Form all possible degrees of comparison of adjectives. Comparative degree of adjectives

Adjectives and adverbs in many languages ​​of the world have degrees of comparison. In English these are Positive Degree, Comparative Degree and Superlative degree, in Polish - rywny, wyższy, najwyższy, in French - le positif, le comparatif, le superlatif. The Russian language is no exception; it has positive, comparative and superlative adjectives. How are they different and what are their forms?

Degrees of comparison: types, table

Adjectives and adverbs derived from them have the ability to form degrees of comparison.

There are three of them:

• Positive.
• Comparative.
• Excellent.

Each of them expresses different level possession of an object or a special certain quality.

For example: resourceful boy ( positive), however he can be more resourceful ( comparative), and in a certain life situation and become the most resourceful ( excellent).

From which adjectives can we form degrees of comparison?

As you know, all adjectives in the Russian language are divided into several categories.

• Qualitative - means characteristics that an object or living creature can possess in different degrees: sweet, sweeter, sweetest.
• Relative - they call the signs of an object or living creature according to their relation to circumstances, actions or other persons, things: a telephone call, a wooden building.
• Possessive - indicate that something belongs to someone: Pushkin’s stanza, father’s parting words.

Only from the first category can the comparative and superlative degrees of adjectives be formed (charming - more charming, the most charming), since it is impossible to say: “a more wooden building” or “the most Pushkin stanza.”

Adverbs that come from the qualitative category of adjectives can also form degrees of comparison: cheerful - cheerfully (more cheerfully).

Comparative degree of adjectives in Russian

Before moving on to consider the comparative degree, it is worth mentioning a little about the positive degree. This is the name given to the initial degree of comparison (boring). In fact, it is considered only formally as a degree of comparison. But the next one is the comparative degree of the adjective (more boring, more boring). It serves to show that a certain object or person has a given quality in greater/lesser quantity than someone/something else. For example: “This tea is stronger (stronger) than the one we drank yesterday.”

Information about comparative forms

In the above example, you can see that the comparative degree in Russian can be formed in the following ways: using suffixes or by adding an additional word (in this example it is “more”). It turns out that we can distinguish 2 forms of the comparative degree of adjectives in the Russian language: simple and compound, or as it is sometimes called - complex.

Methods for forming a simple shape

There are several ways to form it.

• Using the suffixes -ee, -ey, -e, -she, added to the base: cheerful - more cheerful. However, it is worth remembering that if suffixes of the comparative degree of adjectives -e, -she are used, then alternation of consonants in the root of the word may occur, and the suffixes -k, -ok, -ek may be eliminated altogether. For example: narrow - narrower, ringing - louder.
• Sometimes simple form can be formed by adding the same -ee, -ey, -e, -she, as well as the prefix po-. For example: soon - quickly, quickly - quickly. Adjectives formed in this way are usually the province of colloquial speech.
• Sometimes the comparative degree of adjectives in Russian is formed using a different word stem: bad - worse.

It is worth remembering that not every qualitative adjective can form a simple form. It so happened historically that it is simply impossible to form it from some words. For example, from adjectives such as “grand” or “businesslike”. After all, you can’t say: “grower” or “more businesslike.”

Unlike the positive, the simple comparative degree has no ending and does not change. For example, the adjective “light” changes according to gender and number: “light”, “light”, “light”, etc. In addition, it is declined according to cases. But the comparative degree of the adjective - “lighter” - is unchanged.

In this form, words, as a rule, perform the syntactic role of a predicate: “Words of love are sweeter than honey,” and in some cases they serve as definitions: “Make sweeter jam.”

Complex shape

Unlike the simple one, it is formed not with the help of suffixes or prefixes, but by adding the words “more” or “less” to the adjective in the positive degree. For example: “Rembrandt was a more brilliant artist than most of his contemporaries, but he was truly appreciated years after his death.”

Adjectives in complex form are declined by case, change by number and, accordingly, by gender, while “more” and “less” remain unchanged. For example: more powerful (powerful, powerful, powerful).

