The Comparison of the Adjectives

I. Short Adjectives

A. Adjectives made up of one syllable:

Tall –tall er - the tall est

Tom is tall.

Tom is as tall as his brother.

Tom is not as tall as his brother./Tom is not so tall as his brother.

Tom is taller than his brother.

Tom is the tallest in his family.

Young – young er – the young est

Mary is young

Mary is as young as her friend/Mary is not so young as her friend.

Mary is younger than her sister.

Mary is the youngest in her family.

Double consonant: - big – bigger – the biggest- fat – fatter – the fattest- fit –fitter – the fittest- hot – hotter –the hottest- red –redder –the reddest- thin – thinner – the thinnest- sad – sadder – the saddest- wet –wetter-the wettest

B. Adjectives made up of two syllables ending in:

1. Y: busy – busier – the busiest noisy – noisier – the noisiest

funny –funnier –the funniest

easy –easier – the easiest

heavy – heavier – the heaviest

healthy – healthier – the healthiest

wealthy – wealthier – the wealthiest

friendly – friendlier –the friendliest

2. ER: clever – cleverer – the cleverest

3. OW: narrow – narrower – the narrowest

4. BLE/PLE/TLE: noble – nobler – the noblest simple – simpler – the simplest

gentle –gentler – the gentlest

C. Irregular comparison:

GOOD –BETTER –THE BEST

BAD/ILL – WORSE – THE WORST

MUCH/MANY – MORE - THE MOST

LITTLE –LESS (LESSER) –THE LEAST

I usually drink little coffee./I drink less coffee than you.

This is a lesser character in the novel.

FAR –FARTHER (FURTHER) –THE FARTHEST

I live farther than you from the center of the city.

I would like some further information.

OLD –OLDER (ELDER) – THE OLDEST (ELDEST)

He is older than me.

His older friend is an architect.

My elder sister is three years older than me.

His eldest son lives in Paris.

LATE – LATER – THE LATEST

LATTER – THE LAST

He came later than usual.

What is the latest news?

What is the latest fashion in Paris?

Tom and John are brothers. The former is tall the latter is short.

He was the last to come.

This is Ana Blandiana’s latest novel.

This is Marin Preda’s last novel.

NEAR – NEARER – THE NEAREST/THE NEXT

This the nearest shop.

Take the next turning to the right.

Old – old er – the old est

My grandfather is old/My grandfather is as old as my grandmother/My father is not so old as my grandfather.

My grandfather is older than my grandmother.

My grandfather is the oldest in the family.

II. LONG ADJECTIVES:

Interesting – more interesting – the most interesting

This book is very interesting/The book is as interesting as the film/The book is not so interesting as the film.

The book is more interesting than the film.

This is the most interesting book I have ever read.

Beautiful – more beautiful – the most beautiful

Difficult – more difficult – the most difficult

Exciting – more exciting – the most exciting

To talk about people or things that are different in some specific ways we use:

a. Comparative forms of adjective+than

I think listening is more difficult than reading.

- for small differences: a bit, a little, slightlye.g. You need to work a little harder.

- for big differences: much, a lot, far, a lot, a great deale.g. My new car is much faster than the old one.

b. Superlative forms of adjectives: by far, possible, imaginable

He is by far the best student in our class.This is the best possible solution to your problem.That was the greatest imaginable difficulty.

c. less........than and the least

In our country rugby is less popular than football.

That’s my least favourite singer.

d. As.......as

He is as intelligent as his sister.

He is not as intelligent as his sister.

He is not so intelligent as his sister.

Almost, nearly, just, twice, three times

There were nearly twice as many people at the party as last year.

e. When we speak about two people or two objects we use the comparative instead of the superlative:

Of the two brothers, Tom is more intelligent and more hardworking.

This is the better composition of the two.

f. Comparative+comparative/din ce in ce mai

It is getting hotter and hotter.

It is getting darker and darker.

It is getting colder and colder.

g. The +comparative, the +comparative/cu cat…….cu atat

The sooner, the better.

The more money I have, the faster I spend it.

The longer we were walking, the hungrier we were getting.

Grammar Practice:

1. Supply the comparative or superlative form of the adjective in brackets:

1. He is (lazy) student in the class.

2. She is looking for a (big) flat than the one she has now.

3. Jane is (good) cook I know.

4. He is much (familiar) with modern painting than with modern music.

5. What is the (late) news of him?

6. The Tempest is Shakespeare’s (late) play.

7. He wasn’t able to get (far) information at the railway station.

8. He lives (far) from the city center than us.

9. His (old) sister is three years (old) than him.

10. His (old) son lives in Paris.

11. He had a word with a (little) personage in the police force.

12. The weather in Florida is (hot) than the weather in Montana.

13. She earns much (little) money than her sister does.

14. My work is bad, but yours is much (bad).

15. If you want to get to the market, take (near) turning to the left.

16. You can buy some stamps at the (near) post-office.

17. Soon she realized that she was in the (out) danger.

18. The new lodger took one of the (up) rooms.

19. He preferred the (fore) alternative to the (late).