes to the worst; last
but not least; more or less; none the less; not in the least; prepare
for the worst; so much the better; so much the worse. |
|
| If he leaves, so much the better. |
|
| If he doesn't want to obey the rules, so much the worse for him. |
|
| Many companies sustained losses during that period, but small companies got the worst of it. |
|
Degrees of comparison of adverbs
|
|
| Adverbs
(mostly adverbs of manner and some adverbs of other types) can form
degrees of comparison in the same way as adjectives. The comparative
degree of adverbs is used more widely than the superlative degree. The
definite article before the superlative form of adverbs is often
omitted. |
|
| (Types of adverbs are described in Adverbs in the section Miscellany.) |
|
Monosyllabic adverbs
|
|
| One-syllable
adverbs and the adverb "early" form the comparative and superlative
degrees by adding ER, EST: fast, faster, fastest; hard, harder, hardest;
high, higher, highest; late, later, latest; long, longer, longest;
loud, louder, loudest; low, lower, lowest; near, nearer, nearest; soon,
sooner, soonest; early, earlier, earliest. |
|
| Please hang the picture higher. |
|
| She bent lower to kiss the sleeping baby. |
|
| Tom arrived later than Jim. Jim arrived earlier than Tom. Anton arrived (the) earliest of all. |
|
| I expected her to respond sooner. |
|
Adjectives and adverbs in the same form
|
|
| One-syllable
adverbs mentioned above (except "soon") are in the same form as
adjectives. Their position in the sentence indicates whether they are
used as adverbs or as adjectives: adverbs usually stand after the main
verb, while adjectives stand before the noun that they modify or after
the linking verb (be, become, get, feel, look, seem). Compare these
sentences: |
|
| Adverb "fast": Jim, Rosa, and Phil can run very fast. Rosa runs faster than Jim. Phil runs (the) fastest of them all. |
|
| Adjective "fast": I would like to have a faster car. His reaction was faster than mine. |
|
| Adverb "hard": Tom works harder than Don. Pete works (the) hardest of anyone I know. |
|
| Adjective "hard": Her work is becoming harder and harder. It is the hardest work she has ever done. |
|
Adverbs of two or more syllables
|
|
| Adverbs
of two or more syllables (usually with the suffix "ly") form the
comparative and superlative degrees by placing MORE, MOST before the
adverb: easily, more easily, most easily; formally, more formally, most
formally; loudly, more loudly, most loudly; often, more often, most
often; quickly, more quickly, most quickly; simply, more simply, most
simply; slowly, more slowly, most slowly; comfortably, more comfortably,
most comfortably. |
|
| Please speak more slowly. |
|
| He pushed the door much more strongly than was necessary. |
|
| Note:
MOST + adverb is not always the superlative degree. MOST before an
adverb often means "very, extremely". For example: She articulated her
ideas most clearly. He listened to her most attentively. |
|
Irregular adverbs
|
|
| Irregular
adverbs "well, badly, much, little, far" have the following degrees of
comparison: well, better, best; badly, worse, worst; much, more, most;
little, less, least; far, farther, farthest; far, further, furthest. |
|
| Tanya speaks Spanish better than you do. Who writes best of all in your class? He works best in the evening. |
|
| His brother treated him badly. His father treated him even worse. His classmates treated him worst of all. |
|
| The doctor told him to eat less and to exercise more. |
|
| He went too far. Do not go farther than that tree. It's pointless to discuss it further. |
|
Lower degree: LESS and LEAST
|
|
| LESS
and LEAST are used with adjectives and adverbs in the same way as MORE
and MOST. LESS indicates a lower degree; LEAST indicates the lowest
degree. LESS with adjectives and adverbs is used more widely than LEAST.
