The comparative degree of the word strong. Comparative degree of adjectives

English adjectives (as in Russian) have two degrees of comparison - comparative and superlative. Comparative degree of English adjectives used to compare two objects on some basis, and superlative- to compare three or more objects. And the basic form of adjectives, as it is given in the dictionary, is called a positive degree.

Formation of degrees of comparison of adjectives in English

Degrees of comparison are formed using suffixes -er and -est , or additional words more (less) and the most (the least) .

How to choose one or another way of forming the degree of comparison?

The answer is quite simple, but meaningful: the way the degree of comparison is formed depends on the number of syllables in the adjective.

Degrees of comparison of adjectives

	positive degree	comparative	Superlatives
One-syllable adjectives (synthetic way)	🔊 cold (cold)	🔊 cold er (colder)	🔊 cold est (the coldest)
	🔊 big (large)	🔊 bigg er (more)	🔊 the bigg est (the largest)
	🔊 short (short)	🔊 short er (shorter)	🔊 short est(The shortest)
Two-syllable adjectives ending in -y (synthetic way)	🔊 happy y (happy)	🔊 happy ier (happier)	🔊 the happy iest (the happiest)
Two-syllable adjectives ending in -y (synthetic way)	🔊 bus y (busy)	🔊 bus ier (busier)	🔊 bus iest (busiest)
Two-syllable adjectives ending in other letters (analytical way)	🔊 boring (boring)	🔊 more boring (more boring)	🔊 the most boring (most boring)
	🔊 important (important)	🔊 less important (less important)	🔊 the least important (least important)
Adjectives of three or more syllables (analytical way)	🔊 interesting (interesting)	🔊 less interesting (less interesting)	🔊 the least interesting (least interesting)
Adjectives of three or more syllables (analytical way)	🔊 beautiful (beautiful)	🔊 more beautiful (more beautiful)	🔊 the most beautiful (the most beautiful)

Spelling rules for the formation of comparative degrees

1. If a one-syllable adjective ends in a consonant and is preceded by a short vowel, then the consonant is doubled when adding suffixes: 🔊 bi g — 🔊 bi gg er, 🔊 ho t — 🔊 ho tt er.

2. If a two-syllable adjective ends in a letter -y , then when adding suffixes, the letter -y changes to -i .

Exceptions in the formation of comparative degrees (suppletive method)

positive degree	comparative	Superlatives
🔊 good (good)	🔊better (it is better)	🔊 best (best)
🔊 bad (bad)	🔊 worse (worse)	🔊 the worst (the worst)
🔊 many (many (for countable))	🔊 more (more)	🔊 most (largest)
🔊 much (many (for uncountable))	🔊 more (more)	🔊 most (largest)
🔊 little (little (for uncountable))	🔊 less (smaller)	🔊 at least (the smallest)
🔊 far (far)	🔊 farther (farther)	🔊 the farthest (the furthest)
🔊 far (far)	🔊 further	🔊 the furthest

Comparative constructions of English adjectives

🔊 Moscow is larg er than Rostov-on-Don. — Moscow pain more than Rostov-on-Don.
🔊 This film is less interesting than that one. - This movie less interesting than that one.
🔊 This story is much longer than that one. - This story much longer than that.
🔊 This book is less gripping than that one. - This book less exciting than that.
🔊 This book is far better than that one. - This book much better than that.
1. 🔊 The sonn er you come the better. — How soon her you will come all the better.
2. 🔊 The old er I get the happy er I am. — How old she I'm becoming, topics happy her.
🔊 This dress is less beautiful than that one. - This dress not like that beautiful, as then.
1. 🔊 It was ten times more difficult than I expected. - It was ten times more difficult than I expected.
2. 🔊 She can swim three times further than you. - she swims three times as far as you.
3. But: 🔊 She is twice as beautiful as her sister. — But: She is twice more beautiful, how her sister.
🔊 Moscow is the bigg est city in Russia. - Moscow - most big city in Russia.
🔊 This film is the best I could find. - This movie the best one I could find.
🔊 This story is the best I've ever read. - This story the best one I've read.
🔊 This book is the best of all. - This book the best of all.
🔊 He is by far the best student in the group. - Of course, he best student in a group.
🔊 He is not so young as my brother. - He not like that young, as my brother.
🔊 He is as young as my sister. - He same young, as my sister.

Some more useful articles

Adjectives ( Adjectives ) are words that express qualities, attributes of objects. They answer the question which?. In a sentence, they usually define a noun. In English, they do not change either by gender, or by numbers, or by cases:

a little girl - a little girl

a little boy - little boy

little children - little children

With a little boy - with a little boy.

