Degrees of Comparison
Adjectives are words that describe the qualities or properties of objects, for example: long, new,
beautiful.
It is important to remember that adjectives in English do NOT change, either by gender, or by numbers, or by cases:
a high tree
high trees
In English, as well as in Russian, there are three degrees of comparison of adjectives: positive, comparative, and superlative.
The Positive Degree denotes the quality of the subject, not comparing it with any other.
The Comparative Degree compares two subjects with similar qualities. Often when referring to a comparative degree, we use a conjunctive than.
The Superlative Degree indicates the superiority of an object among similar ones, possessing similar qualities of objects.
Further on the diagram you will see the basic rule how to form the degrees of comparison of adjectives:
|
Positive |
Comparative |
Superlative |
|
If a word has only one syllable ending in –е: nice, fine
|
We add –r:
Nicer, finer |
We add –est, and put the in front of an adjective:
the nicest, the finest |
|
If a word has one syllable ending in one consonant: hot, big |
We add -er and double the consonant:
Hotter, bigger |
We add -est, double the consonant, and put the in front of an adjective:
The hottest, the biggest |
|
If a word has one syllable ending in more than one consonant:
Long, fast |
We add –er:
Longer, faster |
We add –est, and put the in front of an adjective:
The longest, the fastest |
|
If the word has two syllables ending in –y: Happy, lonely |
-y changes to –i and we add –er: Happier, lonelier |
-y changes to –i и and we add –est, as well as the in front of an adjective: the happiest, the loneliest |
|
If the word has two or more syllables: Beautiful, modern |
We put «more» in front of an adjective: More beautiful, more modern |
We put «the most» in front of an adjective: The most beautiful, the most modern |
In addition, there are adjectives that do not follow the general rule:
good - better - the best
bad - worse - the worst
little - less - the least
much - more - the most
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