go back to ingilizceCi home page
  
 

 Comparative and Superlative form of the adjectives 

These are special forms of adjectives. They are used to compare two or more things. Generally, comparatives are formed using -er and superlatives are formed using -est .

Forming regular comparatives and superlatives

How these forms are created depends on how many syllables there are in the adjective. Syllables are like "sound beats". For instance, "sing" contains one syllable, but "singing" contains two -- sing and ing. Here are the rules:

Adjective form
Comparative
Superlative
Only one syllable, ending in E. Examples:
wide, fine, cute 		Add -R:
wider, finer, cuter 		Add -ST:
widest, finest, cutest
Only one syllable, with one vowel and one consonant at the end. Examples:
hot, big, fat 		Double the consonant, and add -ER:
hotter, bigger, fatter 		Double the consonant, and add -EST:
hottest, biggest, fattest
Only one syllable, with more than one vowel or more than one consonant at the end. Examples:
light, neat, fast 		Add -ER:
lighter, neater, faster 		Add -EST:
lightest, neatest, fastest
Two syllables, ending in Y. Examples:
happy, silly, lonely 		Change Y to I, then add -ER:
happier, sillier, lonelier 		Change Y to I, then add -EST:
happiest, silliest, loneliest
Two syllables or more, not ending in Y. Examples:
modern, interesting, beautiful 		Use MORE before the adjective:
more modern, more interesting, more beautiful 		Use MOST before the adjective:
most modern, most interesting, most beautiful

 

How to use comparatives and superlatives

Comparatives are used to compare two things. You can use sentences with than, or you can use a conjunction like but:

      Sarah is shorter than Tom.
      Sarah is tall, but Tom is taller.

Superlatives are used to compare more than two things. Superlative sentences usually use the, because there is only one superlative.

      Tom is the tallest in the class.
      Sarah is tall, and Mary is taller, but Tom is the tallest.

Comparatives and superlatives are forms of adjectives or adverbs which are used for comparing people or things.

    Positive
    Comparative
    Superlative


The word form of the positive is the adjectives or adverbs themselves. You should add 'er' for the comparative degree and 'est' for the superlative of the adjectives or adverbs of two or less syllables. For those adjectives of two or more syllables and for adverbs ending in 'ly', 'more' is used for the comparative and 'most' for the superlative.

Note: Both 'er' and 'more' forms are acceptable for some two-syllable words.

There are also some adjectives or adverbs that have irregular forms. All of these points are summarized as follows:

 
words of two of less syllables (iki heceliler)
words of more than 2 syllables(iki heceden fazla olanlar)
special words which both forms are correct (her iki biçimi de doğru olan sıradışı sıfatlar)
irregular words (düzensizler)
Positive hot important common far
Comparative hotter more important more common / commoner farther / further
Superlative hottest most important most common / commonest farthest / furthest

 

Some other words that are irregular:

Positive
Comparative
Superlative
good / well better best
bad worse worst
little less least
many more most
much more most

 

How the Superlative and Comparative is used:

Positive

It is the original form of an adjective or adverb. Its use is to modify a noun in the case of an adjective or a verb in the case of an adverb. Since only one thing is involved, there is no comparison in this degree.

Mrs. Stiles, who talks so loudly, really annoys us. (adverb)
The song on the radio is wonderful. (adjective)

Comparative

It is used when we want to compare two things.

According to the calendar, Easter is on the 22nd of May and, is a better date for a family reunion.
After he failed in English, he studied more than before.
Mary is more energetic than Sarah.

Superlative

It is used when we want to compare more than two things. It is used to indicate a person or thing that has the most pronounced quality in the group of things or people being compared.

The Sears Tower is the tallest building in Chicago.
San Diego is the nicest town in Southern California.

Other methods of comparison include using 'as...as', '...the same as...', and link verbs such as 'feel', 'be', 'look' followed by 'like'.

My hair is as white as snow.
My car is the same as yours.
Those rocks look like diamonds.