Both in simple and compound form, comparative adjectives in a sentence serve as predicates or modifiers: “Their relationship was closer and more elevated than that of anyone around them.”

Having considered the information about the comparative degree, it is now worth moving on to studying the superlative degree. And it will help you not to forget how the comparative degree of adjectives is formed - the table.

It briefly outlines all the information about simple and complex forms and their formation.

Brief information about superlatives

It serves to demonstrate that a certain object or living being is absolutely superior to any other in a certain quality, which is represented in it to the highest degree.

For example: “The third little pig’s house was the strongest and the wolf could not destroy it.”

A little about superlatives

Knowledge of how simple and complex comparative degrees of adjectives are formed will help you understand this topic. In the case of the superlative degree, both of its forms have similar names: simple and compound (complex) and are formed according to the corresponding principle.

They are formed according to the same principle:

• The simple one is formed by adding the suffixes -eysh, -aysh to the stem: caring - caring. Similar to the comparative, the superlative may also lose the stem suffix -k: low, lowest. A word formed using a simple superlative form is declined according to cases and changes according to numbers and genders. While the comparative degree of an adjective in a simple form is devoid of this property. For example: “light”. As mentioned above, in comparative form it is invariably “lighter”. But in the superlative degree - “brightest”, it can change: “brightest”, “brightest”.
• The compound form is formed by adding the words "most", "least" or "most" ("most", "most", "most") to the adjective in the positive degree. For example: the brightest, the least entertaining, the funniest. In some cases, the comparative degree of the adjective plus the word “all” may also participate in the formation. For example: “This girl completed the task faster than anyone in the class.” As with the comparative form, the superlative adjective changes according to the same categories. And the additional words: “most” or “least” remain unchanged: “The wolf ran the shortest route to Grandma’s house and got ahead of Little Red Riding Hood.” However, “most” also changes: “The wolf ran the shortest route to Grandma’s house and got ahead of Little Red Riding Hood.”

As for the syntactic role, adjectives in this degree, as a rule, act as predicates: “A most amazing journey.” Less often - definitions: “It was a story about an amazing journey.” And in complex form, they most often serve as definitions: “He was smarter than everyone else at school.”

Superlative and comparative degrees of adjectives: exercises to consolidate knowledge

To better remember all the material presented, you should practice by doing a few fairly simple exercises.

The topic of comparative degrees of adjectives itself is quite easy. However, in order to avoid mistakes, it is worth remembering the basic rules, especially since in most European languages ​​adjectives also have 3 degrees of comparison. Therefore, having figured out what they are in Russian, you can safely take on the study of the grammar of foreign languages.

Degrees of comparison of adjectives

The purpose of the lesson: To introduce students to degrees of comparison of adjectives and their features.

Lesson objectives:

educational: familiarity with degrees of comparison of adjectives, their morphological features, syntactic role and grammatical feature;

developing: development of the ability to research, analyze, generalize;
develop a sense of language (editing);

educating: nurturing a love of words (the Russian language), the ability to work in pairs.

During the classes

The attributes of objects are characteristic of objects to a greater or lesser extent. An object, compared to other objects, may be better or worse, may differ in size - be large, very large or small. To express these characteristics of objects, qualitative have three degrees of comparison -positive, comparative and superlative (example: kind - positive degree; kinder - comparative degree; kindest - superlative degree).

Positive degree a qualitative adjective means a characteristic of an object without comparing it with the characteristic of another object (example: big dog, small fish, tall pine, beautiful house, good boy).

Listen "Beautiful is far away." Does the adjective “beautiful” belong to the positive degree of comparison of adjectives?

comparative qualitative adjective means a characteristic of an object, which is manifested in comparison with the same characteristic of another object to a greater or lesser extent (example: your house is higher than mine; Girl Lena prettier girls Masha; Your bag is heavier than mine).

The comparative degree of adjectives issimple and complex.

Simple comparative degree is formed with the help :

-ee(s): smart - smarter, warm - warmer, light - lighter, beautiful - more beautiful, brave - bolder.

