Use regular forms of comparatives and superlatives of adjectives
Adjectives are words used to provide more details about nouns, which are names of people, places, or things. They are not only descriptive, but also help us compare how alike or different two or more nouns are.
Imagine you have two different ice cream flavours: chocolate and vanilla. Adjectives can help you describe them better. You might say, ‘Chocolate ice cream is sweet,’ and ‘Vanilla ice cream is also sweet.’ But what if you want to say which one is sweeter? That is where degrees of comparison come in.
Degrees of comparison allow you to express how much of a specific quality something has when compared to something else. There are three degrees of comparison:
1. Positive Degree: This is the simplest form of an adjective and is used to describe a noun without making any comparison.
For example: The ice cream is sweet.
2. Comparative Degree: The comparative degree compares two things, to determine which one has more or less value. It is often used with the word ‘than’.
For example: Chocolate ice cream is sweeter than vanilla ice cream."
3. Superlative Degree: The superlative degree helps you compare one thing to all others in the same category. It is always preceded by the article ‘the’.
For example: Chocolate ice cream is the sweetest of all.
These sentences explain how adjectives help us describe and compare things. The positive degree describes a single thing, the comparative degree compares two things, and the superlative degree compares one thing to all others in the same category. These degrees of comparison make our language more clear and informative.
1. By addition of '-er' and '-est' to the positive degree
2. By addition of '-r' and '-st' to the positive degree ending in 'e'
3. When the positive ends in 'y' and has a consonant before it, we change 'y' into 'i' and then add 'er' and 'est'
4. By placing 'more' and 'most' before the positive form
Double Comparatives or Superlatives: Using both "more" or "most" and the "-er" or "-est" ending in the same word is considered to be an error. For example, saying "more faster" or "most fastest." This is wrong because it is repeating things and does not sound right.
1. Adjectives are used not only to give details about nouns, but also to compare how alike or different two or more nouns are. The degrees of comparison are known as the positive, the comparative, and the superlative.
2. Rules for the Formation of Comparative & Superlative Degrees of Adjectives:
a. By addition of '-er' and '-est' to the positive degree
b. By addition of '-r' and '-st' to the positive degree ending in 'e'
c. When the positive ends in 'y' and has a consonant before it, we change 'y' into 'i' and then add 'er' and 'est'
d. By placing 'more' and 'most' before the positive form
References
1 Verb Tenses: Telling Time. SJSU Writing Center (2013) (link)