Some adjectives form degrees of comparison differently than we would like. They may have several comparative or superlative forms. Remember the non-standard formation of comparative degrees of the following adjectives:
1. “less” and “least” are used only in the meaning of “less”, and if talking about size, then “little” is replaced by “small”: Tim is little, but his sister is even smaller, she is the smallest in the family. Tim is small, but his sister is even shorter, she is the shortest in the family.
But if we are talking about age, then it is better to use “young” instead of “little”: Tim is young, but his sister is even younger, she is the youngest in the family. Tim is small, but his sister is even younger, she is the youngest in the family.
2. the adjective “old” has two forms in the comparative and superlative degrees: old – older – (the) oldest (indicate age – I’m older than my friend - I’m older than my friend)
old – elder – (the) eldest (denote seniority between family members – My elder brother is in Moscow - My older brother in Moscow)
Note! Elder is used only before nouns: I have an elder sister. I have an older sister.
BUT! My sister is older than me. My sister is older than me (but not “elder than me” - because there is no noun after it)
3. the adjective “far” has two forms in the comparative and superlative degrees in the meaning of range and distance:
far – farther/further – (the) farthest/(the) furthest
(I’d like to live at the farther/further end of the street - I would like to live at the far end of the street.)
Additionally, the (only) form “further” can have the following meanings:
further, later (further improvement - further improvement, further education - further education)
additional (For further information see page 20. - For additional information, please refer to page 20.)
4. The adjective “near” has two superlative forms:
(the) nearest (nearest – Where’s the nearest post office? - Where is the nearest post office?)
(the) next (next in order, neighboring – See you next week! - See you next week)
5. The adjective “late” has two forms each in the comparative and superlative degrees:
late – later (later) – (the) latest (the latest)
late – latter (last) – (the) last (most recent)
The forms “later, (the) latest” indicate time (the latest – the latest meaning the newest, the freshest): Have you heard the latest news? Have you heard the latest news?
The form “latter” means the last of the two named, the second of those mentioned:
John and Henry came together. The latter had a coat on. John and Henry came together. The last one was wearing a coat. (i.e. on Henry).
The form “(the) last” means either
1) last in order: the last page in a book, the last chair in the row, or
2) past in time: last year, last month, last week, last summer
In order to compare the qualities of a particular subject in English, we use the comparative degree of adjectives. Adjectives can take the form of comparative or superlative degrees. If we want to say that one thing is superior in quality to another, then we use the comparative degree of adjectives.
Comparative degree education
1. The comparative form is formed using the ending – “er”, which is added to monosyllabic adjectives.
For example:
- fast - faster (fast - faster);
- simple - simpler (simple - simpler);
- John runs faster than Ann. (John runs faster than Anya.);
- This task is simpler than the previous one. (This task is easier than the previous one.)
2. If an adjective ends in a consonant and a preceding vowel, the consonant is doubled.
For example:
- Big - bigger (Big - more);
- Thin – thinner (Thin – thinner);
- My house is bigger than yours. (My house is bigger than yours.);
- Black copybook is thinner than the green one. (The black notebook is thinner than the green one.)
3. Two-syllable words ending with the letter “y” also form the comparative degree using the ending – “er”, with “y” changing to “i”.
For example:
- Early - earlier (early - earlier);
- Easy - easier (light - easier).
4. To form the comparative degree of polysyllabic adjectives, we use the word “more”, which is placed before the adjective.
For example:
- More expensive (more expensive);
- More comfortable;
- My computer is more expensive than yours. (My computer is more expensive than yours.);
- This sofa is more comfortable than the chair. (This sofa is more comfortable than a chair.)
5. Adverbs ending in -“ly” also form a comparative degree using the word “more”.
For example:
- Carefully - more carefully (carefully - more carefully);
- Seriously - more seriously (seriously - more seriously);
- She uses computer more carefully than earlier. (She uses the computer more carefully than before.);
- They study English more seriously than they used to. (They are studying English more seriously than they did before.)
