Comparative and superlative degree. Placement of the article before adjectives. Examples for comparative adjectives formed from monosyllabic

Comparative adjectives are used to compare two or more objects with each other: objects, people, animals, etc. Bigger, smaller, prettier, faster, cheaper, better, smarter, braver, smarter, more daring- these are all comparative degrees of adjectives in Russian.

In English, adjectives also have a comparative degree ( comparative adjectives or simply comparative): bigger, less, more beautiful, faster, cheaper, better, cleverer, braver, more intelligent, more daring

The rules for the formation of comparative adjectives are very easy to understand, and to develop fluency, experience is needed, you need to repeat them more often, and it is better to repeat phrases, phrases or whole sentences. How to remember better, you can read in the article.

In this article, we will give many examples of the formation and use of the comparative degree of adjectives in English.

Comparative adjectives. Education rules. Examples.

Look at the table:

1. Examples for comparative adjectives formed from monosyllabic ones:

This coffee is very weak. I like it a bit stronger. (This coffee is very weak. I like a little stronger)
Going by bus is cheaper than by train. (The bus ride is cheaper than the train ride)
The weather is very cold today. I expected it to be warmer.(The weather is cold today. I expected it to be warmer)
The water is colder today than it was two days ago. (The water is colder today than it was two days ago)
Mike studies harder than his brother. (Mike studies harder than his brother)
This building is higher than that one. (This building is taller than that one)
My daughter is thinner than her. (My daughter is thinner than her)
My sister is older than me. (My sister is older than me)
Can we walk a bit faster? (Can we go a little faster?)

Pay attention to the following subtleties:
1. After the comparative degree of adjectives, the union is often used than(than), emphasizing the object for comparison.
2. If a one-syllable adjective ends in -e, then in a comparative degree only -r: large - larger, late - later, wide - wider.
3. If a one-syllable adjective ends one vowel + one consonant, then the comparative degree duplicates the consonant: big-bigger, wet-wetter, thin-thinner

2. Examples of comparative adjectives formed from disyllabic adjectives ending in -y:

Yesterday I woke up earlier than usual (Yesterday I woke up earlier than usual)
you look happier today (You look happier today)
My bag seemed to get heavy as I carried it (My bag seemed to be heavier when I carried it)
We were busier at work today than usual (We were busier at work today than usual)

3. Examples of the comparative degree of adjectives formed from disyllabic and more adjectives

I think Hungarian is more difficult than Spanish. (I think Hungarian is harder than Spanish)
For lanuage learners, enthusiasm is more important than talent. (For language learners, enthusiasm is more important than talent)
I expected the hotel to be more expensive. (I expected the hotel to be more expensive)
I'd like to do something more interesting(I would like to do something more interesting)
Why don't you phone me more often? (Why don't you call me more often?)
I'd like to have a more reliable car (I would like to have a more reliable car)
unfortunately his illness more serious than we thought at first. (Unfortunately, his illness was more serious than we thought at first)

4. Exceptions.

Some words do not follow the general rules and form their comparative adjectives in a special way. They are called wrong IRREGULAR:

A holiday by the sea is better than a holiday in the mountains. (A holiday by the sea is better than a holiday in the mountains)
The warmer the weather the better I feel. (The warmer the weather, the better I feel)
I can't walk any further. (I can't go on)
The traffic is worse than usual today. (Traffic worse than usual today)
The weather got worse and worse. (weather gets worse and worse)
His English is becoming better from day to day. (His English is getting better day by day)

Comparative and superlative adjectives are used very often both in speech and in writing. And this applies not only to the Russian language. Today we are interested in foreign vocabulary, namely the comparative and superlative degree in English. Nowadays, there is more and more need to communicate on it. In order to speak correctly, and to be understood correctly by the surrounding foreigners, you need to study the rules for the formation of these degrees.

What is an adjective

Before we talk about how the comparative and superlative degrees are formed in English, let's take a quick look at the adjective itself. What is this part of speech? In a nutshell, an adjective is used when we need to describe a certain object, person or process. Answering questions what?, what?, what?, what?, this part of speech helps us not only describe them, but also compare them with each other, and also declare the superiority of one or another object or character.

We live in this big home for a very long time.
Old the park looks a lot better early in the morning.
We are the youngest experts in this area.

The highlighted words clearly show what function the adjective performs in the sentence. This function is a definition. And in this sense there is no difference between Russian and English.

Degrees of comparison: rule

Comparative and superlative adjectives are two of the three forms in which this part of speech can be used. There are three levels of comparison:

Positive - here the adjective has its initial form, for example: white, fat, tall, good, etc.
Comparative - this form is used when we want to compare something with something, show the advantage of something over something, for example: better, taller, fatter, smarter, smaller, etc.
Excellent - we use this option when we want to show that someone or something has the highest degree of quality, for example: the highest, the most expensive, the best, the least, etc.

