Again, remember that the adjective ( Adjective) is a word that denotes a sign of an object, person or phenomenon. It answers the question "what?". Let's look at how to form degrees of comparison of adjectives in English language.
All adjectives are divided into two groups: qualitative ( qualitative) and relative ( relative). But not all of them can be compared. For example, "wooden" is a relative adjective and we cannot say "more wooden". And qualitative adjectives can be represented in positive (beautiful), comparative (more beautiful) and excellent (most beautiful) degrees of comparison. And now we will talk about each degree in detail.
Comparative degree of adjectives in English. Comparative degree
First, let's briefly talk about the positive degree. The positive degree is a simple form of the adjective: smart, cheerful, gentle. This form is found in dictionaries. For example: brave(brave), new(new), cold(cold).
The comparative degree is used when comparing the characteristics of two or more objects, persons. Words like “faster”, “higher”, “stronger” are comparative adjectives. How to form it?
- To short adjectives (consisting of one or two syllables), you need to add the ending -er: cheap(cheap) - cheaper(cheaper), narrow(narrow) - narrower(already), long(long) - longer(longer).
- -e, then we just add -r: close(close) - closer(closer).
- If the adjective ends in -y, That -y changes to -i: lucky(lucky) - luckier(more lucky) easy(simple) - easier(easier).
- If the adjective ends with a vowel + consonant combination, then the final consonant is doubled: big(big) - bigger(more), hot(hot) - hotter(hot).
- The comparative degree of long adjectives (more than 2 syllables) is formed using the words more(more) and less(less): expensive(Expensive) - more expensive(expensive), serious(serious) - less serious(less serious) comfortable(comfortable) - more comfortable(more comfortable).
Superlative adjectives in English. superlative degree
If for a comparative degree two objects are needed to compare characteristics, then for an excellent degree, several objects are needed, among which we will single out one “most-most”. To form this degree, we do the following:
- Add an ending to short adjectives -est: thin(thin) - the thinnest(the thinnest), fast(fast) - the fastest(the fastest). At the same time, the adjectives -e, -y and to a consonant letter they obey the same rules as in the formation of a comparative degree: the simplest(simplest), the busiest(busiest).
- We use long adjectives with words most(most) and least(least): talented(talented) - the most talented(the most talented), interesting(interesting) - the least interesting(least interesting).
When forming this degree, it is necessary to use the article the as described in the examples above.
Special adjectives
And in English there is a list of adjectives that can be used both with suffixes and with words more/most, less/least.
| Word | Translation |
|---|---|
| Able | Capable |
| Angry | Wicked |
| Clever | Smart |
| Common | General |
| Cruel | Cruel |
| friendly | Friendly |
| Gentle | Gentle |
| Handsome | Beautiful |
| Narrow | Narrow |
| Pleasant | Nice |
| politics | Polite |
| Quiet | Quiet |
| Serious | Serious |
| Simple | Simple |
| Sour | Sour |
Exception adjectives
There are also adjectives, the degrees of comparison of which are not formed according to the general rule. These adjectives, as well as their forms, should be known by heart.
- Good – better – the best(good - better - best).
- Bad – worse – the worst(bad - worse - worse).
- Little – less – the least(small - less - smallest).
- Many/much – more – the most(many - more - the largest).
- old – older – the oldest(old - older - oldest).
- old – elder – the eldest(old - older - oldest) - about family members.
- late – later – the latest/last(later - later - last / last in time).
- late – the latter – the last (late - the second of the two listed - the last in order).
- near – nearer – the nearest(closer - closer - closest in distance).
- near – nearer – next/the next(closer - closer - next in time / next in order).
- Far – farther – the farthest(furthest - farthest - farthest).
- Far – further – the furthest(distant, distant - further - further / additional).
We suggest you study the table with degrees of comparison.
| Adjective | Degrees of comparison | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Positive | Comparative | excellent | |
| Short, 1-2 syllables | Adjective cheap |
+ er
cheaper |
+ est
the cheapest |
| Long words of 2 or more syllables | Adjective expensive |
More/less+ adjective more/less expensive |
The most/least+ adjective the most/least expensive |
(*.pdf, 180 Kb)
These are the basic rules for the formation of degrees of comparison of adjectives in English. Don't forget to take a test at the end to check how well you remember this material.
Test
Degrees of comparison of adjectives in English
In English, adverbs, like adjectives, form degrees of comparison.
Degrees of comparison of English dialects only two: comparative and superlative.
Note: the positive degree is the initial form of the adverb. Example:
🔊 I play volleyball well. - I play volleyball Fine.