6. With two-syllable adjectives such as ‘quiet’, ‘clever’, ‘narrow’, ‘shallow’, ‘simple’ we can use either the word “more” or the ending – “er”.
Some adjectives and adverbs are not formed according to the rule:
For example:
- This book is better. (This book is better.);
- Your answer was worse than yesterday’s. (Your answer is worse than yesterday.)
7. The superlative degree of comparison of adjectives is formed using the ending – “est” for monosyllabic words and using the word “most” for polysyllabic words.
It must be remembered that there must be a definite article before an adjective in the superlative degree of comparison.
For example:
- Long – the longest (long – the longest);
- Hot – the hottest (hot – the hottest);
- Easy – the easiest (easy – the easiest);
- Difficult – the most difficult (difficult – the most difficult);
- Expensive - the most expensive (expensive - the most expensive);
- Famous – the most famous (famous – the most famous);
- Today is the hottest day of the month. (Today is the hottest day of the month.);
- This hotel is the most expensive in the city. (This hotel is the most expensive in the city.);
- This poet is the most famous in his family. (This poet is the most famous in his family.);
- This task is the easiest one in the book. (This task is the easiest in the book.)
8. The adjectives “good” “bad” “far” do not form superlatives according to the rule:
- The best, the worst, the furthest.
Please pay attention to the following offers:
- This theater is the eldest building in the city. (The building of this theater is the oldest in the city.);
- His eldest son is 15 years old. (His eldest son is 15 years old.)
Using degree of comparison of adjectives
Degrees of comparison of adjectives are often used in sentences of the following constructions:
What is the longest river in the world? (What is the longest river in the world?)
What is the best room in the hotel? (Which is the best room in the hotel?)
John is the cleverest student in our class. (John is the smartest in the class.)
What is the happiest day of your life? (What was the happiest day of your life?)
Today is the coldest day of this winter. (Today is the coldest day of winter.)
What is the most interesting film you have ever seen? (What's the most interesting movie you've ever seen?)
This dish was the most delicious I have ever tasted. (This dish is the most delicious I have ever tasted.)
Let's go by bus. It is much cheaper. (Let's go by bus. It's much cheaper.)
Don't go by plain. It is a lot more expensive. (Don't fly by plane. It's significantly more expensive.)
Can you speak a bit more slowly? (Could you speak a little slower?)
This book is slightly more interesting than the other one. (This book is a little more interesting than the other one.)
This teacher is far more serious than he seemed at first. (This teacher is much more serious than he seemed at first glance.)
Video for beginners - basic adjectives of the English language are shown in pictures: tall-short, fat-slim, young-old, happy-sad:
English Joke
A guy from Georgia enrolled at Harvard and on his first day he was walking across the campus and asked an upperclassman (drawling heavily), “Excuse me, can you tell me where the library is at?”
The upperclassman responded, “At Harvard we do not end sentences with prepositions.”
The Georgian then replied, “Well then, could you tell me where the library is at, asshole?”
Having saved us from the need to memorize endings, the English adjective over time (namely centuries) stopped changing in numbers, gender and cases. But, as you understand, all the difficulties have not yet disappeared: the Degrees of Comparison have not gone away and continue to “delight” students. Why are they needed? Really, the richest means of speech will not allow us to do without all these additional forms?
Yes, they won't allow it. All our lives we compare people and objects: someone is taller, someone is more beautiful, someone has a more powerful car. And all these thoughts need to be able to express in English. Every day we choose the best, most interesting and exciting. The use of degrees of comparison is relevant in any language, because we are constantly looking for superiority. If you have already started studying this foreign language, then this topic should be mastered 100%.
So, first, remember that there are adjectives quality (Qualitative) And relative (Relative). And only the first group can be used in our rule.
