Fragile degrees of comparison. Comparison of qualitative adjectives in English

As in Russian, so in English language adjectives have three degrees of comparison: positive, comparative, superlative.

As can be seen from the examples given, the comparative and superlative degrees of adjectives in English are formed in three ways:
1) adding suffixes - er And - est to the basic form (synthetic);
2) through the use of words more/less And most/least before the main form (analytical);
H) by forming degrees of comparison from different roots. Before adjectives in superlatives comparisons are made the.
definite article
The rules for choosing a method for forming degrees of comparison are very simple. Synthetic method - er (using suffixes est for comparative degree and -

• for superlatives) applies to: all one-syllable adjectives: tall – taller – the tallest; fat – fatter – the fattest . The exceptions are: like – similar – more like – the most like; real - real -;
• more real – the most real – all two-syllable adjectives ending in : at

happy – happier – the happiest; funny – funnier – the funniest. – Two-syllable adjectives ending in , - le , - er ow and two-syllable adjectives with stress on the second syllable (except: exact moreand two-syllable adjectives with stress on the second syllable (except: – themostand two-syllable adjectives with stress on the second syllable (except:- accurate - only ), as well as adjectives, common, handsome, pleasant, solid, quiet, wicked, cruel, stupid tired

For almost all of these words, the analytical method of forming degrees of comparison is preferable.
Adjectives formed with a negative prefix un- from two-syllable adjectives to -all two-syllable adjectives ending in, can also have two forms of degrees of comparison: unhappy - unhappy, unhappy - unhappier/moreunhappy -theunhappiest/themostunhappy.
When forming degrees of comparison using suffixes - er And
-est The following spelling rules are observed:
if the adjective ends in silent - e , then when adding - er and - silent - e omitted: mature – ripe -rippertheripest;
If an adjective ends in a consonant preceded by a short vowel sound, then in the comparative and superlative degrees the final consonant is doubled: big – bigger – thebiggest; hot – hotter – thehottest; thin – thinner – thethinnest;
if the adjective ends in - all two-syllable adjectives ending in with a preceding consonant, then in the comparative and superlative degree - all two-syllable adjectives ending in goes into - i -: dirty -dirtier -thedirtiest;busy -busier -thebusiest;easy – easyeasier –theeasiest. If before -all two-syllable adjectives ending in there is a vowel, then - all two-syllable adjectives ending in remains unchanged: cheerful – gaygayerthegayest.
Most two-syllable adjectives, as well as adjectives consisting of three or more syllables, form the comparative degree using the word Thatre- more , and the superlative degree - with the help themost- most. For example: beautiful - beautiful – more beautiful – the most beautiful, frequent – frequent – ​​more frequent – ​​the most frequent.
Analytical method forming degrees of comparison using words less- less and theleast- least applicable to all qualitative adjectives without exception. For example: capable - able – less able – the least able; interesting - interesting – less interesting – the least interesting.
Adjectives good,much,many,late,near,old,far form degrees of comparison from different roots:

Adjectives far,old,near,late have double degrees of comparison. Formsthefarthest farther/
are used to mean distance range:Welivethefarther insideof the town. - We live on distant

end of the city. Formsthefurther/ furthest further also used in the meanings: further, later; additional. Moreover, the form
, as a rule, corresponds to the meaning “additional, one more”: further Here is a example. - Here Another one
example. theeldest Adjective form elder- the eldest member of the family - is used only as a modifier of a noun. Form
- eldest in the family - never used in comparative constructions: older My brother John is three years old- (than I am). My brother John for three years older (than me). which talk not about seniority, but about the age of family members. In such cases, the forms are usedtheolder/

oldest. The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence

– The grass is always greener behind the fence. (Well, where we do not). Well, comparison is in a person’s genes. And whatever one may say, there are no comparisons.

Everything is relative

Let's figure out how English people behave when they are compared.

Let's look at them in the table.

Degrees of comparison of adjectives

(the farthest)

Rules for using comparative degrees

Let's start with the simplest, monosyllabic, very short adjectives.

Rule: When comparing, it will be added to them -er, but in a superlative degree (he is definitely a winner, the only one of his kind, hence the definite article) and -est. Also, when comparing 2 objects, we always use the word “ than" - "than", although in Russian we often do without it.

For example:

• Kate is tall er than Tina (Kate is taller than Tina/Tina).
• Albert is rich er than his brother. (Albert is richer than his brother/his brother)
• It looks better. (It looks better)
• He is the tall est in his family. (He is the tallest in the family)

Important! Pay attention to the words - since they consist of one syllable and end with one consonant, and before it there is one vowel, such a consonant is doubled in comparison and superiority - bigger, thinner, fitter, fatter, etc.

