Page 104 - English Expedition Class 2

Grammar

Degrees of Comparison

Read the following sentence.

All Dipa wanted was to win medals and become the best.

Here, the word best suggests a comparison (the best of all the athletes). The adjective good
has been used in a different form to show this comparison.

Adjectives can be categorized into three degrees of comparison.

An adjective that does not show any comparison is said to be in the positive degree.
bright hot tall

An adjective that shows comparison between two things is said to be in the comparative
degree. These are made by adding -er to the positive adjectives.

brighter hotter taller

An adjective that indicates comparison of more than two things is said to be in the
superlative degree. These are made by adding -est. We always use the article the with the
superlative adjective.

the brightest the hottest the tallest

When the adjectives end in -e, just add -r or -st.

late later latest

When the adjective ends with a consonant, we sometimes double the last letter and add -er
or -est to form its comparative and superlative forms.

wet wetter wettest

When the adjective ends in -y, change the y to i and add -er or -est.

heavy heavier heaviest
Some words use more and most to form the comparative and the superlative degrees,

respectively.

difficult more difficult most difficult
careful more careful most careful

handsome more handsome most handsome

Some adjectives do not follow any pattern to make their comparative and superlative
forms. Their comparative and superlative forms are different from their original forms.

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