LESS and LEAST are rarely used with monosyllabic adjectives and
adverbs. |
|
| LESS,
LEAST with adjectives: attentive, less attentive, least attentive;
common, less common, least common; costly, less costly, least costly;
difficult, less difficult, least difficult; important, less important,
least important; interesting, less interesting, least interesting;
likely, less likely, least likely; obvious, less obvious, least obvious;
serious, less serious, least serious; tired, less tired, least tired;
useful, less useful, least useful; worried, less worried, least worried. |
|
| The first question is less difficult than the second. The last exercise is the least difficult of the four exercises. |
|
| I am less interested in football than he is. |
|
| LESS,
LEAST with adverbs: clearly, less clearly, least clearly; easily, less
easily, least easily; efficiently, less efficiently, least efficiently;
formally, less formally, least formally; often, less often, least often;
sincerely, less sincerely, least sincerely; typically, less typically,
least typically; willingly, less willingly, least willingly; wisely,
less wisely, least wisely. |
|
| She remembers the day of the car accident less clearly now. She remembers least clearly what happened after the accident. |
|
| He does his work less willingly and less efficiently than before. He works least efficiently when he is alone. |
|
Constructions of comparison
|
|
| In
the material above, the use of the comparative degree of adjectives and
adverbs has been illustrated with the help of constructions containing
"more, less, than". Such constructions express a greater or lesser
degree (longer than; more difficult than; more slowly than; less
important than; less quickly than). |
|
| There are some other commonly used constructions of comparison that you need to know and use in your speech and writing. |
|
Constructions "as...as; not as...as"
|
|
| The
construction "as...as" indicates approximately the same degree. The
constructions "not as...as; not so...as" indicate a lesser degree and
are less formal than the constructions with "less". Compare: |
|
| Lena is as tall as her father. Lena is as attractive as her mother. |
|
| Mike is not as tall as his father. (Mike is shorter than his father. Mike's father is taller than Mike.) |
|
| The remake of the film is not so interesting as the original version. |
|
| This
ring is not as expensive as that one. (This ring is less expensive than
that one. That ring is more expensive than this one.) |
|
| Bella does not type as fast as Linda. (Bella types more slowly than Linda. Linda types faster than Bella.) |
|
| The
constructions "as...as; not as...as; not so...as" can also be used with
some of the adjectives that do not form degrees of comparison or have
limitations in their formation. |
|
| I'm as aware of the consequences as you are. |
|
| This phenomenon is not as unique as you think. |
|
| Idioms containing the construction "as...as" (e.g., as cold as ice; as wise as an owl) are listed in Idioms of Comparison in the section Idioms. |
|
Parallel constructions
|
|
| The comparative degree is also used in parallel constructions of the type "the more...the more". For example: |
|
| The sooner the better. |
|
| The longer she stayed there, the better she felt. |
|
| The more I think about this project, the less I like it. |
|
Qualities of one and the same person or thing
|
|
| Generally,
the qualities of two different people or things are compared with the
help of the comparative degree. But it is also possible to compare the
qualities of one and the same person or thing. Examples: |
|
| Laura is more stubborn than Rita. Laura is more stubborn than persevering. |
|
| The leaves of this plant are more oblong than round. |
|
| I was more asleep than awake. |
|
| She was more afraid to stay than to leave. |
|
| His job is not so difficult as it is boring. |
|
| When
comparing the qualities of one and the same person or thing, the
comparative degree of adjectives (including monosyllabic adjectives) is
formed with the help of MORE. |
|
| His eyes are more blue than gray. |
|
| She is more lazy than incapable. |
|
Numerals in comparisons
|
|
| The
superlative degree of adjectives may be used in combination with the
ordinal numerals "second, third, fifth", etc., to indicate the size of
an object (especially about geographical places). |
|
| Saturn is the second-largest planet in the solar system. |
|
| Canada is the world's second-largest country. |
|
| Geneva is the third-largest city in Switzerland. |
|
| Madagascar is the fourth-largest island in the world. |
|
| Constructions
like "twice as large; three times as large; half as large" are widely
used for comparing size, quantity, amount, speed, and other measurable
characteristics. |
|
| Your house is twice as large as my house. |
|
| Their car is three times as large as our car. |
|
| He is twice as old as she is. |
|
| Her bag is five times as heavy as your bag. |
|
| His report is half as long as her report. |
|
| She pays half as much for water and electricity as I do. |
|
| His house is five times the size of your house. |
|
| My house is half the size of your house. |
|
| She is half your age. |
|
| Constructions
like "three times larger; four times bigger; four times smaller; five
times faster" are also used quite often. Some manuals of style object to
such use in formal writing. |
|
| Your collection of coins is several times larger than mine. |
|
| His computer is ten times faster than my computer. |
|
| These light bulbs are five times brighter than those. |
|
| Note the following constructions which emphasize the amount or quantity indicated in the sentence. |
|
| This box weighs as much as fifty kilograms. |
|
| The new hotel can accommodate as many as a thousand people. |
|
| I bought this vase for as little as ten dollars. |
|
Intensifiers and modifiers
|
|
| Various adverbs may be used in constructions of comparison in order to emphasize, specify, or clarify comparisons. |
|
| The
adverbs "much, a lot, a little, even" are used with the comparative
degree; "almost, nearly" are used with the construction "as...as"; "by
far" is used with the superlative degree of adjectives. |
|
| Your report will be much better (a little better; a lot better; even better) if you make it shorter. |
|
| She would be a lot happier if you visited her more often. |
|
| The book that I wanted to buy turned out to be much more expensive than I thought. |
|
| The second part of the book is almost as interesting as the first part. |
|
| This device is not nearly as good as the one you showed me yesterday. |
|
| This film is by far the funniest that I have seen recently. |
|
| She is by far the most efficient manager in our company. |
|
Note: "very" and "much"
|
|
| "Very" is used with the positive degree of adjectives and adverbs. For example: |
|
| It was very warm yesterday. He was very serious. This film is very interesting. He will do it very quickly. |
|
| "Much" is used with the comparative degree of adjectives and adverbs. For example: |
|
| It
is much warmer today. He was much more serious at that time. This film
is much more interesting than that film. He will do it much more quickly
next time. |
|
"Very"
may be used with the superlative degree of some adjectives (for
example, best, worst, first, last) to emphasize the superlative
adjective: the very best quality; on the very first day.
Sources: http://usefulenglish.ru/miscellany/degrees-of-comparison
Accessed: April, 21st 2015. 16.00PM
|
|