Adjectives change only in degrees of comparison (Degrees of Comparison). There are three degrees of comparison of adjectives: positive (Positive Degree), comparative (Comparative Degree), excellent (Superlative Degree).

Rules for the formation of degrees of comparison of adjectives.

Adjectives in a positive degree do not have any endings, for example: quick (fast), slow (slow), old (old), new (new). Comparative and superlative degrees are formed using the suffixes -er and -est or by adding the words more (more) and most (most). The choice of method depends on the original form of the adjective.

One-syllable and some two-syllable adjectives form the comparative with the suffix -er and the superlative with the suffix -est. With the help of the suffixes -er, -est, two-syllable adjectives ending in -er, -ow, -y, -le (clever, narrow, early, simple) form degrees of comparison.

Here are some examples:

One-syllable and two-syllable adjectives

positive degree	comparative	Superlatives
high - high	higher - higher, higher	highest - the highest
small - small	smaller - less	smallest - smallest, smallest
strong - strong	stronger - stronger, stronger	strongest - the strongest
cheap - cheap	cheaper - cheaper, cheaper	cheapest - the cheapest
quick - fast	quicker - faster	quickest - the fastest
new - new	newer - newer	newest - the newest
clean - clean	cleaner - cleaner, cleaner	cleanest - the cleanest
cold - cold	colder - colder, colder	coldest - the coldest
short - short	shorter - shorter, shorter	shortest - the shortest
great - great, big	greater - more	greatest - the greatest, greatest
weak - weak	weaker - weaker	weakest - the weakest
deep - deep	deeper - deeper, deeper	deepest - the deepest
low - low	lower - lower	lowest - the lowest
clever - smart	cleverer - smarter, smarter	cleverest - the smartest, the smartest
narrow - narrow	narrower - narrower	narrowest - the narrowest
shallow - small	shallower - smaller	shallowest - the smallest

When writing, certain spelling rules must be observed.

1. If the adjective has a short vowel and ends in one consonant, then in the comparative degree and in the superlative degree this consonant is doubled:

big-bigger-big

big - more - largest, largest

Fat-fatter-fattest

thick, fat - thicker - the thickest

Wet-wetter-wettest

wet, wet – wetter – wettest

sad-sadder-saddest

sad, sad - more sad - the saddest

thin - thinner - thinnest

thin, thin - thinner - thinnest

2. If the adjective ends with a letter -y with a preceding consonant, then in the comparative and superlative degrees the letter y changes to i:

Easy - easier - easiest

light - lighter - lightest, lightest

early-earlier-earliest

early – earlier – earliest

dry-drier-driest

dry, arid – drier – driest

But the word shy (shy, fearful) does not obey this rule and forms degrees of comparison as follows:

shy - shyer - shyest.

3. If the adjective ends with a letter -e, then in comparative and superlative degrees is added -r, -st:

wide - wider - widest

wide - wider - widest, widest

late - later - latest

late – later – latest

fine-finer-finest

good, beautiful - better - the best

simple - simpler - simplest

simple - easier - simplest

Polysyllabic adjectives, i.e. adjectives of three or more syllables form degrees of comparison using more for the comparative and most for the superlative. Consider the following examples:

Polysyllabic adjectives

positive degree	comparative	Superlatives
interesting - interesting	more interesting - more interesting	most interesting - the most interesting
beautiful - beautiful	more beautiful - more beautiful	most beautiful - the most beautiful
expensive - expensive	more expensive - more expensive	most expensive - the most expensive
difficult - difficult	more difficult - more difficult	most difficult - the most difficult
dangerous - dangerous	more dangerous - more dangerous	most dangerous - the most dangerous
important - important	more important - more important	most important - the most important
comfortable - comfortable	more comfortable - more comfortable	most comfortable - the most comfortable

In the same way, i.e. using the words more for the comparative degree and most for the superlative degree, form degrees of comparison of some disyllabic words that end in -ed and -

01.03.2014

English adjectives do not have the morphological characteristics of case, gender and number. Their only morphological characteristic is degrees of comparison. By degrees of comparison, only quality adjectives- that is, those that denote any sign that can manifest itself to a greater or lesser extent. These adjectives answer the question “what?”. For example, adjectives big, cheerful, beautiful can have degrees of comparison. It's easy to imagine something prettier, or someone smarter. But relative adjectives (book, yesterday) or possessive adjectives (paternal, hare) do not have degrees of comparison. It is impossible to imagine anything more yesterday or less paternal.

You can practice using degrees of comparison by doing the following.