When is the comparative degree of an adverb used, and when is the superlative?
- The comparative degree is used when comparing objects and subjects:
🔊 Tom came home later than Jane. Tom came home later than Jane.
- superlative notes the highest degree the quality of the action of one or another object in a group of similar:
🔊 My brother came to school the latest today. — My brother came to school today. later than all.
The degrees of comparison in English are predominantly adverbs of mode of action. Their formation occurs according to the same principle as the degrees of comparison English adjectives. You can find out more about the types of English adverbs.
In addition to the above, I note that they do not have degrees of comparison, for example, adverbs of place ( 🔊 inside, 🔊 everywhere), time ( 🔊 always, 🔊 usually), and some adverbs of manner ( 🔊 somehow, 🔊 optimally).
Ways of forming degrees of comparison of English adverbs
- To monosyllabic adverbs, coinciding in form with adjectives, is added –er comparatively and –est in excellent. Consider examples:
🔊 hard- hard , 🔊 late- late , 🔊 fast- fast , 🔊 low- low, 🔊 high- high, 🔊 deep- deep, 🔊 long- for a long time , 🔊 near- close , 🔊 soon- soon , 🔊 straight- directly.
BUT! 🔊 early should also be added to this list.
| Positive | Comparative | excellent |
|---|---|---|
| 🔊 late | 🔊 lat er | 🔊 the lat est |
| 🔊 hard | 🔊 hard er | 🔊 hard est |
| 🔊 near | 🔊 near er | 🔊 near est |
| 🔊 deep | 🔊 deep er | 🔊 the deep est |
| 🔊 early | 🔊 earl ier | 🔊 earl iest |
a) 🔊 I usually go to bed late.
Usually I late I go to bed.
b) 🔊 I will answer this question later.
I will answer this question Later.
c) 🔊 Julia was embarrassed that she had come to the party the latest.
Julia was embarrassed that she came to the party later than all.
- To polysyllabic adverbs and to adverbs formed with the help of a suffix –ly, added 🔊 more in comparative and 🔊 most in superlatives:
| Positive | Comparative | excellent |
|---|---|---|
| 🔊 loudly | 🔊 more loudly | 🔊 the most loudly |
| 🔊 sincerely | 🔊 more Sincerely | 🔊 the most Sincerely |
| 🔊 luckily | 🔊 less luckily | 🔊 the least luckily |
| 🔊 accurately | 🔊 more accurately | 🔊 the most accurately |
Sentences using comparative degrees of adverbs with a suffix -ly.
- There are adverbs that form comparative degree With -er/more and superlatives with the -est / the most. These are adverbs 🔊 quickly- fast , 🔊 often- often , 🔊 slowly- slowly, etc.
| Positive | Comparative | excellent |
|---|---|---|
| 🔊 often | 🔊 often er 🔊 more often | 🔊
the often est 🔊 the most often |
| 🔊 slowly | 🔊 slow er 🔊 more slowly | 🔊
the slow est 🔊 the most slowly |
| 🔊 quickly | 🔊 quick er 🔊 more quickly | 🔊
the quick est 🔊 the most quickly |
A couple of examples with adverbs of this type.
a) 🔊 She goes to the disco often / more often than me.
She goes to discos more often, than me.
b) 🔊 He runs the quickest / the most quickly in his class.
He is running the fastest in your class.
- Exception adverbs have special ways of forming degrees of comparison (see table below).
Adverbs and adjectives have a lot in common. As close relatives, they are similar in many ways, but there are also differences. The formation of degrees of comparison of adjectives and adverbs in English is a vivid example of this.
What are the degrees of comparison?
The adverb and adjective are the closest "relatives". Both of them help diversify speech, make it more interesting, richer and richer. The only difference is that the first is an adverb, emotionally colors the verb (brightly, beautifully draw), and the second is an adjective, describes the noun and thus serves as the main source of its expressiveness (quiet, foggy morning).