Adjectives ending in -y

Rule: If the adjective ends in -y(and it doesn’t matter in this case how many syllables it has), then comparison and superiority will be formed in the same way as short adjectives, only in writing -y will change to i.

For example:

• You look happy Happ, than before. (You look happier than before).
• He is slopp Happ than his sister. (He is messier than his sister).
• It's the tack happy thing I've ever seen! (this is the most tasteless thing I've ever seen!)

If 2 or more syllables

Rule: If the adjectives are long (2 or more syllables), then adding anything else to them will simply be too much of a clutter for the laconic English. So they just add words to them more(“more”) - more interesting - in comparison and the most("most") - the most interesting - in excellence.

Important! Only if in Russian our freedom of language allows us to do this in different ways (for example, you can say “more subtle”, or you can say “more subtle”), then in more strict English you cannot show such liberties.

For example:

• Work is always more important for him. (Work is always more important to him)
• This book is more useful than that one. (This book is more useful than that (book).
• It's the most exciting sport! (This is the most exciting sport!)

No exceptions

Exceptions are very easy to remember - these are one of the most commonly used words, and they are always heard. And “good” and “bad” are exceptions in our language (“better”, “worse”).

• Do your best! (Try to do your best/the best you can).
• It's getting worse and worse... (It gets worse and worse).

I hope things are working out for you now with adjectives. better and better, I wish you always do your best, especially in learning English, be the happiest and the luckiest!

Watch our video lesson on the topic of comparative degrees of adjectives:

In general, teaching is such a colossal exchange of energy with students that at some point you fall into euphoria, from what you are doing and from the students, it’s cool when everyone is on the same wavelength.

Degrees of comparison of adjectives in English are one of the simplest grammatical topics. The reason is that the existing degrees of comparison and methods of their formation largely coincide with those in the Russian language. As in Russian, in English there are two degrees of comparison: comparative And excellent. According to another classification, there is also a positive one - this is the usual form of adjectives.

Comparative forms in English

How are degrees of comparison formed? There are two ways to form degrees of comparison: analytical (adding words) and synthetic (adding suffixes). Choice the right way

• formation depends on the adjectives themselves:
• for a monosyllabic (simple) - we use a synthetic method of formation

for polysyllabic - the analytical method.

Let's look at all this in detail, giving examples.

Monosyllabic adjectives and a synthetic method for comparing them
Almost all simple adjectives in English form comparatives using suffixes:

1. table of adjective degrees There are several cases where adding suffixes requires minor changes to the word itself:
   • If in a monosyllabic adjective there is a short vowel sound before the final consonant, then we double it:
     
2. Big - bigger - the biggest
   • The final silent -e goes before -er, -est:
3. Nice - nicer - the nicest
   • The final letter -y is replaced by -i, provided that the -y is preceded by a consonant:

Dry - drier - the dries

• If there is a vowel before -y in a word, there will be no substitutions:

Gray - greyer - the greyest
Let's summarize. In the following picture you will see the extreme simple diagram Formation of degrees of comparison of simple adjectives in English.

degrees of comparison of simple adjectives in English

There are no rules that have no exceptions There is a small list of exceptions from general rule
: these words completely change their roots:
list of exceptions There is another type of exception, which is a small list of words that have two possible options for forming degrees, each of which has its own semantic characteristics. You need to know them for correct use in context: Adjectives with two formation of degrees As for two-syllable adjectives, some of them form their own comparative forms, like monosyllabic ones - by adding - er And - est. These include those that

1. End with:
   • -le:

   narrow - narrower - the narrowest

   • -Two-syllable adjectives ending in:

   simple - simpler - the simplest

   • -er:

   tender - tenderer - the tenderest

   happy - happier - the happiest

2. They have two syllables and the stress falls on the second:
   severe - severer - the severest
3. Three-syllable adjectives with a prefix -un
   untidy - untidier - the untidiest

Polysyllabic adjectives and the analytical method for comparing them

Now the time has come to deal with analytical method formation of comparative degrees in English. This method involves changing the meaning of a word without any changes in itself, but by adding another word to it, which will change its semantic and grammatical characteristics.

1. An adverb is added more(more) if we compare the qualities of two objects, one of which is superior to the other:
   Anya is more obedient than Katya
2. Adverb most(most) is used when indicating the most top level qualitative characteristics subject:
   Anya is the most obedient

You may be wondering why not all adjectives in English follow the same form of degree formation. The fact is that adding suffixes to already long words is completely inconvenient, since they will lengthen them even more.
Polysyllabic adjectives To reinforce the material, watch the following videos:

comparative is needed mainly to compare some things with others. After all, you must agree that it would be difficult to explain without comparing any objects. Every day in our dialect such comparative adjectives as “beautiful, better, warmer, colder, cooler, etc.” are scrolled through, we just may not notice it. Therefore, the entire topic below is important for digestibility and is presented with accessible simplicity.

