Fanny Altagracia Viera
Comparative and 8° “A” superlative adjectives. Tifany Giselle Paredes Morales# 26
Marlem Gabriela Jovel Rodríguez# 15 García Flamenco
Comparative and superlative adjectives. An adjective is a word that modifies a noun. An adverb is a word that modifies a verb, an adjective or another adverb. Adjectives and adverbs describe other words (things). Both have two additional forms: A comparative form which compares two things, and a superlative form which compares three or more things. One-syllable adjectives. Form the comparative and superlative forms of a one-syllable adjective by adding â€“er for the comparative form and â€“est. for the superlative.
One-Syllable Adjective Comparative Form
Mary is taller than Max. Mary is the tallest of all the students. Max is older than John. Of the three students, Max is the oldest. My hair is longer than your hair.
Max's story is the longest story I've ever heard. If the one-syllable adjective ends with an e, just add â€“r for the comparative form and â€“est. for the superlative form. Comparative: The first house is bigger than the second (comparison of two objects) Superlative: The first house is the biggest among the three (comparison of more than two objects)
Adjectives with one syllable In general, if the adjective has one syllable, then the letters -er or -est. is added: Warm warmer warmest Quick quicker quickest Tall taller tallest
Adjectives with one syllable ending in e If the adjective has one syllable and ends in e, just add -r or -st: Late later latest Nice nicer nicest Large larger largest Adjectives with two syllables Adjectives with two syllables vary. Some add -er/-est or -r/-st: Feeble feebler feeblest
Some use the words ‘more’ for the comparative and ‘most’ for the superlative: Famous more famous most famous Many can do either, like clever: Clever cleverer/more clever cleverest/most clever Adjectives with three syllables or more If the adjective has three syllables or more, then the words ‘more’ and ‘most’ are used: Interesting more interesting most interesting Attractive more attractive most attractive Adjectives that change their spelling Some adjectives change their spelling when forming the comparative and superlative: Some one-syllable adjectives that end with a single consonant (e.g. big, wet, sad, fat) double this consonant before adding -er or -est: Big bigger biggest •
Wet wetter wettest Sad sadder saddest If the adjective ends in y (e.g. happy, greedy, or tidy), change the y to an i and add -er or -est: Happy happier happiest •
Greedy greedier greediest Tidy tidier tidiest
Some common adjectives have irregular comparative and superlative forms that you just have to learn: â€˘
Bad worse worst Good better best Little (of a quantity) less least Much more most Use of comparatives
Just like other adjectives, comparatives can be placed before nouns in the attributive position, e.g.:
A more intelligent child The bigger piece of cake Comparatives can also occur after be and other link verbs, e.g.:
The street has become quieter since they left. You should be more sensible Comparatives are very commonly followed by than and a pronoun or noun group, in order to describe who the other person or thing involved in the comparison is, e.g.:
John is taller than me. I think that sheâ€™s more intelligent than her sister.
As well as pronouns and noun groups, than is often followed by other kinds of clause, e.g.:
I think the portions were bigger than they were last time They had given a better performance than in previous years Comparatives are often qualified by using words and phrases such as much, a lot, far, a bit/little, slightly etc., e.g.:
You should go by train, it would be much cheaper. Could you be a bit quieter? Iâ€™m feeling a lot better. Do you have one thatâ€™s slightly bigger? Two comparatives can be contrasted by placing the before them, indicating that a change in one quality is linked to a change in another, e.g.:
The smaller the gift, the easier it is to send. The more stressed you are, the worse it is for your health. Two comparatives can also be linked with and to show a continuing increase in a particular quality, e.g.:
The sea was getting rougher and rougher. Her illness was becoming worse and worse.
He became more and more tired as the weeks went by
Use of superlatives
Like comparatives, superlatives can be placed before nouns in the attributive position, or occur after be and other link verbs, e.g.:
The most delicious chocolate cake Iâ€™ve ever eaten
Annabel was the youngest
This restaurant is the best
As shown in the second two examples, superlatives are often used on their own if it is clear what or who is being compared. If you want to be specific about what you are comparing, you can do this with a noun or a phrase beginning with in or of, e.g.:
Annabel was the youngest child Annabel was the youngest of the children
This restaurant is the best in town. Another way of being specific is by placing a relative clause after the superlative, e.g.:
This offer is the best Iâ€™m going to get. Note that if the superlative occurs before the noun, in the attributive position, the in or of phrase or relative clause comes after the noun, cf:
The best restaurant in town. The best offer Iâ€™m going to get. Although the usually occurs before a superlative, it is sometimes left out in informal speech or writing, e.g.:
This one seems to be cheapest. However the cannot be left out when the superlative is followed by an of/in phrase or a relative clause indicating the group of people or things being compared, e.g.:
This one is the cheapest. This one is cheapest. This one is the cheapest of the new designs. * This one is cheapest of the new designs. This one is the cheapest I could find.
*This one is cheapest I could find. Sometimes possessive pronouns are used instead of the before a superlative, e.g.:
My youngest brother Her most valuable piece of jeweler Ordinal numbers are often used with superlatives to indicate that something has more of a particular quality than most others of its kind, e.g.:
Itâ€™s the third largest city in the country. The cathedral is the second most popular tourist attraction In informal conversation, superlatives are often used instead of comparatives when comparing two things. For example, when comparing a train journey and car journey to Edinburgh, someone might say: The train is quickest, rather than: The train is quicker. Superlatives are not generally used in this way in formal speech and writing.