Comparison of adjectives

A. There are three degrees of comparison:

PositiveComparativeSuperlative

dark darker darkest

useful more useful most useful

B. Form

1. One-syllable adjectives form their comparative and superlative by adding
er and est to the positive form: light lighter lightest

Adjectives ending in e add r and st:

brave braver bravest

Adjectives with one vowel followed by one consonant double the final
consonant:

fat fatter fattest

2. Adjectives of three or more syllables form their comparative and
superlative by putting more and most before the positive:

interesting more interesting most interesting

beautiful more beautiful most beautiful

3. Adjectives of two syllables follow one or other of the above rules. Those
ending in fulor re usually take more and most:

doubtful more doubtful most doubtful

obscure more obscure most obscure

Those ending in er, yor ly usually add er, est:

clever cleverer cleverest

pretty prettier prettiest ( note that the y becomes i)

silly sillier silliest

4. With a few two-syllable adjectives, both kinds of comparative and
superlative are possible. These are: common, handsome, polite, quiet,
wicked, pleasant, cruel, stupid, tired, and words ending in -ow and -le.

common commoner/more common commonest/most common

gentle gentler/more gentle gentlest/most gentle

hollow hollower/more hollow hollowest/most hollow

5. Irregular comparison:

bad worse worst

far farther farthest (of distance only)

further furthest (used more widely)

good better best

little less least

many/much more most

old elder eldest (of people only)

older oldest (of people and things)

fartherandfurther

Both words are used to refer to distance, with no difference of meaning:

London is farther/further than Paris.

Further (but not farther) can also be used, mainly with abstract nouns,
to mean ‘additional’, ‘extra’, ‘more advanced’.

College of Further Education.

Finally, they reached the furthest point in the dicussion.

<== попередня сторінка	\|	наступна сторінка ==>
Position of adjectives: attributive and predicative use	\|	Elder, eldest; older, oldest

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