They both love to compare. An adjective is a great helper when you need to compare two objects (Comparative degree) or indicate that some feature appears in one object to the greatest or least degree (Superlative degree). The adverb does not lag behind him. It also likes to compare or emphasize superiority, but with the only difference - it is interested in the nature of the action:
Tom runs faster than Jack does - Tom runs faster than Jack (Comparative degree)
During the meeting Ann spoke loudest - During the meeting, Anna spoke loudest (Superlative)
Monosyllabic adverbs
Comparative and superlative adverbs in English, which consist of one syllable, are formed using the suffixes -er and -est:
Late - later - latest (late - later - most late)
High - higher - highest (high - higher - above all)
Adverbs of two or more syllables ending in -ly
English adverbs that consist of two or more syllables and end with the suffix -ly form degrees of comparison by adding the words more/less (more/less) and most/least (most/least):
TOP 4 articleswho read along with this
Properly - more properly - most properly (correctly - more correctly - most correctly)
Constantly - more constantly - most constantly (constantly - more constantly - most constantly)
Among the huge list of polysyllabic adverbs, a number of words stand out, forming degrees of comparison in two ways: suffixed or using the words more / less (more / less) and most / least (most / least): early (earlier / more early), loudly (louder / more loudly), quickly (quicker/more quickly), slowly (slower/more slowly).
Exceptions
Adjectives and adverbs are similar in one more way - in the list of exceptions, which form degrees of comparison in their own unique way. They are presented in the following table “Degrees of comparison of adverbs in English”:
|
positive degree |
comparative |
Superlatives |
Translation |
|
Good - better - best |
|||
|
Bad - worse - worst of all |
|||
|
much4.4 . Total ratings received: 215. |
The degrees of comparison of adverbs (The Degrees of Comparison of Adverbs)
The degrees of comparison of adverbs are formed in the same way as the degrees of comparison of adjectives.
One-syllable adverbs form a comparative degree by adding the suffix - e
r
, and superlative - suffix - est
(without article the) to a positive degree form. The two-syllable adverb also forms degrees of comparison early- early.
|
Positive degree |
Comparative |
Superlatives |
|
High - high |
||
|
Soon - soon |
||
|
Late - late |
||
|
Early - early |
earliest |
Adverbs ending in - at , form a comparative degree using the word more, and excellent - with the help of the word most. For example:
Degrees of comparison of adverbs often- often, quickly- fast, slowly - slowly formed in two ways:
|
Oftener/ more often |
Oftenest/ most often |
|
|
Quicker/more quickly |
Quickest/most quickly |
|
|
Slower/ more slowly |
Slowest/ most slowly |
Some adverbs have forms of degrees of comparison formed from other roots:
In British English forms farther And further do not differ when it comes to distance:
He is too tired to walk any further/ farther.
-
He's too tired to
go further.
In the American version, only the word farther used in this sense. Form only further used in the meaning of "more":
Don'ttrymy patienceanyfurther.
- don't test more my patience.
And in those cases where there is no concept of comparison:
He said than he couldn't find itand, further, that nobody would ever find it.- He said that he could not find this thing and, moreTogo that no one will ever find her.
Adverbs of place and time ( here,there and etc.; today,tomorrow,yesterday etc.) have no degrees of comparison.
Classification of adverbs by meaning and function of adverbs in a sentence
According to their meaning, adverbs are divided into adverbs of time, place, mode of action, measure and degree, interrogative and negative.
Characterizing the verb, adverbs of time denote the time of the action. These include: a) adverbs of a certain time now- now, now; today- Today, yesterday- yesterday, tomorrow- Tomorrow, then- Then, before- before, before atnight- at night, since- since then and b) adverbs indefinite time (or frequency): always- Always, sometimes- Sometimes, ever- some day, never- never, often- often, seldom, rarely- rarely, usually- usually, already- already, yet- still, already still- still, just- just now etc.
special attention deserve adverbsstill Andyet , which correspond to the Russian "still". Adverb still used in affirmative sentences, as well as in interrogative sentences if an affirmative answer is expected. Adverb yet- in negative sentences, as well as in interrogative sentences if a negative response is expected. Compare:
Adverbs of place
Describing a verb, adverbs of place designate the place or direction of action. These include: here- here, here; there- there, there; far- far; back(wards)- back, back; towards,forth- forward; inside- inside, inside; within- inside; outside- outside, outside; down(stairs)- down, below; up(stairs)- upstairs, upstairs; everywhere- everywhere; nowhere- nowhere, nowhere; somewhere- somewhere, somewhere, somewhere; anywhere- somewhere, anywhere; northward(s)- to the north, to the north; southward(s)- south, south, etc.
somewhere is used in affirmative statements, and the adverb anywhere- in interrogative and negative sentences.
Adverbs of manner
Describing the verb, adverbs of manner indicate the way in which the action is performed. These include mainly adverbs with the suffix - lu
:
quickly- fast; slowly- slowly; quietly- calmly; attentively- attentively; hard- stubbornly, persistently; well- Fine; loudly- loud; closely- close; stable- exactly; definitely- definitely; positively- positively; negatively- negative, etc.