Three degrees of comparison of adjectives in English: positive, comparative, superlative degrees.
Sometimes we use an adjective simply as a characteristic. So, we use a positive degree. If you say that a certain quality is expressed more in one object than in another, then you will need a comparative. And in the superlative we want to show that the object acts as the very-most. Let's look at examples.
Positive or absolute is the usual form in which the adjective appears in the dictionary:
interesting – big – clever
This house is big.
Comparative degree of adjectives in English (comparative) used when it is necessary to compare two or more objects or persons. In Russian it sounds like this: bigger, more beautiful, more interesting, older.
bigger, colder, more difficult.
This house is bigger than that. This house is bigger than that one.
Superlative degree in English (superlative) shows that an object or person has the highest quality characteristics. In Russian it sounds like this: the best - the best; the kindest - the kindest; the smallest is the smallest. In English it is always accompanied by the article “the” and is also formed in two ways:
the biggest, the most interesting.
This house is the biggest. This house is the biggest.
Education
Now is the time to consider the formation of degrees of comparison in English. How to add? When? How to write correctly?
Only two of them are worth considering here. After all, the positive completely coincides with its dictionary form. The comparative and superlative degrees in English are formed taking into account certain features and rules. Divide all adjectives mentally into groups: monosyllabic plus disyllabic, ending in –y, -er, -ow, -ble(this will be the first), disyllabic And polysyllabic(second).
1. Simple (monosyllabic)
For comparison, add the suffix "er" to the base of the word, and to indicate superior quality - article the + adjective + “est”.
short - shorter - the shortest
short - shorter - the shortest
When adding suffixes there are some writing features:
a. If at the end of a word there is "y", and there is a consonant before it, then "y" changes to "i":
Lovely - lovelier - the loveliest
dear - cuter - the cutest
But if "y" preceded by a vowel, then no changes need to be made, just adding a suitable suffix.
b. If at the end of a word there is "e" then when adding suffixes "er" or “est”, only one is saved "e":
Simple - simpler - the simplest
simple - simpler - the simplest/simplest
c. If a word ends with a consonant and is preceded by one short vowel, that is, it has a stressed short syllable, then we double the last letter:
Hot - hotter - the hottest
hot - hotter - the hottest
And everything would be cloudless if not for exceptions to this rule. Therefore, when studying this topic, it is important not only to understand, but also to stretch your brain a little.
Exceptions
Good – better – the best (good – better – the best)
Bad – worse – the worst (bad – worse – the worst)
Little – less – the least (small – less – the smallest)
Many – more – the most (numerous – more – the largest) – by quantity
Near – nearer – the nearest (close – closer – closest) – by distance
Near – nearer – the next (close – closer – next in line, in time, in order)
Far – farther – the farthest (far – more distant – the farthest) – by distance
Far – further – the furthest (far – further – the farthest) – according to information, actions
Old – older – the oldest (old – older – the oldest)
Old – elder – the eldest (old – older – the oldest) – about family members
Late – later – the latest (later – later / later – last – latest in time / newest)
Late – the latter – the last
2. Complex (more than two syllables in a word)
To compare two or more qualitative characteristics, you must use "more", and characterizing the highest qualities – “the most”. In this case, the adjective remains unchanged.
popular - more popular - the most popular
popular - more popular - most popular
The English language is filled with various exceptions. There is more than one thing in this rule. So, you need to remember a few more words that can form degrees of comparison in English two ways, i.e. using “er” and “est”, “more” and “the most”/”the least”:
Angry, common, friendly,cruel, gentle, narrow,handsome, polite,pleasant, serious, quite,simple, clever, sour.
In conclusion, I would like to remind you that the English adjective is very sensitive to what you add to it and from what side. Therefore, in addition to studying theory, engage in thorough practice, because only exercises will help you bring your knowledge to automaticity. Improve your language: use comparative and superlative adjectives and make your speech more literate, richer and more interesting.