-e: short - shorter, sweet - sweeter, large - larger.

-she (same): young is younger, old is older, deep is deeper.

Sometimes when forming the comparative degree of an adjective, another (example: bad - worse, small - less).

From adjectives with the suffix “-to-”, having a short form male to "-ok". Example: loud (loud) – louder; short (short) - shorter, low (low) - lower.

It is worth remembering that adjectives in the form of the simple comparative degree do not have endings and do not change!

Exercise: form the simple comparative degree of adjectives, write with a hyphen.

Weak, hard, charming, envious, expensive, sharp, dry, hot, hard, young, rich, cool, simple, tall, clean, wide, cheap, bright, loud, thin, thick, strict, frequent, easy, useful, sweet, quiet, smooth, rich.

Complex comparative degree is formed using particles more and less from the full form of the positive degree of the adjective (Example: smart - more intelligent, strong - less strong, beautiful - more beautiful, cunning - less cunning).

The complex form of the comparative degree of adjectives changes according to gender, number and case.

Exercise: form the complex comparative degree of adjectives, write with a hyphen.

Fresh, difficult, kind, interesting, boring, cheerful, hot, tasty, appetizing, soft, cozy, dark, warm.

Superlative qualitative adjectives means the highest degree of attribute of an object compared to the same attribute in other objects (Example: She is my best friend; he is the smartest in our class; this is the most beautiful song)

The superlative degree of adjectives (as well as the comparative) can besimple and complex.

Simple superlative formed using suffixes:

"-eysh-": handsome - the most beautiful, smart - the smartest, strong - the strongest;

"-aysh-": soft - the softest, great - the greatest, strict - the strictest;

"-sh-": high is the highest, low is the lowest.

Also, the prefix “nai-” can be added to words, which enhances the degree of manifestation of the characteristic: difficult - the most difficult, small - the least.

Sometimes when forming the superlative degree of an adjective, a different root is used: good is the best, bad is the worst.

Exercise: use adjectives in initial form, compose and record with them : brightest – bright – bright light.

The worst, the closest, the most interesting, the shortest, the widest, the deepest, the cheapest, the stronger, the most wonderful, the most magnificent, the smallest, the thinnest, the coldest, the heaviest, the closest, the deepest, the quietest, the simplest, the sweetest, the most beautiful, the strongest, the rarest, the kindest, the softest, the poorest, lightest.

Complex superlative is formed using the particles most, most and least from the full form of the positive degree of the adjective - big - the biggest, beautiful the most beautiful, smart - the least smart.

Superlative adjectives change according to gender, number and case.

Exercise: form the short form, simple comparative and superlative adjectives. Make a short sentence with each form, highlighting the main parts. Example: This book is interesting. This book is more interesting than the previous one. I came across a most interesting book.

Skillful, patient, comfortable, serious, sad, helpful, terrible, subtle, honest, calm.

Listen to the song "Big Secret". What degrees of comparison of adjectives are heard in the song?

Questions for consolidation new topic:

1. Name the degrees of comparison of adjectives.

2. What does the comparative degree of an adjective mean?

3. What particles are used to form a complex superlative adjective?

Homework:

Task 1. Copy the proverbs, forming the comparative degree:

True (light) sun.

Old friend (best) of the new two.

Morning evening (tricky).

Rainy summer (bad) autumn.

Health (dear) gold.

Task 2. Rewrite the sentences, underline the adjectives

I don’t know anything better, more complex, more interesting than a person (M. Gorky).

The night became even thicker, even blacker and warmer (Kuprin).

In battle, it is whoever is more persistent and courageous who beats, not whoever is stronger (proverb).

The enemy is cunning, but we are more cunning, the enemy is strong, but we are stronger (proverb).

Degrees of comparison of adjectives in English are one of the simplest grammatical topics. The reason is that the existing degrees of comparison and methods of their formation largely coincide with those in the Russian language. As in Russian, in English language There are two degrees of comparison: comparative And excellent. According to another classification, there is also a positive one - this is the usual form of adjectives. Comparative forms in English

How are degrees of comparison formed?