In this group there are adverbs, the form of which does not differ from the form of the corresponding adjectives. They can only be distinguished on the basis of their functions in the sentence. Compare:
Adverbs of measure and degree
These adverbs define a verb, adjective, adverb or participle II and denote the degree, measure of action and attribute. These include adverbs: very- Very; nearly,almost- almost; hardly,scarcely- barely; too- too much; enough- enough; quite- quite, absolutely; little- few; mysh- a lot, much; just- Exactly, just like that.
It should be remembered that the adverb very used with adjectives and adverbs. With verbs and participles of the past tense in the meaning of "very" is used much or verymuch:
He is very busy.
- He Verybusy.
He comes here very often.
- He Often comes here.
Iwasmuch
surprised
atwhat he said.- I was very surprised by what he said.
He works very much.
- He so many works.
Adverb much in affirmative statements is usually replaced by turns agooddeal (of),agreatdeal (of),alot(of),lotsof- a lot of.
Adverbs of effect and cause
Adverbs of effect and cause: therefore- Thus; consequently- due to; so- so, thus, therefore ;
accordingly- respectively ;
besides- Besides ;
more-over moreover ;
like-wise likewise, like ;
still- nevertheless ;
however- however - serve to connect parts of a compound sentence or to attach subordinate clause to the main in a complex sentence. At the same time, they retain part of their meaning as adverbs.
Itisverycold,therefore
Ishallnot go out. - Very cold, That's why I'm going nowhere will not go.
It was late night so we went home. - It was late at night That's why we went home.
Shemadenofriends,forshewasMacready'swife;moreover,
Macreadydidnotwanthertomakefriends.-
She did not make friends with anyone, since she was Macready's wife; moreover Macready didn't want her to be friends with anyone.
Adverbs compare almost 1-type with adjectives. Only qualitative adverbs (that is, definable) have comparative and superlative degrees. So you can't compare sometimes, never, there, now, almost.
Degreesadverb comparisons
The degrees have regular and several other adverbs. Regular adverbs are formed from adjectives and end in – ly. They are compared by type 1.
Adjective adverbs (coincide with adjectives) are as follows: long,late,early,fast,soon,hard,near. They are compared in 2 ways.
Comparatives are often followed by clauses with than, for excellent - with that. With superlatives, indefinite nouns/subjectives, the not required.
positive | comparative | excellent |
|
correct adverbs | more/less+ adverb | most/least+ adverb |
|
adjective adverbs | adverb+ er | adverb+ est |
|
irregular adverbs | furthest |
quickly - more quickly - most quickly
fast - faster - fastest
She drives more carefully than he does - Sheleadsmore carefulhim
He started to work even more hurriedly - Hebeganworkmorefaster
I think she works the hardest of us all – By-my, sheworksharderusall
He helps me less than he used to - Hehelpsto meless,howearlier
This is the best burger that I've ever tastedbestsandwich, WhatItried
I think this one is (the) best - I think, this- the best
Comparativeturns
— (not)as/so + adverb +as
I can’t speak English as well as you can - To meNotgivenEnglishSosameFine, Howyou
It's not as terribly as you thought - This isNotSoterrible, HowYouthought
Grandad doesn't get about so easily as he used to – GrandadrecoversNotSoeasily, Howearlier
- comparative adverb + and + comparative adverb
It'shappeningmoreandmoreregularly - This happens with enviable constancy
Thescoregrewbiggerandbigger - The account grew bigger and bigger
Double comparative
Double comparisons with the designate parallel results in a causal relationship.
the + comparative adverb, the + comparative adverb / adjective
Thehigheryouclimb,theharderyoufall - The higher you climb, the harder it hurts to fall
Themorewediscussit,thelessIunderstandit - The more we discuss it, the less I understand it
Superlative Comparisonadverbs
Instead of rarely used superlatives, comparative adverbs are often used + thanever,anyone,anything
You can do the job better than anyone can - Youcandoworkbetterall
Adverb Enough
Enough stands before nouns/pronouns, but after adjectives/adverbs.
cold enough, loudly enough
We've had enough meat - Prettymeat
I've had enough of this - Cmeenough
It'safastenoughtrain - This is a fairly fast train
It'snotgoodenoughforme - It's not good enough for me
He was speaking slowly enough for us to him - Hesaidenoughslowly so that we can understand it
English Joke
The sister spoke admiringly to the collegian who was calling on her after field day, at which she had been present.
"And how did they applaud when you broke that record!"
Her little brother, who overheard, sniffed indignantly.
"Pa didn't applaud me for the one I broke," he complained. "He licked me."
