Adjective 2
・Comparative Adjectives
・Superlative Adjectives
Comparative Adjectives
When we talk about two things, we can "compare" them. We can see if they are the same or different. Perhaps they are the same in some ways and different in other ways. We can use comparative adjectives to describe the differences.
Points
・Comparative adjectives are used to compare 2 nouns.
・To state that one noun has more of something then the 2nd noun.
NOTE: Superlative adjectives are used to compare 3 or more nouns.
Example
・The black dog is older than the white dog.
・My house is bigger than my sister's house.
・The yellow hat is more expensive than the green hat.
Forming the comparative
1.Words of one syllable ending in 'e'.
Add -r to the end of the word.
Example
・wide - wider
・late - later
・large - larger
・wise - wiser
2.Words of one syllable, with one vowel and one consonant at the end.
Double the consonant and add -er to the end of the word.
Example
・big - bigger
・fat - fatter
・thin - thinner
・hot - hotter
3.Words of one syllable, with more than one vowel or more than one consonant at the end.
Add - er to the end of the word.
Example
・high - higher
・old - older
4.Words of two syllables, ending in 'y'.
Change 'y' to 'i', and add -er to the end of the word.
Example
・happy - happier
・easy - easier
・angry - angrier
・busy - busier
・early - earlier
5.Words of two syllables or more, not ending in 'y'.
Place 'more' before the adjective.
Example
・beautiful - more beautiful
・pleasant - more pleasant
・expensive - more expensive
・important - more important
Use of Comparative Adjectives
・We use comparative adjectives when talking about only 2 things .
・Often, the comparative adjective is followed by "than".
Example
・Danny is 1m95. He is tall. But Baba is 2m09. He is taller thanDanny.
・America is big. But Russia is bigger.
・He wants to have a more powerful gun.
・Is Japanese more difficult than Chinese?
Note:
Although we use comparative adjectives when talking about two things (not three or more things), in fact one or both of the things may be a group of things.
Example ・Mt Everest is higher than all other mountains.
Here, we are talking about hundreds of mountains, but we are still comparing one thing(Mt Everest) to one other thing (all other mountains).
NOTE 2:
Also, not to use "more" along with a comparative adjective formed with -er nor to use "most" along with a superlative adjective formed with -est
Do not write that something is more heavier or most heaviest.
It is very important that we can not use "more" and "most" with -er and -est forms at same time.
You must remember this!
NOTE 3:
The "as ~ as~" construction is used to create a comparison expressing equality
Example
・He is as foolish as he is large.
・She is as bright as her mother.
Superlative Adjectives
A superlative adjective expresses the extreme or highest degree of a quality. We use a superlative adjective to describe the extreme quality of one thing in a group of things.
Points
・Superlative adjectives are used only if 3 or more things or people are being compared.
Example
・Danny is the tallest of all the students.
・Comet is the biggest of all the dogs in the neighborhood.
・Michelle is the happiest girl in the world.
Forming the superlative
1.Words of one syllable ending in 'e'.
Add -st to the end of the word.
Example
・wide - widest
・late - latest
・large - largest
・wise - wisest
2.Words of one syllable, with one vowel and one consonant at the end.
Double the consonant and add -est to the end of the word.
Example
・big - biggest
・hot - hottest
・thin - thinnest
・fat - fattest
3.Words of 1 syllable, with more than 1 vowel or more than 1 consonant at the end.
Example
Add - est to the end of the word.
・high - highest
・old - oldest
4. Words of two syllables, ending in 'y'.
Change 'y' to 'i', and add -est to the end of the word.
Example
・happy - happiest ・easy - easiest ・angry - angriest ・busy - busiest ・early - earliest
Words of two syllables or more, not ending in 'y'.
Place 'the most' before the adjective.
Example
・beautiful - the most beautiful
・pleasant - the most pleasant
・expensive - the most expensive
・important - the most important
Use of Superlative Adjectives
We use a superlative adjective to describe one thing in a group of three or more things.
Example
・The black dog is the biggest.
・The house at the end of the street is the nicest.
・My mother's pizza is the best.
NOTE:
When we compare one thing with itself, we do not use "the":
・Asahikawa is coldest in winter. (not the coldest)
・My boss is most generous when we get a big order. (not the most generous)
Irregular adjectives
Irregular Adjective - Comparative Form - Superlative Form
good - better - best
bad - worse - worst
far - farther - farthest
little - less - least
many - more - most
Example
・Thinking is better than complaing.
・Comet is the best dog in the world.
・Becky's cooking is worse than Joey's cooking.
・Of all the students in the class, Kimmy is the worst.