{"id":4975,"date":"2021-06-09T06:00:29","date_gmt":"2021-06-09T11:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/?p=4975"},"modified":"2021-06-08T18:25:36","modified_gmt":"2021-06-08T23:25:36","slug":"comparative-adjectives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/adjectives-adverbs\/comparative-adjectives\/","title":{"rendered":"Comparative Adjectives"},"content":{"rendered":"

Most adjectives have three forms or degrees: the positive, the comparative, and the superlative. In this discussion, we’ll take a closer look at comparative adjectives.<\/p>\n

A comparative adjective compares two items by modifying the adjective with -er<\/em>, more, <\/em>or less<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Base adjective: fast<\/em><\/p>\n

Comparative adjective between two items: faster<\/em><\/p>\n

Comparative adjective applied: David is a faster<\/u> runner than Richard.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It’s important to note the distinction that comparative adjectives involve only two items. If we are attributing a foremost quality to one of more than two items, we would use a superlative<\/em> adjective: Among David, Richard, and Tony, David is the fastest<\/u> <\/em>(not faster<\/em>) runner.<\/em><\/p>\n

Comparative Adjectives: Nuances<\/h2>\n

Comparative adjectives include a couple of nuances to note.<\/p>\n

One is that when we are using a comparative adjective to compare two things, one or both of the compared things may be a group.<\/p>\n

The Pacific Ocean<\/u> is larger<\/u> than all other oceans<\/u>.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

We are talking about multiple oceans, but the comparison is still one thing with another.<\/p>\n

Another nuance concerns a comparison such as the following:<\/p>\n

Taylor<\/u><\/em> is smarter<\/u> than any student<\/u> at the school.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In this context, one could infer that Taylor is not a student at the school; rather, Taylor could be outside of the school and smarter than the students who attend it.<\/p>\n

By adding the word other, <\/em>we imply that Taylor is among the students at the school:<\/p>\n

Taylor<\/u><\/em> is smarter<\/u> than any other student<\/u> at the school.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Forming Comparative Adjectives: Short<\/h2>\n

As we’ve mentioned, comparative adjectives are made by modifying them with –er, more, <\/em>or less. <\/em>Short adjectives either of one syllable or of two syllables ending in y<\/em> typically form the comparative degree by adding -er<\/em>.<\/p>\n

If the short adjective ends in the letter e<\/em>, we simply add the letter r <\/em>to form -er;<\/em> we do not add -er <\/em>to the existing final e<\/em>. For adjectives of two syllables ending in y<\/em>, we replace the y<\/em> with -ier<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Short: One syllable<\/strong><\/td>\nShort: Two syllables ending in y<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
cold<\/td>\ncolder<\/td>\nhappy<\/td>\nhappier<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
large<\/td>\nlarger (not largeer)<\/td>\ndusty<\/td>\ndustier<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
small<\/td>\nsmaller<\/td>\npretty<\/td>\nprettier<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

In some cases, the comparative form of short adjectives requires us to double the final consonant of the base adjective: big\/bigger, hot\/hotter, fit\/fitter.<\/em><\/p>\n

Forming Comparative Adjectives: Long<\/h2>\n

With some exceptions, longer adjectives for comparative purposes are generally classified as those with three or more syllables or those with two syllables that do not end in y<\/em>. We form the comparative by pairing the adjective with more<\/em> or less<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Adjective<\/strong><\/td>\nComparison more<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\nComparison less<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
relaxed<\/td>\nmore relaxed<\/td>\nless relaxed<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
expensive<\/td>\nmore expensive<\/td>\nless expensive<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
challenging<\/td>\nmore challenging<\/td>\nless challenging<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Forming Comparative Adjectives: Irregular<\/h2>\n

Comparative adjectives also include those that change form from the base word. The following are several examples of irregular comparative adjectives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Base adjective<\/strong><\/td>\nIrregular comparative<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
good\/well<\/td>\nbetter<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
bad<\/td>\nworse<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
far<\/td>\nfarther\/further<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Comparative Adjectives: Both Forms<\/h2>\n

Some comparative adjectives can both take the -er<\/em> form and be part of a more <\/em>or less <\/em>construction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
Adjective<\/strong><\/td>\nComparison -er<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\nComparison more<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\nComparison less<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
clever<\/td>\ncleverer<\/td>\nmore clever<\/td>\nless clever<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
simple<\/td>\nsimpler<\/td>\nmore simple<\/td>\nless simple<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Related Topic<\/h3>\n

Adjectives and Adverbs: Forms for Comparison<\/a><\/p>\n

Pop Quiz<\/h2>\n

Using what you know about comparative adjectives, convert each adjective in parentheses into its proper comparative form. For comparative adjectives paired with more<\/em> or less<\/em>, you can choose either modifier.<\/p>\n

1. Thomas is (funny) than Robin.<\/p>\n

2. Lizette is (intelligent) than Marissa.<\/p>\n

3. The stitching of this quilt is (elaborate) than that one.<\/p>\n

4. These flowers make me (happy) than those.<\/p>\n

5. The critics have said that the movie sequel is (bad) than the original film.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Pop Quiz Answers<\/h3>\n

1. Thomas is funnier <\/strong>than Robin.<\/p>\n

2. Lizette is more intelligent<\/strong> (or less intelligent<\/strong>) than Marissa.<\/p>\n

3. The stitching of this quilt is more elaborate<\/strong> (or less elaborate<\/strong>) than that one.<\/p>\n

4. These flowers make me happier<\/strong> than those.<\/p>\n

5. The critics have said that the movie sequel is worse <\/strong>than the original film.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Most adjectives have three forms or degrees: the positive, the comparative, and the superlative. In this discussion, we’ll take a closer look at comparative adjectives. A comparative adjective compares two items by modifying the adjective with -er, more, or less. Base adjective: fast Comparative adjective between two items: faster Comparative adjective applied: David is a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4975","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adjectives-adverbs"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4975"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4975"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4975\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4985,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4975\/revisions\/4985"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4975"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4975"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4975"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}