56Int043002bbackup Roland Trego revised 5/25/2014 10:42:12 AM

Comparison of Adjectives and Adverbs

1. An adjective usually tells what kind of. We need some red wine. (What kind of wine do we need?)

It describes a noun (a person, place, or thing). It says what something is like.

This wine is good. (What is the wine like?)

2. An adverb usually tells how (how much, how far, how long…), when, where, or why. It can

describe (tell more about) a verb, an adjective, or another adverb.

He drives slowly. How does he drive? The adverb tells more about drive (a verb).

He is a very slow driver. How slow a driver is he? The adverb describes slow (an adjective).

He drove very slowly. How slowly did he drive? The adverb describes slowly (an adverb).

3. To form adverbs, you usually add -ly to the adjective.

adjective adverb adjective adverb

frequent frequent ly quick quickly

clear clear ly slow slowly

4. Some adjectives and adverbs are irregular.

adjectives This is a good wine. She is a better teacher. This is the best grammar text.

adjectives This is a bad composition. She is a worse driver than he is. They are the worst

students in the class.

adverbs He speaks well. She speaks better than he does. Of all the students, he writes the best.

adverbs Manager #1 handled the situation badly. Manager #2 handled it worse than

Manager #1. Manager #3 handled it the worst.

adverbs It is located far from here. (Where is it located?) They drove farther than we did.

Sheila swam the farthest; she swam all the way across the river!

5. To form the comparative of adverbs ending in - ly, insert more/less before the adverb. To form the

superlative of adverbs ending in - ly, insert the most/the least before the adverb.

frequent ly more frequently/less frequently the most frequently/the least frequently

clear ly more clearly/less clearly the most clearly/the least clearly

6. If an adjective and adverb are the same or have one syllable, the comparative and superlative forms

are the same.

adjectives Flying is fast. It is faster than driving. It is the fastest way to go.

adverbs He drove fast. He drove faster than I did. She drove the fastest of us all.

adjective adverb adjective adverb

fast fast faster the fastest

hard hard harder the hardest

high high higher the highest

7. Some comparative adverbs have two forms which are both correct. Since you are an ESL student,

it’s probably best to use the -ly form so you don’t get confused.

I drive more quickly (or: quicker) than you. He speaks more slowly (or: slower) than I do.

adjective comparative OR: Notes:

quick more quickly quicker adjectives: fast = rapid = quick

slow more slowly slower comparative adverbs:

loud more loud ly louder faster = more rapidly = quicker = more quickly

adverb superlative OR:

quickly the most quickly the quickest superlative: the fastest = the quickest =

slowly the most slowly the slowest the most rapidly =the most quickly