COMPARISON

There are three degrees of comparison:

The Positive: used when speaking of, or describing something.
The big red book.

The Comparative: used when comparing two things, or when comparing

something(s) with other things.
The red book is bigger than the green one(s).
The red book is bigger than the green or blue one(s).
The red books are bigger than the green ones, or the blue ones.

The Superlative: used when comparing more than two things, or when one part
of a group is compared with the whole group, or other groups.
The red book is the biggest (of all).
The red book is the biggest of all the red ones.
This is the biggest red book I’ve ever seen.

The comparative and superlative of adjectives of one syllable is formed by

adding -er or -est.
Pattern for adjectives of one syllable:
fast faster fastest
long longer longest
green greener greenest

The comparative and superlative of adjectives of three or more syllables is

formed by adding “more” or “most”.
Pattern for adjectives of three or more syllables:
beautiful more beautiful most beautiful
comfortable more comfortable most comfortable
interesting more interesting most interesting

Adjectives of two syllables can follow either of the above rules.

Adjectives of two syllables that end in -y, -ly, -ow, -le, -er, -ure, and
certain common adjectives such as “quiet”, “polite”, form the comparative and
superlative by adding -er and -est:

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 funny* funnier funniest *Notice “y” changes to
“i” + -er
lively livelier liveliest
narrownarrower narrowest
simple simpler simplest
clever cleverer cleverest
secure securer securest

Most adjectives ending in “y” add -er and -est but “guilty” is formed with
“more” and “most”. In the same way, “eager” although it has an -er ending is
formed with “more” and “most” and not in the usual way.

Adjectives of two syllables that end in -ful, -less, -re, -ie, -ate, -ish, -ous, -
ing form the comparative and superlative by adding “more” and “most”. Also
certain adjectives ending in -n: “foreign”, “solemn”:
careful more careful most careful
hopeless more hopeless most hopeless
sombremore sombre most sombre
public more public most public
private more private most private
childish more childish most childish
recent more recent most recent
famous more famous most famous
boring more boring most boring

The following adjectives form the comparative and superlative in a

completely irregular way:
good better* best
bad worse* worst
little less least
many/much more most
far farther farthest (distance)
further furthest (extra or additional)
old older oldest
elder eldest (people)

*Comparison of health: well/ill better/worse.

He was very ill last week, but now he’s getting better.
She wasn’t very well this morning, and now she’s feeling worse.

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USES OF COMPARATIVES AND SUPERLATIVES.

When we make a comparison of equals, we use:

as*....(positive) as ....
not as/not so ...(positive) as ....
Rome is as beautiful as Paris.
San Francisco is not as big as Los Angeles.
* Sometimes the first “as” is dropped in an informal style:
I’m cold as ice.

With the comparative form of adjectives, we use:

.... (comparative) than
Los Angeles is bigger than San Francisco.
Paris is more* beautiful than Lille.
Lille is less* beautiful than Paris.

*To modify comparatives, “much more/many more/far more/ much

less/far less” are used:
Lille is much less beautiful than Paris.
There are far more people in Tokyo than in Paris.

With the superlative form of adjectives, we use:

the .... (superlative) ....
Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world.
Shakespeare is the most famous of English writers.

“Not so/as many/much as ... = more than”

Not as many people came to the meeting this week as last week
= There were more people at the meeting last week than this week.*
More tobacco was sold in 1982 than in 1983.
= Not as much** tobacco was sold in 1983 as in 1982.
* Often the last part of the sentence can be omitted as the meaning is plain
within the situation.
There were more people at the meeting last week (the speaker is
obviously comparing the situation last week with this week’s).
** Remember “much” with non-count nouns.
Double comparatives.

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 Double comparatives are used to show a parallel increase or decrease:
the + (comparative) ... the + (comparative)
The more he earns, the more he spends.
The less they pay him, the slower he works.
The colder it is, the faster he runs.

The comparative can also be repeated for emphasis:

(comparative) and (comparative)
The weather was getting hotter and hotter.
We were feeling more and more exhausted.
It became less and less interesting to go out.

“Than” or “as” followed by a pronoun.

In formal written English, the pronoun after “than” or “as” is used in the
subject form, because it is considered to be the subject of the verb even if the verb
is nor expressed. In informal spoken English the object form is generally used.
He is more careful than l. (subject) (formal English).
He is more careful than me. (object) (informal English).

Often the verb is expressed, and then the subject form is used in both
formal and informal English:
He is not as old as she is.
She has more power than l have.

When the objects of two clauses are being compared then the object form
is used for both:
l like you better than him.

“Like” and “as”.

In a simple comparison “like” is placed before nouns and pronouns:
He eats with chopsticks like the Chinese.

If the noun or pronoun is followed by a verb, “as” must be used and not
“like”*:
He eats with chopsticks as they do in China.
* In informal English it is possible to use “like” in a similar way to “as”.
Nobody dances like you do. (informal)

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 Nobody dances as well as you do. (formal English).

Comparatives and superlatives of adverbs.

The patterns used for the comparison of adjectives are also used for the
comparison of adverbs.
He writes as carefully as Mary.
She drives better than her sister.
Charles ran the fastest.