How to turn a positive adjective into a comparative adjective?

First, let's figure out what is the positive degree of an adjective? It's simple. The positive degree of an adjective is the original form of an adjective that indicates the quality of an object and is used without any comparison with other objects. Eg:

• It's beautiful day – Beautiful day.
• My teacher is very young - My teacher is too young.
• They're very friendly people – They are very friendly people.
• It's an expensive restaurant - This is an expensive restaurant.
• The rooms are very small – The rooms are very small.

Another question may arise here. What is the comparative degree of an adjective? And here everything is even simpler. A comparative adjective is a form of an adjective that indicates the quality of one thing in relation to another thing. For example:

• Vegetables are cheaper than meat – Vegetables are cheaper than meat.
• This bag of potatoes is heavier than that bag of tomatoes – This bag of potatoes is heavier than that bag of tomatoes.
• Spain is warmer than England – Spain is warmer than England.
• This new car is faster than my old one – This new car is faster than my old one.
• Sarah is older than her brother – Sarah is older than her brother.

Feel the difference? Now we will return to the main question: how to convert an adjective from a positive degree to a comparative degree?

When converting, the standard for all adjectives is to add the suffix “-er” to the end of the word. For example:

In English, when making comparisons, the conjunction “than” is often used:

• The coast road to the town is shorter than the mountain road – The road along the embankment to the city is shorter than the road through the mountains.
• My father is younger than my mother - My father is younger than my mother.
• His new mobile is smaller than his old one - His new mobile phone is smaller than his old one.
• The Empire State building is taller than the Statue of Liberty - The Empire State Building is taller than the Statue of Liberty.
• Wool is warmer than cotton – Wool is warmer than cotton.

However, there are always a number of the following conversion rules that must be followed:

1. For two-syllable adjectives ending with a consonant and “-y”: change “-y” to “-i” + suffix “-er”:

Examples:

• English is easier than Japanese – English is easier than Japanese.
• My suitcase is heavier than your suitcase - My suitcase is heavier than your suitcase.
• Your car is dirtier than mine - Your car is dirtier than mine.
• His new girlfriend is prettier than your Julia - His new girlfriend is prettier than your Julia.
• Last time she was happier than today - Last time she was happier than today.

2. If a one-syllable adjective ends in a vowel and a consonant: add the last consonant + the suffix “-er”:

Examples:

• The Grand Hotel is bigger than is the Sea View Hotel – “The Grand Hotel” is bigger than “The Sea View Hotel”.
• My cup of tea is hotter than yours - My cup of tea is hotter than yours.
• Mike is fatter than John - Mike is fatter than John.
• The screw-driver is thinner than mine – This screwdriver is thinner than mine.

3. To adjectives ending in “-e”, add only one suffix “-r”:

For example:

• My arguments are truer than yours - My arguments are truer than yours.
• Her shirt is whiter than her girlfriends’ – Her shirt is whiter than her friend’s.
• Wheels of your car is larger than wheels of mine – The wheels of your car are larger than the wheels of mine.

4. Before two-syllable adjectives that do not end in “-y” and before adjectives that consist of 3 or more syllables, when converting to the comparative degree, add the service word “more” without adding a suffix:

For example:

• The train is more expensive than the bus - The train is more expensive than the bus.
• Drivers in this country are more careless than drivers in my country – Drivers in this country are more careless than drivers in my country.
• The exam today was more difficult than last year’s exam - Today’s exam was more difficult than last year’s exam.
• The students ask more intelligent questions than they did before - Students ask more intelligent questions than they asked before.
• Her second book is more interesting than her first - Her second book is more interesting than her first.

5. We also cannot do without exceptions, which, when transformed, take on a completely different form than in all of the above points:

For example:

• Ms. Davies is a better teacher than Mr. Andrews – Mrs. Davis is a better teacher than Mr. Andrews.
• These boots are worse than those that we received last year - These boots are worse than those that we were given last year.
• I’ve less money than you have - I have less money than you.
• From here to Moscow is farther than to St. Petersburg – From here it is further to Moscow than to St. Petersburg.

To strengthen the expression, we can insert adverbs such as a bit (a little), a lot (much), much (significantly) before comparative adjectives:

• She’s a lot happier now - She’s much happier now.
• I’m a bit older than you - I’m a little older than you.
• This book is much more interesting than the other one - This book is much more interesting than the others.

This concludes this post. Perhaps you would like to ask or add something to this article. If so, please leave your comment below. Good luck.