Comparative and Superlative Degrees
Degrees of Comparison:
- The word that describes, modifies, limits distinguishes or otherwise characterizes the noun is an adjective.
- Many adjectives, including the most regularly used ones, include the property of comparison, which is conveyed by three distinct inflectional forms known as absolute, comparative, and superlative.
- The three kinds of Degrees of Comparisonare:-
- Positive degree
- Comparative degree
- Superlative degree
Positive Degree
- Adjectives describe a noun’s or pronoun’s quality or characteristic. The positive degree is a term used to describe the basic form of an adjective.
- Positive degree is used to compare two things which are equal in statusor quality,and also to compare two things which are not equal and do not have same status or quality.
Examples:
- She is not so smart as her sister.
- The Moon is not so bright as the Sun.
- Mars is not so big as Jupiter.
- Mary is as intelligent as Kate.
- Elephant is a huge animal.
Comparative degree
To compare the quality of two nouns, adjectives can be inflected (modified in form). This is known as the comparative degree.
Examples:
- English teacher is more generous than other school teachers.
- The planet Jupiter is bigger than the Earth.
Superlative degree
The superlative degree is an adjective used to identify a noun with the highest (or lowest) degree of an attribute within a group.
Examples:
- Pluto was the farthest planet in the solar system.
- Rainwater is the purest water.
Forming the Comparative and Superlative adjectives-
- With one-syllable adjectives, add ‘ er’ or ‘est’ and double the final consonant if preceded by one vowel.
Example:
Slim
Slimmer
slimmest
Sad
Sadder
saddest
Thin
Thinner
Thinnest
- The final consonant is not doubled if it is preceded by two vowels or another consonant.
Example:
Large- larger- largest
Small- smaller- smallest
- If an adjective has two syllables and end in ‘-y,’ we replace ‘y’with ‘i’ and add ‘-er’ or ‘-est.’
Example:
Happy- happier-happiest
- Long adjectives: Adjectives that have three or more syllables, or adjectives that have two syllables.
Example:
Careful— more/less careful— most/least careful
Caring— more/less caring—most/least caring
Gifted— more/less gifted—most/least gifted
- Transforming sentences from degrees of comparison:
- Greenland is the largest island in the world.
- Greenland is larger than any other island in the world.
- No other island in the world is as large as Greenland.
Related topics
Naming Words for Class 2: Simple English Guide
Naming words are names of people, animals, birds, places or things. E.g. Leo, Rat, Crow, London, Book Four types of naming words E.g. Leo, Andrea, Father, Mother E.g. School, London, Park, New york E.g. Tiger, Monkey, Cow, Parrots E.g. Box, Pen, Apples, Car Everything that we can touch, feel, see and talk about is represented by […]
Read More >>Types of Nouns: Definition, Kinds, and Examples
If you’ve developed a nascent interest in the English language already, or your child enjoys reading from the English signboards and alphabet books, it’s time that they were introduced to nouns. Nouns (or naming words, as they are conveyed to kids) are the flat concrete surface on which your child or student’s vocabulary will be […]
Read More >>
Context Clues
What Are Context Clues? Context clues are small hints in a sentence or paragraph that you can see. It helps you understand the meaning of a word you do not know. For this, you will not need to use a dictionary. The sentence itself helps you understand. When you read, the words near can be […]
Read More >>
Speech Writing: Format, Topics, and Examples
What Is Speech Writing? While writing a speech we should concentrate on the three ‘C’s. Your speech should be clear, concise, and consistent. Let’s see the format of speech writing. Speech Writing Format It contains two parts. Title: Give a good title to the topic while writing a speech. Content: The content section is divided […]
Read More >>
Other topics
Comments: