Degrees of Comparison
What isComparison?
The grammatical structure of comparison has three degrees:
1. Positivedegree
2. Comparativedegree
3. Superlativedegree
Let us understand how these degrees are used to compare adjectives and adverbs.
The Positive Degree
The positive degree is used to draw a comparison at a same level.
• Bhushan isas tall ashis cousin Jitesh.
• This restaurant isas expensive asthe one we went to lastmonth.
• Gaurav ranas fast asSushant at therace.
The positive degree is formed by using the adjective or the adverb with the correlative conjunctions
‘as…as’.
The Comparative Degree
The comparative degree is used to compare two unequal qualities or quantities.
• Mount Everest istaller thanMountFuji.
• Ayush wasquieter thanhis sister at thepicnic.
The comparative degree is formed by adding the suffix ‘-er’ + ‘than’ to the adjective or the adverb.
However, for some adjectives and adverbs, instead of the suffix, the words ‘more’ or ‘less’
are used to show the comparative form.
• A dog ismore faithful thana cat as a pet (≠faithfuller)
• Jaya wasmore hardworking thanher brother in school. (≠harderworking)
• Faisal feltless important thanSumit in his group. (≠importanter)
• Rohit wasless active thanPramila during the warm-up sessions. (≠activer)
Finally, the comparative forms of some irregular adjectives and adverbs are completely
different from the original.
• She was as goodas Sharon in the dancecompetition.
• She was betterthan Sharon in the dancecompetition.
The Superlative Degree
The superlative degree is used to show the highest or the lowest quality or quantity of an adverb or an
adjective.
• Rahim is theoldestmember of thegroup.
• The man in the blue shirt was theearliestto arrive for theinterview.
The superlative is formed by adding the suffix ‘-est’ to the adjective or the adverb.
The superlative forms of some irregular adjectives and adverbs are completely different from the original.
• She was the bestcandidate at thecompetition.
• Parag was the leastaffected by the loss in thefamily.
Note the use of the before the words used in the superlative form. Superlative adjectives and adverbs take the
definite article before them as the superlative form is the only one of a series.
Special Adjectives
Some adjectives are special and can have two forms of comparison:
• -er/est
• more/most
Let us look at some examples:
Examples
