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Comparatives
Many adjectives and adverbs are descriptive words,
identifying the words they modify as having particular qualities. A sentence
reporting that one person or thing has more of some quality than another
requires a comparative form of an
adjective or adverb, such as larger or
more easily. When one person or thing
has more of some quality than two or more others, a superlative form, such as largest
or most easily, is needed.
Adjectives and adverbs form comparatives and superlatives
in one of two ways. Endings may be added (-er
for comparatives and –est for
superlatives). Or more (for
comparatives) and most (for
superlatives) can be placed immediately before the adjectives or adverbs. Some
adverbs, such as very and perhaps,
do not form comparatives and superlatives.
Forming comparatives and superlatives of adjectives and adverbs
Forming comparatives and superlatives of adverbs
Recognizing irregular comparatives and superlatives
Avoiding misuse of comparatives and superlatives
Avoiding double comparatives and superlatives
Avoiding superlative forms for comparative forms
Avoiding comparisons with words that cannot be compared.
Forming comparatives and superlatives of adjectives
Which comparative or superlative form of an adjective to use is usually determined by how many syllables the adjective has. Most adjectives with one syllable form the comparative by adding the ending –er. The ending –est is added to most one-syllable adjectives to form the superlative:
Bill is a tall boy for his age.
Comparative: Jim is taller than Bill.
Superlative: Frank, however, is tallest.
Some adjectives with two syllables form their comparatives
and superlatives with more and most,
such as modest (more modest, most modest) and varied (more varied, most varied). Others can form them both ways,
such as friendly (friendlier or
more friendly) and happy (happier or more happy,
happiest or most happy). When in
doubt, consult a dictionary to find the correct comparative and superlative
forms.
More and most are used to form comparatives and superlatives of adjectives containing three or more syllables:
Meg is a successful inventor
Comparative: Beth is more successful than Meg.
Superlative: Amy,
however, is most successful.
A comparative or superlative form of an adjective can be
placed between a noun and its article, just as other adjectives can. Sometimes,
however, a, an, or the
is used with a comparative or superlative form that is not followed by a noun.
In such a construction the comparative or superlative adjective modifies an
unexpressed word, one:
Beth is the more successful (one) of the two.
Ellen is the tallest (one) of the three.
Forming comparatives and superlatives of adverbs
Like most one-syllable adjectives, most adverbs with one syllable form their comparatives and superlatives with the ending –er and –est:
My horse ran fast.
Comparative: Your horse ran faster.
Superlative:
His horse ran fastest.
Most adverbs have two or more syllables. These adverbs form their comparatives and superlatives with more and most.
Alfred did his work quickly.
Comparative: Bob did his work more quickly than Alfred.
Superlative:
Of the three, Cal did his work most
quickly.
For most adjectives and adverbs, less and least are the
forms used in negative comparisons:
Aaron is less intelligent than Claudia.
Of all the workers, George did the project least
efficiently.
However, fewer is used rather than less with count nouns:
count noun
There are fewer people here today than
there were yesterday.
Mass nouns, on the other hand, form negative comparisons
with less.
mass noun
There is less sugar in this recipe
than in the other one.
Recognizing irregular comparatives and superlatives
The adjectives and adverbs in the list below have irregular comparative and superlative forms:
Irregular comparatives and superlatives
comparatives
superlatives
bad worse worst
badly worse worst
far farther farthest
further furthest
good better best
little less least
many more most
much more most
old older oldest
elder eldest
well
better
best
Avoiding misuse of comparatives and superlatives
Most comparative and superlative forms are easy to use.
However, being aware of a few common errors will help you avoid misusing them.
Avoiding –er and –est with long adjectives and adverbs
The endings –er and –est are used only with one- or two- syllable adjectives and with one-syllable adverbs. Using these endings with longer adjectives or adverbs is not acceptable:
NOT: This
picture is beautifuler than that one.
Beautiful is a three-syllable adjective, so its correct comparative form is more
beautiful:
This picture is more beautiful than that one.
Avoiding double comparatives and superlatives
To form comparatives and superlatives of adjectives and
adverbs, either add endings or use more and
most. Using both at the same time is not acceptable:
NOT: My mother
worked the most hardest of any person I ever knew.
Hard is a
one-syllable adverb, so adding the ending –est
is correct:
My mother worked the hardest
of any person I ever knew.
Avoiding superlative forms for comparative forms
When only two people or things are being compared, it is a
mistake to use a superlative form:
NOT: Greg is the
kindest of the two brothers.
Since Greg and his brother are being compared, the
comparative form kinder is correct:
Greg is the kinder
of the two brothers.
Avoiding comparisons with words that cannot be compared.
Some adjectives and adverbs name qualities that a person or thing either possesses or does not possess. These adjectives and adverbs cannot be compared because there is no way to possess more or less of the qualities they name. When George Orwell writes in his satire Animal Farm that “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others,” his sarcastic point depends on the fact that two people, animals or things are either equal or they are not. Unique is another adjective that should never be compared: it means “the only one of its kind,” so one thing cannot be more unique than another.