A separate topic for consideration is also the strengthening of the degrees of comparison of adjectives. I devoted a whole to this topic.

You can practice exponents of comparison using value amplification by going through the following.

Exist three degrees of comparison: positive, comparative and superlative.

Formation of degrees of comparison of adjectives in English.

positive degree.

positive degree(positive degree) indicates the presence of quality. She is the adjective itself:

full (full), polite (polite), profound (solid), noble (noble), beautiful (beautiful).

Comparative.

comparative(comparative degree) indicates a greater intensity of quality. This degree according to the nature of education can be simple or compound. A simple degree of comparison is formed by adding the ending -er to the stem of the adjective:

full - fuller (full - fuller)

If the adjective ends in -e, then add only -r :

If the adjective ends in -y , then -y becomes -i :

happy - happier (happy - happier)

The final consonant will be doubled if the vowel in the last syllable of the word is short and stressed:

simple form comparative degree characteristic of

monosyllabic adjectives:

Full - fuller (full - fuller)

deep - deeper (deep - deeper)

big - bigger (big - more)

disyllabic adjectives if the stress falls on the last syllable:

polite - politer (polite - more polite)

profound - profounder (solid - more thorough)

disyllabic adjectives ending in -le , -y, -some, -ow, -er .

noble -nobler (noble - more noble)

silly - sillier (stupid - dumber)

handsome - handsomer (handsome - more beautiful)

narrow - narrower (narrow - already)

tender - tenderer (gentle - more tender)

The remaining two-syllable and all three- and more-complex adjectives have a compound form of the comparative degree. It is formed by adding the word more.

beautiful - more beautiful (beautiful - more beautiful)

curious - more curious (curious - more curious)

Here are a few sample sentences using a comparative degree.

Holidays at the seaside are more splendid than in the country.

The street I live in is much narrower than this one.

Which of the two lakes is deeper?

Mary is more beautiful than her cousin.

Superlative degree.

Superlatives(superlative degree) comparison of adjectives indicates the greatest manifestation of quality. This degree also has a simple and compound form similar to the comparative degree. In most cases, adjectives in the superlative degree are preceded by the article the.

The simple form is formed by adding the ending -est :

full - the fullest (full - the most complete)

deep - the deepest (deep - the deepest)

polite - politest (polite - the most polite)

happy - the happiest (happy - the happiest)

silly - the silliest (stupid - the most stupid)

big -the biggest (big - largest)

A complex form of superlative degree of comparison is formed by adding the word most:

beautiful - the most beautiful (beautiful - most beautiful)

curious - the most curious (curious - the most curious)

Here are the usage examples superlatives in offers.

Bob is the cleverest man I've ever met.

Molly is the most attentive girl in her class.

Lack of money is our biggest problem.

Yours is the silliest joke I've ever heard.

Special cases of formation of degrees of comparison of adjectives.

There are a number of adjectives that form degrees of comparison not by the rule. These adjectives and their derivatives must be memorized. Here is a complete list of such adjectives.

good - better - the best (good - best - best)

bad - worse - the worst (bad - worst - worst)

many - more - most (many - more - largest / most)

little - less - the least (small / few - less - smallest / least)

far - further - the furthest (far - further - the most distant (about time))

Pay attention to the following pairs, in which, depending on the semantic meaning, the forms of degrees also change:

old - older - oldest (old / older - older - oldest / oldest)

old - elder - the eldest (old / eldest - older - oldest / eldest (only in the description of brothers or sisters))

near - nearer - the nearest (closest - closer - closest (about distance))

near - nearer - the next (close - closer - next (in time))

late - later - the latest (later - later (about time) - the latest / latest at the moment)

late - last - the last (later - later (of those mentioned) - the latest (there will be no more) / past.

In English, the adjective does not change by gender, case and number. But it is not without degrees of comparison. He has three of them: positive, comparative and superlative degree.

Part of speech

Before proceeding to consider the question "Degrees of comparison of adjectives in English", it is necessary to understand what an adjective is. This is the part of speech that answers the questions “Which?”, “Which?”, “Whose?” and denotes a sign, property of an object, phenomenon or person. English adjectives, unlike their Russian counterparts, do not decline, that is, they do not change in cases, genders and numbers. If we need to describe or evaluate an object, then we simply “take” the adjective and put it before the noun:

A wonderful day - a wonderful day.

3 degrees of comparison of adjectives

All adjectives in English are divided into two types: quality and relative . There is one significant difference between them - we can compare words of one kind, but not another. For example, the lexical unit "glass - glassy" is a relative adjective, and in relation to it one cannot say "glasser - more glassy". As for quality, they can be represented in three degrees of comparison: positive (cold) - comparative (colder) - excellent (coldest).