For the comparative and superlative form of all one-syllable adverbs use -
er and -est; also for the adverb “early”:
Could you come earlier?
The earliest l can come is 10 o’clock.

For all other adverbs use “more” and “most”.

Positive Comparative Superlative
soon sooner soonest
fast faster fastest
slowly more slowly most slowly
carefully more carefully most carefully

These adverbs have an irregular comparative and superlative form:

well better best
badly worse worst
late later latest/last
little less least
much more most*
far farther (distance) farthest
* “most” before an adjective or an adverb can also mean “very”.
You are most welcome.
She was most apologetic.

EXERCISES

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1. Complete the following table.
Positive Comparative Superlative
Example: long longer longest
1. good _______________ _______________
2. generous _______________ _______________
3. _______________ worse _______________
4. _______________ _______________ most hopeful
5. obscure _______________ _______________
6. _______________. farther _______________
7. happy _______________ _______________
8. _______________ _______________ least
9. _______________ more girlish _______________
10. yellow _______________ _______________

2. Correct the following sentences.

1. Bob was the biggest of the twins.
2. You could not meet a more kinder lady.
3. The patient made the wonderfulest recovery.
4. Mary was as old like Jane.
5. Who is the tallest, Jack or Betty?
6. The more bright students do not always do well in tests.
7. The weather is colder as last week.
8. The noise in Rome is far worst than in Florence.

3. Change the following sentences.

1. More people live in New York than in Washington.
Not _________________________________________________________
2. Not as many people go to the movies nowadays as went in the 1940’s.
More people __________________________________________________
3. Not as much coffee is drunk by young people as sodas.
More young people ___________________________________________
4. More people are health conscious nowadays than they were 20 years ago.

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 Not ________________________________________________________
5. More butter is eaten in America than in Europe.
Not ________________________________________________________
6. Not as many people were unemployed in Britain in the 1970’s as in the 1980’s.
Many more __________________________________________________
7. More students attend college in America than in Europe.
Not ________________________________________________________
8. Not as many students took arts courses last year as science courses.
More _______________________________________________________

4. Complete these sentences with the correct form of the adjectives in

parentheses.
1. The less he works, _______________ (happy) he is.
2. The bigger the car, _______________ (fast) you can go.
3. _______________ (fresh) it is, _______________ (good) it will taste.
4. _______________ (much) you eat, _______________ (fat) you will get.
5. _______________ (little) you spend, _______________ (much) you save.
6. It was becoming _______________ (cold) and _______________ (cold).
7. l was getting more and _______________ (excited).
8. The weather was bad and getting _______________(bad) and
_______________ (bad).

5. Use “as” or “like” correctly in these sentences.

1. John swims __________ a fish.
2. Can you eat raw fish __________ they do in Japan?
3. David works __________ a slave.
4. When in Rome do __________ the Romans do.
5. Women still cover their heads in some countries __________ they did in the
past.
6. She cooks just __________ her mother.
7. My brother isn’t much __________ me.
8. He is clever __________ his grandfather was.

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6. Write the following sentences correctly.
1. He arrived more late than his boss.
2. Instead of slowing down, he drove more fastly.
3. He did this test easily than the one before.
4. She drives worst than I on the freeway.
5. Try and come more early tomorrow.
6. He ran quicker than all the others.
7. Peter works most hard of all.
8. He did very bad in the examination.

7. Identify the one underlined word or phrase A or B that should be

corrected or rewritten.
1. California, with a population of more than 23 million, is the more populous
state in America. A B
2. The gorilla is much in danger of extinction as is the giant tortoise.
A B
3. Which plant is the hardier to survive a long, dry summer: the ivy, the fern or
the cactus? A B
4. In man, yellow - blue colour blindness is less common as red – green colour
blindness. A B
5. The family-sized farm is no longer economically competitive like it was in the
19th century. A B
6. The area of the United States is divided into 50 states, of which the largest is
Alaska and the most small is Rhode Island. A
B
7. Predators are lesser of a danger than farmers think.
A B
8. The high the rate of inflation, the higher the price of commodities.
A B
9. Los Angeles and San Francisco are two of the more visited cities on the West
Coast. A B
10. Not as many children read books as a recreational activity than they used to.
A B
11. Drugs sold over the counter are much more better packaged now than they
used to be. A B
12. The electron microscope is a newer and far complexer research tool than the
A B
light microscope, magnifying cells up to 200,000 times.

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13. Some animals need more highlier developed sense cells than man to survive in
their struggle for existence. A B
14. Lesser than a decade after the beginning of the 20th century, San Francisco
A B
was ruined by an earthquake.
15. The first settlers planted corn, ate pumpkins and squash like the American
Indians did. A B
16. Computers, a fastly growing industry, are affecting the everyday lives of most
A B
people in industrialized countries.
17. General Grant was not an aristocrat like General Lee and did not have the
privileges like Lee had in his life. A
B
18. The yield of grain from a hectare of corn is several times high as that from a
hectare of wheat. A B
19. The sequoia trees, some of which are more than 3,000 years old, are among
the largest and old trees in the world.
A B

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