There are two ways to form degrees of comparison: analytical(adding words) and synthetic(adding suffixes). The choice of the desired method of formation depends on the adjectives themselves:

• for a monosyllabic (simple) - we use a synthetic method of formation
• for polysyllabic - the analytical method.

Let's look at all this in detail, giving examples.

Monosyllabic adjectives and a synthetic method for comparing them

Almost all simple adjectives in English form comparatives using suffixes:
table of adjective degrees There are several cases where adding suffixes requires minor changes to the word itself:

1. If in a monosyllabic adjective there is a short vowel sound before the final consonant, then we double it:
   • Big - bigger - the biggest
     
2. The final silent -e goes before -er, -est:
   • Nice - nicer - the nicest
3. The final letter -y is replaced by -i, provided that the -y is preceded by a consonant:
   • Dry - drier - the dries

If there is a vowel before -y in a word, there will be no substitutions:

• Gray - greyer - the greyest

Let's summarize.
In the following picture you will see the extreme simple diagram Formation of degrees of comparison of simple adjectives in English. degrees of comparison of simple adjectives in English

There are no rules that have no exceptions

There is a small list of exceptions from general rule: these words completely change their roots:
list of exceptions There is another type of exception, which is a small list of words that have two possible options for forming degrees, each of which has its own semantic characteristics. You need to know them for correct use in context:
Adjectives with two possible options formation of degrees As for two-syllable adjectives, some of them form their comparative forms as monosyllabic ones - by adding - er And - est. These include those that

1. End with:
   • -ow:

   narrow - narrower - the narrowest

   • -le:

   simple - simpler - the simplest

   • -er:

   tender - tenderer - the tenderest

   happy - happier - the happiest

2. They have two syllables and the stress falls on the second:
   severe - severer - the severest
3. Three-syllable adjectives with a prefix -un
   untidy - untidier - the untidiest

Polysyllabic adjectives and the analytical method for comparing them

Now the time has come to understand the analytical method of forming comparative degrees in the English language. This method involves changing the meaning of a word without any changes in itself, but by adding another word to it, which will change its semantic and grammatical characteristics.

1. An adverb is added more(more) if we compare the qualities of two objects, one of which is superior to the other:
   Anya is more obedient than Katya
2. Adverb most(most) is used when indicating the most top level qualitative characteristics of the item:
   Anya is the most obedient

You may be wondering why not all adjectives in English follow the same form of degree formation. The fact is that adding suffixes to already long words is completely inconvenient, since they will lengthen them even more.
Polysyllabic adjectives To reinforce the material, watch the following videos:

Degrees of comparison of adjectives


-ee(s): beautiful - more beautiful, bold - bolder, cold - colder;
-e: big - larger, short - shorter, sweet - sweeter;
-she: old is older, young is younger.
-nai + -aysh-, -eysh: high – highest.
Sometimes, when forming a simple comparative degree, a prefix may be added- (newer).
There are adjectives whose forms of comparison use a different root: simple comparative form --- good is better, bad is worse, small is less;simple superlative ---good is the best, bad is the worst.
Adjectives in the simple comparative form do not change and have no endings. In a sentence they are usually part of a compound nominal predicate:This slope is more dangerous. A simple comparative degree can occupy a position of definition only in a separate position ( Much taller than the other students, he seemed almost an adult) or in a non-isolated position with the prefix po- in the position after the noun (Buy me fresher newspapers).
The compound form of the comparative and superlative degrees changes in the same way as the original form, i.e. by gender, number and case, and can also be in short form (more beautiful, most convenient). They can be either a predicate or a definition. (For example: A less interesting article was presented in this magazine. This article is less interesting than the previous one.)
Possible formation of a compound superlative formwith the addition of the word all or all to the comparative degree(He was smarter than everyone else). These forms are unchangeable and act as the nominal part of the predicate.

Standards for using degrees of comparison of adjectives.

