Everyday Grammar: Comparatives and Superlatives
2024-08-09
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1Adjectives describe and add information about the people or things we see every day.
2Sometimes, though, we want to know how two things compare to one another.
3Let's start with something light.
4In 1994, actors Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels made a comic film called "Dumb and Dumber."
5Audiences saw the characters do increasingly "dumb" things for laughs.
6Here, the adjective form is dumb and the comparative form is dumber.
7By adding -er to the adjective, you show the difference between two things-that one action or person is dumber than another.
8This works for adjectives that have one or two syllables such as nice or pretty.
9But when a word has three or more syllables, you cannot use the -er suffix to make a comparison.
10You cannot say a person or object is "beautifuller" than another.
11Instead, you say they are more beautiful.
12There is a rule you can remember to help with comparatives.
13If a word has more than two syllables, you do not use the suffix -er.
14Instead, you use the adverb more before the adjective of comparison.
15For example, "The test this week was more difficult than the one last week."
16Other comparatives, especially in advertising, may not directly mention which two nouns are being compared.
17The retail giant Wal-Mart has an advertisement that simply says, "live better."
18Live better than whom? So if a laundry detergent advertisement claims to make colors brighter, you may ask, "brighter than what?"
19When the nouns that are being compared are not specifically stated, you can call it an empty comparison.
20Listen for the comparative in this song by Steve Winwood.
21We walk blind and we try to see
22Falling behind in what could be
23Bring me a higher love
24Bring me a higher love...
25Watch out for irregular forms of comparatives.
26There are some common one-syllable adjectives that can be confusing.
27The adjective far is an example.
28It seems logical that the comparative of far would be farrer.
29But the comparative of far is farther.
30"My house is farther from work than yours."
31Another comparative form of far is further, as in "Her career has progressed further than his."
32Traditionally, farther refers to a distance that can be measured.
33Further refers to a distance that cannot be measured. Nowadays, many people use farther and further interchangeably.
34This confusing exception has to do with spelling and pronunciation changes in English during the Middle Ages.
35Comparatives like these do not tell us too much about the degree of comparison.
36So we can always compare things that are similar as long as they are a little different.
37For example, the planet Saturn is big--more than 116,000 kilometers across.
38But the planet Jupiter is bigger.
39On the other end of the scale, an ant, a very small insect, is longer than a mite.
40What if we are trying to make a specific comparison between many things?
41Then we use the superlative.
42The superlative describes the highest degree of something.
43The comparative of good is better.
44The superlative form is best.
45Listen to singer Tina Turner use the superlative in her hit song, "Simply the Best."
46You're the best
47Better than all the rest
48Better than anyone
49Anyone I've ever met...
50On the other end, the comparative of bad is worse, and the superlative is worst.
51Little becomes less and then there is least, comparatively speaking.
52You have to pay attention with comparative adjectives,
53but adding -est to regular adjectives gives you the superlative form.
54However, as with the comparative form, if the adjective has more than two syllables, use the most to form the superlative.
55You can hear the superlative with the most followed by a three-syllable adjective in this song by Prince.
56Could you be
57The most beautiful girl in the world
58Many Americans celebrate the Halloween holiday on the last day of October.
59Halloween is associated with the spirits of the dead and all things frightening and terrifying.
60Young people wear scary costumes.
61The time of year can be termed spooky.
62When comparing we could say one costume is spookier than another.
63But the most frightening of all is the spookiest.
64Rounding out our survey, let's look ahead to the end of the year and the Christmas holiday.
65Some might say it is the best time of the year whether for its religious significance or the spirit of giving during that holiday season.
66Some might say it is the most wonderful time of the year.
67I'm Kelly Jean Kelly. And I'm Mario Ritter.
1Adjectives describe and add information about the people or things we see every day. Sometimes, though, we want to know how two things compare to one another. 2Let's start with something light. In 1994, actors Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels made a comic film called "Dumb and Dumber." Audiences saw the characters do increasingly "dumb" things for laughs. 3Here, the adjective form is dumb and the comparative form is dumber. By adding -er to the adjective, you show the difference between two things-that one action or person is dumber than another. This works for adjectives that have one or two syllables such as nice or pretty. 4Rules for comparatives 5But when a word has three or more syllables, you cannot use the -er suffix to make a comparison. You cannot say a person or object is "beautifuller" than another. Instead, you say they are more beautiful. 6There is a rule you can remember to help with comparatives. If a word has more than two syllables, you do not use the suffix -er. Instead, you use the adverb more before the adjective of comparison. For example, "The test this week was more difficult than the one last week." 7Other comparatives, especially in advertising, may not directly mention which two nouns are being compared. The retail giant Wal-Mart has an advertisement that simply says, "live better." Live better than whom? So if a laundry detergent advertisement claims to make colors brighter, you may ask, "brighter than what?" 8When the nouns that are being compared are not specifically stated, you can call it an empty comparison. 9Listen for the comparative in this song by Steve Winwood. 10We walk blind and we try to see 11Falling behind in what could be 12Bring me a higher love 13Bring me a higher love... 14Farther and further 15Watch out for irregular forms of comparatives. There are some common one-syllable adjectives that can be confusing. The adjective far is an example. It seems logical that the comparative of far would be farrer. But the comparative of far is farther. "My house is farther from work than yours." 16Another comparative form of far is further, as in "Her career has progressed further than his." Traditionally, farther refers to a distance that can be measured. Further refers to a distance that cannot be measured. Nowadays, many people use farther and further interchangeably. This confusing exception has to do with spelling and pronunciation changes in English during the Middle Ages. 17Good, better, best 18Comparatives like these do not tell us too much about the degree of comparison. So we can always compare things that are similar as long as they are a little different. For example, the planet Saturn is big--more than 116,000 kilometers across. But the planet Jupiter is bigger. On the other end of the scale, an ant, a very small insect, is longer than a mite. 19What if we are trying to make a specific comparison between many things? Then we use the superlative. The superlative describes the highest degree of something. 20The comparative of good is better. The superlative form is best. 21Listen to singer Tina Turner use the superlative in her hit song, "Simply the Best." 22You're the best 23Better than all the rest 24Better than anyone 25Anyone I've ever met... 26Bad, worse, worst 27On the other end, the comparative of bad is worse, and the superlative is worst. Little becomes less and then there is least, comparatively speaking. You have to pay attention with comparative adjectives, but adding -est to regular adjectives gives you the superlative form. 28However, as with the comparative form, if the adjective has more than two syllables, use the most to form the superlative. You can hear the superlative with the most followed by a three-syllable adjective in this song by Prince. 29Could you be 30The most beautiful girl in the world 31Many Americans celebrate the Halloween holiday on the last day of October. Halloween is associated with the spirits of the dead and all things frightening and terrifying. Young people wear scary costumes. The time of year can be termed spooky. When comparing we could say one costume is spookier than another. But the most frightening of all is the spookiest. 32Rounding out our survey, let's look ahead to the end of the year and the Christmas holiday. Some might say it is the best time of the year whether for its religious significance or the spirit of giving during that holiday season. Some might say it is the most wonderful time of the year. 33I'm Kelly Jean Kelly. And I'm Mario Ritter. 34Mario Ritter wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English. Adam Brock and Hai Do were the editors. 35________________________________________________ 36Words in This Story 37empty comparison -n. a comparative form used without a specific comparison 38syllables -n. any one of the parts into which a word is naturally divided when it is pronounced containing a vowel and a consonant