Degree

Am I smarter?

Or the smartest?

This presentation

covers appropriate comparative

and superlative

forms of adjectives

and adverbs.

BETWEEN THOSE TWO FRIENDS, YOLANDA IS TALLEST.

Comparative• Forms include -er adjectives and the

words better, worse, more, and less.•Use with two items.

Between those two friends, Yolanda is taller.

Not the tallest! Use -er when you

have only two!

OF ALL OF HER FRIENDS, YOLANDA IS MORE GREGARIOUS.

Superlative• Forms include -est adjectives and the

words best, worst, most, and least.•Use with three or more items.

Of all of her friends, Yolanda is the most gregarious.

What can I say — I’m a

people person!

WE SAW THAT THOMAS MADE AN A ON THE DIFFICULT TEST. HE IS THE MOST HAPPIEST STUDENT IN PROFESSOR ORSINI’S CLASS.

Do not use a double comparative or superlative!

We saw that Thomas made an A on the difficult test. He is the most happiest student in Professor Orsini’s class.

We saw that Thomas made an A on the difficult test. He is the most happy student in Professor Orsini’s class.

Most happy or happiest — not

both!

Know the correct forms.

One-syllable words usually

take -er or -est:Nice, nicer,

nicest!Words with

three or more syllables use more, most,

less, and least.For example,

more interesting or

least interesting.

Two-syllable words vary: lazier but

more handsome.

Incorrect

It is more sunnier today than it was yesterday.

It is sunnier today than it was yesterday. Correct- It is more sunny today than it was

yesterday.Mary is the wealthier of the three.Correct- Mary is the wealthiest of the three

The two Presidents had the same political agenda, but the older of the two had the most cooperative Congress and was thus able to pass more legislation.a. No changeb. Older of the two had the more cooperative

Congress and was able to pass more c. Oldest of the two had the more cooperative

Congress and was able to pass more

Be sure the two objects being compared are alike. You cannot compare a truck to a town, a novel to a thumb tack, or a flashlight to a closet.

Illogical comparisons can occur as the result of an intro phrase or clause.

(i) Like most desks at work, Spence has a red stapler on his.

Spence’s desk, like most desks at work, has a red stapler.

Like most desks at work, Spence’s desk has a red stapler.

A) Completed sometime between 480 and 450 BC, the play Oedipus Rex by Sophocles B)is much C)more foreboding than fourteenth-century D) William Shakespeare. E) No error

D comparing play to Shakespeare

Sometimes not parallel

While the company insists that A) its starting salary for a man B.) is the same as a C.) woman in the same job, the watch dog group found a D) significant gender gap. E) no error

`

X is the same for y as for zCurrently says Salary is the same for a man

as a woman. CWhile the company insists that its starting

salary for a man is the same as for a woman in the same job, the watchdog group found a significant gender wage gap.

Two objects must be compared

Your room is larger. (i)Your room is larger than my basement.I prefer orange juice. (i)I prefer orange juice to milk.Her rose’s fragrant odor is less noticeable

than Ted’s. (i)Her rose’s fragrant odor is less noticeable than Ted’s rose.

The grand champion greyhound, owned by Mrs. S had a longer tail than Mr. Trice’s.

A. correctB. has a longer tail than Mr.TriceC. had the longest tailD. had the longest tail when compared to Mr.

Trice’s greyhoundE. had a longer tail than the greyhound

owned by Mr. Trice

e

Skateboarding in New York, (A) unlike California, (B) is usually (C) hampered by busy streets and (D) crowded sidewalks. (E) No Error.

Therefore, the correct answer here is (A). The sentence would be more properly rewritten as the following:

Skateboarding in New York, unlike skateboarding in California, is usually hampered by busy streets and crowded sidewalks.

Because the volcanoes on the island of Hawaii a) are more active b) than other islands,c) it is the center d)for geological studies. E)No Error.

The comparison here is illogical. The sentence compares the more active volcanoes to other islands, not to volcanoes on the other islands. The corrected sentence would read more active than those on other islands. The correct answer is B.

My essay about the Harlem Renaissance, which was well-crafted and organized, far surpassed Katie.

My essay about the Harlem Renaissance, which was well-crafted and organized, far surpassed Katie’s essay.

My essay about the Harlem Renaissance, which was well-crafted and organized, far surpassed that of Katie.