| COMPARATIVE AND
SUPERLATIVE
1.To build comparative we use the following patterns:
|
|
LONG adjectives (more than one syllable) (some two-syllables adjectives) intelligent boring |
for superiority |
MORE + adj.+THAN
|
eg "A man is more intelligent than a dog." | |
| for inferiority |
LESS + adj.+ THAN or NOT AS + adj.+ AS |
eg "A dog is less intelligent than a man." eg "A dog is not as intelligent as a man." |
||
|
SHORT adjectives (one-syllable) cheap
|
for superiority |
adj.+ ER |
eg "My watch is cheaper than yours." |
2. To build superlative use the following patterns : |
|
LONG adjectives (more than two syllables) intelligent |
for superiority |
(the) MOST + adj.
|
eg "Man is the most intelligent species on the earth." | |
| for inferiority |
(the) LEAST + adj. |
eg "The least intelligent animals are insects." |
||
|
SHORT adjectives (one-syllable) cheap |
for superiority |
adj.+EST |
eg "The cheapest articles sold out very quickly." |
|
NB "The least" is not very often used - "the least big", for example, is generally replaced by "the smallest" and "the least tall" by "the shortest". 3. Two-syllable adjectives Two-syllable adjectives have special rules. |
| Two-syllable adjectives | comparative | superlative | ||
|
ending in consonant + -Y eg HAPPY |
drop the -Y and add -IER happIER |
drop the -Y and add -IEST happIEST |
||
|
ending in
|
-ing(boring) -ful (useful), -ed (annoyed) -less (hopeless) |
MORE + adj+THAN LESS + adj.+THAN NOT AS + adj.+AS
|
(the)
MOST + adj.
(the) LEAST + adj. |
|
| ending in |
"-y" (pretty)
"-er" (clever) "-le" (gentle) "-ow" (narrow) |
-ER THAN | (the)
add -EST narrowEST
(the) LEAST + adj. |
|
| 4.GOOD and BAD |
 |
comparative |
superlative |
|
|
GOOD
|
BETTER "Most people think that French wine is better than other wines." |
BEST "Buy now and make the best choice of all!" |
|
|
BAD |
WORSE "Is English cooking worse than Italian cooking?" |
WORST "This is the worst food I ever had." |
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