Rules for the formation of degrees and examples

positive and comparative

positive degree - this is the initial form of a qualitative adjective, which is fixed in the dictionary: big - big, sad - sad, tender - gentle. It describes a sign or property of an object.

When the need arises to compare the characteristics of two or more objects, the comparative degree comes into play. How is it formed? The comparative degree of adjectives in English can be formed in two ways:

Superlatives

Superlatives bears no comparison. She surpasses everyone and does not hide it, because she is the most-most of the many. In both comparative and superlative degrees, before embarking on the formation of new forms of adjectives, it is necessary to ask how many syllables are in a word. Depending on the subsequent answer, two ways of formation are distinguished:

If the word consists of one or two syllables, then the definite article is added to it. the and ending -est :

clean - the cleanest (clean - the cleanest), great - the greatest (great - the greatest), sharp - the sharpest (sharp - sharpest).

If a word consists of three syllables or more, then an additional word appears before it. most (most) or least (least) with the definite article the:

delicate - the most delicate (gentle - the most delicate), terrible - the most terrible (terrible - the most terrible), difficult - the least difficult (difficult - the least difficult).

If an adjective consisting of one or two syllables ends in a dumb vowel -e, then when adding the endings -er or -est, it is omitted: cute - cuter - cutest (charming - cuter - cutest). If a short adjective ends in -y, then adding -er or -est changes this letter to -i: hungry - hungrier - hungriest (hungry - hungrier - the hungriest). If a short adjective ends in a vowel and a consonant, then adding the ending -er or -est doubles the final consonant: fat - fatter - fattest (thick - thicker - the thickest).

Exceptions

In English, there is a list of adjectives that are exceptions to the general rule for the formation of degrees of comparison. There are not so many of them, so it will not be difficult to learn by heart:

good - better - (the) best (good - better - best);
bad - worse - (the) worst (bad - worse - worst);
little - less - (the) least (small - less - smallest);
many (much) - more - (the) most (many - more - largest);
far - farther / further - (the) farthest / furthest (far - farther / farthest - farthest / farthest);
old - older / elder - (the) oldest / eldest (old - older / older - oldest / oldest).

In the list of exceptions, you need to pay attention to the meaning of the following words: farther - farthest (used to describe distance), further - furthest (used in a broader sense, additional, further in order,) older - oldest (used to describe age), elder - eldest (used to describe seniority in a family).

What have we learned?

In grade 6, the lesson studies the topic “Comparative and superlative adjectives in English”, which we examined in this article. There is no adjective declension in English. They change only when the degrees of comparison are formed. There are three of them in the language: positive, comparative and superlative.

Topic quiz

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The adjective is the very part of speech without which our language cannot exist. And the point here is not only the need to give imagery. Even a banal concretization of objects is impossible without adjectives. If we do not know the exact features of an object, we cannot imagine it and, therefore, we can hardly predict what actions we can perform with respect to this object.

We all understand that objects cannot be the same. One of them is larger, the second is smaller, the third is heavier, and the fourth is generally darker in color. So how to describe something that differs from other objects in its features? How to emphasize this difference? This is what the comparative degree and the superlative degree of comparison of adjectives are for. Let's try to figure out what it is.

And for what?

As mentioned above, comparative is needed in order to identify an object by comparing it with another object. Usually, one of the objects is initially named so that a person can imagine what he will have to compare with, and only then the signs of a new object relative to the original are listed, so that by comparing, we can get an idea of what we still do not know.

Comparative and superlatives are indeed necessary in education to help the learner to better understand the nature of the subject, which, of course, contributes to the successful assimilation of the material. At the same time, our everyday speech would become much more meager if it did not contain these very comparisons - then in a number of situations we simply could not express our thoughts! Forming a comparative and superlative and adverbs (which will be discussed later) is not at all difficult. The main thing is to be able to apply them correctly.

From what do we form?

First of all, you need to understand that the comparative and superlative degree of adjectives is a phenomenon that is characteristic only for qualitative parts of speech. for example, which indicate the belonging of an object to someone, cannot form something similar: the ball, for example, cannot be more Tannin than Sashin, and the tail is more fox than wolf. The same can be said about a table more wooden than a chair? Nonsense!

So be sure to remember that only a comparative degree and a superlative degree are available.