The choice of the variant of the word also depends on what idea you want to convey to the interlocutor. We will consider all possible rules for the formation of both degrees separately.

comparative

In the grammar of the English language, there are rules by which both comparative and superlative degrees are formed. Exercises to check the understanding of this topic are aimed at ensuring that you correctly form this or that degree with any adjective. First, let's look at the comparative form. In order to form a comparative form from any adjective, you need to follow these rules:

If the word is one-syllable or two-syllable, but the stress falls on the first syllable, then we add the suffix "er" to it: smart (smart) - smarter (smarter); hard (heavy) - harder (harder).

If the word has the ending "e", one letter "r" is added to it: large (large) - larger (larger); polite (polite) - politer (more polite).

If a monosyllabic word ends with a consonant letter preceded by a short vowel, then the last letter doubles when a suffix is added: big (big) - bigger (more); hot (hot) - hotter (hotter).

If the adjective ends with the letter "y", when a suffix is added, it changes to "i": noisy (noisy) - noisier (more noisy); easy (simple) - easier (easier).

If an adjective has more than two syllables, no suffix is added to it. We put the comparative adverb “more” before this adjective, which means “more” in Russian: beautiful (beautiful) - more beautiful (more beautiful); interesting (interesting) - more interesting (more interesting).

If it is necessary to indicate that the quality is lower than that of another object, then instead of the aforementioned word, we take “less”, translated as “less”: beautiful (beautiful) - less beautiful (less beautiful); interesting (interesting) - less interesting (less interesting).

Thus, we can easily form sentences where we want to compare the qualities of different objects.

Superlatives

Comparative degree and superlative degree are very easily formed by Russian-speaking users, since the concept of comparison and superiority is very similar to what we know in Russian. So, for the formation of the last degree, we need to apply concepts such as “most, most / least”. But here there are certain rules that must be followed:

If the word has one syllable, we add the suffix “est” to such an adjective, while the article “the” will stand before the newly formed word: smart (smart) - the smartest (smartest); hard (heavy) - the hardest (the hardest).

If there is an “e” ending at the end of the word, we will use only the “st” suffix: large (large) - the largest (largest); polite (polite) - the politest (the most polite).

If a word ends in a consonant preceded by a short vowel, we double the last letter in the letter. In speech, this does not manifest itself in any way: big (big) - the biggest (largest); hot (hot) - the hottest (hottest).

If the last place in the word is the letter y, when adding a suffix, we change it to i: noisy (noisy) - the noisiest (noisiest); easy (simple) - the easiest (simplest).

For long polysyllabic words, there is another way of formation. We put the adverb “the most” before the word, which translates as “the most, the most, the most”: beautiful (beautiful) - the most beautiful (most beautiful); interesting (interesting) - the most interesting (most interesting).

If it is necessary to indicate that the quality is the lowest, then instead of the word “most”, we take “the least”, translated as “least”: beautiful (beautiful) - the least beautiful (least beautiful); interesting (interesting) - the least interesting (least interesting).

There are words that have two components. In this case, we also put the indicated adverbs in front of them: easy-going (sociable) - more easy-going (more sociable) - the most easy-going (most sociable); easy-going (sociable) - less easy-going (less sociable) - the least easy-going (least sociable).

Comparative and Superlative: Exception Words

There are words that, despite all existing rules, form degrees in their own way. These words need to be learned by heart. The comparative degree and superlative degree of such words are listed in a separate table.

	Positive	Comparative	excellent


small

		farther, further	the farthest, the furthest
			the oldest, the oldest
			the latest, the last

When using a word consisting of two components, one of which is an exception, it is necessary to use its form: good-looking (beautiful) - better-looking (more beautiful) - the best-looking (most beautiful).

Set phrases

Both the comparative degree and the superlative degree are used in sentences as part of special constructions. Most often these options are:

The “the… the…” construction. The more I read, the more I know. The more I read, the more I know.
The “as… as…” construction. He is as tall as his brother. He is as tall as his brother.
The “not so… as…” construction. She is not so fit as me. She's not as skinny as me.

These are the most common variants of sentences in which we use the mentioned degrees of comparison.

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 in front of 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 silent 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 / furthest);
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.

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In English, there are 3 degrees of comparison of adjectives: the positive degree (the positive degree), the comparative degree (the comparative degree) and the superlative degree (the superlative degree).

