Latin GrammarComparisonof Adjectives

Comparison of Adjectives In English, adjectives have three degrees:

1. Positive degree—old2. Comparative degree—older3. Superlative degree—oldest

Compare: new, newer, newest ugly, uglier, ugliest good, better best beautiful, more beautiful, most beautiful

Positive, Comparative, and Superlative Degrees Latin, too, has these degrees

1. longus2. longior3. longissimus

Compare: altus, altior, altissimus stultus, stultior, stultissimus bonus, melior, optimus

Comparative Degree longus, -a, -um = long To make its comparative, put –ior on its stem:

longior Other examples:

stultus ➔ stultior facilis ➔ facilior

Comparative Degree The form in –ior is actually masculine and

feminine. The neuter ends in –ius. So the full name of the comparative form is

longior, longius (or longior, -ius)

Compare:stultior, stultius (stultior, -ius)

facilior, facilius (facilior, -ius)

Declining Third Declension Adjectives.

singular plural

omnis omnis omne omnēs omnēs omnia

omnem omnem omne omnīs omnīs omnia

omnis omnis omnis omnium omnium omnium

omnī omnī omnī omnibus omnibus omnibus

omnī omnī omnī omnibus omnibus omnibus

You may remember that most third-declension adjectives are i-stems and have i-stem endings.

Declining Comparative Adjectives Comparatives are third-declension, but

they aren’t i-stems, so they use consonant stem endings.

singular plural

longior longior longius longiōrēs longiōrēs longiōra

longiōrem longiōrem longiōre longiōrēs longiōrēs longiōra

longiōris longiōris longiōris longiōrum longiōrum longiōrum

longiōrī longiōrī longiōrī longiōribus longiōribus longiōribus

longiōre longiōre longiōre longiōribus longiōribus longiōribus

SuperlativesTo make a superlative, add –issimus to the adjective stem.

Examples:longus ➔ longissimus

stultus ➔ stultissimus

audāx ➔ audācissimus

SuperlativesAll adjectives whose first form ends in –er, oddly, add –rimus.

Examples:pulcher ➔ pulcherrimus

miser ➔ miserrimus

celer ➔ celerrimus

SuperlativesAll a few adjectives that end in –ilis, like facilis and similis make their superlatives like so:

Examples:facilis ➔ facillimus

similis ➔ simillimus

Good News Superlatives are easy to decline. They all decline just like multus, -a, -um

singular plural

longissimus longissima longissimum longissimī longissimae longissima

longissimum longissimam longissimum longissimōs longissimās longissima

longissimī longissimae longissimī longissimōrum longissimārum longissimōrum

longissimō longissimae longissimō longissimīs longissimīs longissimīs

longissimō longissimā longissimō longissimīs longissimīs longissimīs

Irregular Comparatives and Superlatives Just as English has good, better, best and

bad, worse, worst, Latin has some irregular adjectives.

bonus, melior, optimus

malus, peior, pessimus

multus, plus, plūrimus

magnus, maior, maximus

The End