Comparative - synthetics

Let's start with the comparative degree of the adjective. First, you need to understand that it can be simple and compound, that is, it is formed either with the help of special suffixes, or by adding certain words that emphasize the difference between objects. A simple degree, it is also called synthetic, as mentioned above, is formed with the help of formative suffixes, which are added to The choice of a suffix depends on what sound this very basis ends with. For most consonants (except for a few exceptions, which will be discussed below), the suffixes -ee- and -ee- are suitable: light - lighter, hot -hot, and so on.

The suffix -e- is used in such cases:

When the adjective ends in g, x, d, t (expensive - more expensive, dry - dry, rich - richer, young - younger). By the way, here, as you have already noticed, there is also an alternation of the consonant sound at the root of the word, which is also an important point.
When the adjective ends with the suffix -k- (high - higher, low - lower).
In cases, exceptions, which, unfortunately, do not lend themselves to any logic (cheap - cheaper).

And the last group of suffixes -she- and -zhe- are also used in isolated cases, more like exceptions (thin - thinner, deep - deeper).

In addition, it is impossible not to mention that there is a certain number of words in which the root itself changes during the formation of the comparative and superlative forms (good - BETTER, bad - WORSE).

Everyday speech allows the addition of the prefix -po- to an adjective already in a comparative degree in order to soften this difference a little (light - lighter - lighter, expensive - more expensive - more expensive). In a sentence, this form of an adjective is most often part of a compound nominal predicate. Moreover, it does not change by gender, number and case.

Comparative - analytics

Let's move on to the compound-analytical form of the comparative degree of the adjective. Everything is much simpler here: the words "more" and "less" are used before the adjective (risk - more risky, educated - less educated). In a sentence, the analytical form fully corresponds to the functions of the usual adjective.

Superior - Synthetics

The superlative degree of comparison demonstrates, as the name implies, the absolute superiority of some feature, the highest degree of its manifestation. It also has synthetic (simple) and analytical (composite) forms.

"Synthetics" is formed using a series of suffixes -eysh-, -aysh-, -sh- (simple - simplest, quiet - quietest). In addition, the literary style allows the use of the prefix -nai-, which is added to the adjective in a comparative degree (small - the LEAST, simple - the simplest). There is already a change in gender, number and case, in contrast to the comparative degree.

Excellent - analytics

With the compound form, everything is as simple as with the comparative degree. Here, the words "most", "most / least", inherent in most of the book style (MOST successful, LEAST rational, MOST simple), and "all / all" in combination with an adjective in a comparative degree, which are used in colloquial speech, are usually added. (smarter than ALL, more interesting than ALL).

Degrees of comparison of adverbs

And now let's move on to another part of speech - the adverb. Its necessity and usefulness are undeniable. Basically, they have a lot in common. Comparative and superlative degree of adverbs - the rule, in comparison with the adjective, is much less voluminous and much easier.

First, it should be noted that only adverbs ending in -o, -e, which are based on qualitative adjectives (simple, quiet, deep), form degrees of comparison.

Secondly, we still have the same two forms: comparative and superlative with the division in the first case into simple and compound. To form a simple comparative degree, the suffixes -ee-, -he-, -e- and -she- are used, added to the adverb without this characteristic -o, e: simple - simpler, funny - funny. Whereas the compound form is created using the already known words "more / less" and the original form of the adverb - LESS loudly, MORE freely. With the superlative degree of the adverb, it is even much simpler: there is no synthetic form here, and the analytical form is formed by adding a short "everyone" to the comparative degree of the adverb (quiet - quieter - quieter than ALL, boldly - BOLDER - bolder than ALL).

Generalizing

We studied comparative and superlative degrees. A table that will help summarize and repeat all of the above material is presented below.

Adjective
	Synthetic	Analytical	Synthetic	Analytical
Comparative	Suffixes: her, her, e, k, she, same prefix: by (bolder, more expensive)	more/less Adjective (more daring less expensive)	Suffixes: her, her, e, she (quieter, faster)	more/less (more loudly)
excellent	Suffixes: eish, aish, sh Prefix: nai Comparative synthetic (bravest, best)	most, all/all, most/least Adjective (the most daring, the most expensive)		Comparative synthetic (the prettiest of all)

Conclusion

The comparative degree and the superlative degree are, in principle, an elementary topic. It is enough to know a few suffixes in order to successfully perform numerous grammar exercises. By the way, this feature of adjectives and adverbs is characteristic of many languages. Here, for example, English: a comparative and superlative degree in this language is formed by adding either a suffix to monosyllabic words, or amplifying words to polysyllabic ones. Everything here is even easier than here! If you wish, you can master this rule without difficulty. Practice, practice and more practice!