Note that the adjective comes before the noun and does not change in gender or number.

positive degree adjective means that it is in its initial form and simply indicates the quality of the object, without comparing it with others: tall (tall), old (old), long (long), big (large), thin (thin), fat (thick ). Education comparative and excellent degrees Comparisons depend on how many syllables the adjective contains.

And here are a few rules for the formation of degrees of comparison of adjectives in English with examples of sentences.

One-syllable adjectives add a suffix -er comparative and suffix -est in superlatives:

tall - taller - the tallest (high - higher - tallest)
old - older - the oldest (old - older, older - oldest, oldest)
long - longer - the longest (long - longer - the longest)

Here are some examples:

Katie is taller than Rob. - Katie is taller than Rob.
Katie is the tallest of all my friends. - Katie is the tallest of my friends.
Rob is older than John. - Rob is older than John.
Of the three students, Rob is the oldest. - Rob is the oldest of the three students.
My hair is longer than your hair. - My hair is longer than yours.
Rob "s story is the longest story I" ve ever heard. - Rob's story is the longest I've ever heard.

If a monosyllabic adjective ends in a consonant preceded by a vowel, the consonant is doubled:

big - bigger - the biggest (big - more - the biggest)
thin - thinner - the thinnest (thin - thinner - thinnest)
fat - fatter - the fattest (full - fuller - most complete)

Examples:

My house is bigger than your house. - My house is bigger than your house.
My house is the biggest of all the houses in the neighborhood. - My house is the largest of all in the area.
Rob is thinner than John. - Rob is thinner than John.
Of all the students in the class, Rob is the thinnest. - Rob is the thinnest of all the students in the class.
My dog is fatter than your dog. - My dog is fatter than your dog.

Disyllabic adjectives form a comparative degree of comparison by adding more before adjectives, and a superlative degree, adding most:

peaceful - more peaceful - the most peaceful (calm, peaceful - calmer - the most peaceful)
pleasant - more pleasant - the most pleasant (pleasant - more pleasant - most pleasant)
careful - more careful - the most careful (careful - more careful - the most careful)

Suggestion examples:

This morning is more peaceful than yesterday morning. - This morning is more peaceful than yesterday.
John is more careful than Mike. - John is more careful than Mike.
This evening is the most pleasant I "ve ever had. - This evening is the most pleasant of all that I have had.

If a two-syllable adjective ends in -y, then to form a comparative degree, you need to change -y on the -i and add suffix -er, and for superlatives, the suffix -est:

happy - happier - the happiest (happy - happier - happiest)
angry - angrier - the angriest (angry - meaner - the most evil)
busy - busier - the busiest (busy - busier - busiest)

Phrase examples:

Robert is happy today than he was yesterday. Today Robert is happier than yesterday.
He is the happiest boy in the world. - He is the happiest boy in the world.
John is angry than Rob. - John is angrier than Rob.
Katie is busier than John. - Katie is busier than John.
Katie is the busiest person I "ve ever met. - Katie is the busiest person I've ever met.

Two-syllable adjectives ending in -er, -le, -ow form comparative and superlative degrees of comparison by adding suffixes -er and -est respectively.

narrow - narrower - the narrowest (narrow - already - the narrowest)
gentle - gentler - the gentlest (noble - nobler - most noble)

Examples:

The streets in European countries are narrower than the streets in Russia. - The streets of European cities are narrower than in Russia.
This street is the narrowest of all the roads in this town. - This street is the narrowest in this city.
Big dogs are gentler than small dogs. - Big dogs are nobler than small ones.

An interesting English video about typical mistakes when using comparative degrees of adjectives (and a bonus - about adverbs!):

For adjectives of three syllables, the comparative and superlative degrees are formed by adding more and most before an adjective.

generous - more generous - the most generous (generous - more generous - the most generous)
important - more important - the most important (important - more important - the most important)
intelligent - more intelligent - the most intelligent (smart - smarter - the smartest)

Suggestion examples:

Katie is more generous than Mary. - Katie is more generous than Mary.
John is the most generous of all the people I know. - John is the most generous person I know.
Health is more important than money. - Health is more important than money.
Katie is the most intelligent person I "ve ever met. - Katie is the smartest person I know.

Exception adjectives that have their own comparative and superlative forms:

Good - better - the best (good - better - the best)
Bad - worse - the worst (bad - worse - the worst)
Far - farther - the farthest (far - further - the most distant)
Little - less - the least (small - less - smallest)
Many - more - the most (many - more - most)

Examples of phrases with exceptions:

Italian food is better than American food. - Italian food is better than American food.
My dog is the best dog in the world. - My dog is the best in the world.
My sister's cooking is worse than your sister's cooking. - My sister cooks worse than yours.

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