Degrees of Comparison of Adjectives

Degrees of Comparison of Adjectives

Adjectives have three degrees of comparison: positive, comparative, superlative. The comparative degree denotes a higher degree of a quality: Mary is taller than her sister. The superlative degree denotes the highest degree of a quality: Mary is the tallest girl in our group.

The comparative and the superlative degrees are formed in the following ways:

a) by adding the suffixes –er, -est (synthetic way);

b) by placing more, most before the adjective (analytical way);

c) some adjectives have irregular forms of degrees of comparison (irregular way).

positive	comparative	superlative	notes
a) big strong busy severe	bigger stronger busier severer	(the) biggest (the) strongest (the) busiest (the) severest	monosyllabic adjectives; disyllabic adjectives, ending in –y, -er, -ow, -le; adjectives, having a stress on the last syllable.
b) famous interesting	more famous more interesting	(the) most famous (the) most interesting	most of disyllabic and polysyllabic adjectives
c) good bad ill many much little few	better worse worse more more less less	(the) best (the) worst (the) worst (the) most (the) most (the) least (the) least	Irregular forms

1. Fewer or Less?

Use fewer with objects that can be counted one-by-one.

Use less with qualities or quantities that cannot be individually counted.

There were fewer days below freezing last winter. (Days can be counted.)

I drank less water than she did. (Water cannot be counted individually here.)

2. The adjectives ‘ far’ and ‘old’ have two forms of comparative and superlative degrees:

far – farther – the farthest (denote distance): London is farther north than Juneau.

far – further – the furthest (denote time and distance):

According to my timetable, we should be further along. This plan requires further study (= additional study).

old – older – the oldest (are used in comparative structures with ‘than’ to denote age)

old – elder – the eldest (are used before nouns when speaking about the siblings): My elder sister/brother/daughter/son; my eldest son/daughter/brother/sister/child):

! it is more usual to say older

3. The adjective ‘ late’ has 2 superlative forms:

the last (final), e.g.: I bought the last edition of this newspaper.

the latest (most recent), e.g.: I bought the latest edition of today’s newspaper

4. Some disyllabic adjectives have 2 comparative and superlative forms:

happy, clever, common, narrow, pleasant, quiet, simple, stupid, complete, polite, real

5. The adjective little can be used in two different senses--meaning "small in size" or "small amount of."

· If little means "small in size," the comparative is littler or more little, and the superlative is littlest: He was the littlest boy in the class.

· The forms littler, littlest are rare. It is more common to use smaller, the smallest instead.

· If little means "small amount of," the comparative is less, and the superlative is least: Please give me less milk than he has. He drank the least amount of milk of anyone there.

6. Nouns, modified by an adjective in the superlative degree are used with the definite article: This is the easiest book I’ve ever read (см. Дроздова Т. Ю. с. 236 - 237)

The following structures can be used to compare objects and their qualities:

1. An equal degree of quality and quantity is expressed by the adjective in the positive degree with the conjunction ‘as…as’ in positive sentences and in questions: Mary’s brother is as tall as his father.

2. An unequal degree of quality and quantity is expressed by:

· the adjective in the positive degree and the conjunction ‘ not so.. as’, ‘not as …as’: Mary’s brother is not so tall as his father;

· the adjective in the comparative degree and the conjunction ‘ than’: Mary’s brother is taller than she (is)/her.

3. The forms of the comparative degree are emphasized by the words:

much The Volga is much longer than the Don.

far This book is far more interesting than that one.

a great deal Your dress is a great deal more beautiful than mine

a lot Our car is a lot cheaper than theirs.

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a bit Our car is a bit cheaper than theirs

a little

4. “Most” can be used to emphasize an adjective as well. In this case the noun in the singular has the indefinite article and it has no article in the plural.

Most = крайне, чрезвычайно, весьма:

This is a most interesting book.

These are most interesting books.

Most+N. = большинство, большая часть:

Most young people are fond of sports.

Most of my friends live in Moscow.

5. Remember the word combination as + adjective + as possible:

Your letter must be as short as possible.

6. Remember the word combination

the + the comparative degree of an adjective + the better:

The sooner the better. The warmer the weather the better I feel. The more the better.

7. Remember the word combination

twice as + positive degree of an adj. + as: He is twice as old (as me).

three times as+ …+ as, etc.: Their house is twice as big as ours.

8. Remember the word combinations:

Half as much/many

Half the size

Half my age

Half my weight

e.g.: My flat is half the size of yours.

9. Remember the word combination the same … as:

Tom is the same age as George.

The spelling rules:

1) if the adjective ends in a consonant preceded by a stressed vowel which is short the consonant is doubled: thin – thinner – the thinnest.

2) If the adjective ends in –y preceded by a consonant, -y is changed into –i: happy – happier – the happiest, shy – shier – the shiest. But: shy – shyer – the shyest; grey – greyer – the greyest.

3) If the adjective ends in – e, the –e is dropped before –er, -est: late – later – the latest.

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