1. It is completely unacceptable to use two ways of expressing comparison at the same time: the words more/less or most/most in combination with an adjective in the comparative or superlative degree. Incorrect: more beautiful, heavier, calmest. The exception is forms: the best, the worst.
2. Not all qualitative adjectives are capable of forming degrees of comparison using appropriate suffixes. Words do not form such forms:
immortal, brilliant, near, fighting, sick (about a person), stormy, upper, eternal, possible, strong-willed, outstanding, heroic, deaf (about a person), naked, proud, long-standing, distant, businesslike, cruel, familiar, oblique, short, crooked (about a person), dead (not alive), peaceful, powerful, unknown, lower, general, excellent, advanced, positive, last, permanent, similar, right (fair, containing truth), empty (about a container: nothing not filled), developed, early, ragged, timid, blind, controversial, urgent, predatory, gloomy, colorful, young, etc.
Some of these adjectives cannot be used comparatively due to the specificity of their meaning (for example, one cannot be more or less immortal, more or less naked). Others could theoretically form a comparative degree, but due to their formal characteristics they do not have such a form or have a rarely used form. In the latter case, in informal speech in some combinations you can use a descriptive way of expressing the degree of comparison: more strong-willed, more businesslike, more cruel.
3. It is possible for an adjective to have several meanings belonging to different categories. Thus, a relative adjective can develop a meaning characteristic of qualitative ones (for example: iron part (relative) - iron will (quality) - metaphorical transfer). Possessives may have meanings characteristic of relative and qualitative ones (for example: fox hole (possessive) - fox hat (relative) - fox habits (qualitative). Qualitative adjectives, used terminologically, function as relative (voiceless consonants). In this case, the adjective retains the type of its declension, but often changes its morphological characteristics: qualitative ones lose their degrees of comparison and short form (for example, it is impossible to say *This consonant is deaf), and relative ones, on the contrary, can acquire these characteristics( With every word his voice became more and more honeyed, and his habits became more and more foxy. .)

Degrees of comparison of adverbs

The simple form of the superlative degree of adverbs, formed with the help of the suffixes -EYSHE (-AYSHE), is now outdated and is used extremely rarely: fairly - more justly, deeply - deeply.

Ways to distinguish between adverbs and adjectives in the simple comparative form

	Adjective	Adverb
Indicates	Item attribute	Sign of action
Refers to	To a noun	To the verb
Answers the question	Which? Which? Which?	How? How?
The sentence is	Predicate	Circumstance
Example.	IS OURLAKE (WHAT?) DEEPER THAN THE RIVER.	THE SCUBA DIVER DIVED (HOW?) DEEPER THAN THE NETS.

Remember the following comparative forms of adjectives and adverbs:
Loud, loud - louder; dry, dry - drier; bitter, bitter - more bitter; sweet, sweet - sweeter; biting, biting - more bitingly; small, little - less; bad, bad - worse; good, good - better.

It is difficult to imagine our life without comparing objects with each other or people with each other.

In Russian, two degrees are used to compare adjectives:

– comparative;

– excellent.

In this regard, Russian and English grammar are no different; in English, adjectives also have two degrees of comparison.

However, the rules for forming comparative degrees of English adjectives have their own difficulties, and in order not to make mistakes in them, study several tables prepared for this lesson.

Table 1. Formation of the comparative degree of monosyllabic adjectives.

Rule The comparative degree of monosyllabic adjectives is formed by adding the suffix –er. It should be noted that some two-syllable adjectives also form the comparative degree according to this rule.
Positive degree	comparative	Example
cheap - cheap	cheap er – cheaper, cheaper	My car is cheaper than yours – My car is cheaper than yours.
clean - clean	clean er – cleaner, cleaner	I think John's garden is cleaner than his house - I think John's garden is cleaner than his house.
fast - fast	fast er – faster, faster	You must swim faster if you want to win – You need to swim faster if you want to win.
narrow - narrow	narrow er – narrower, narrower	Streets of our city are narrower than in Moscow - The streets of our city are narrower than in Moscow.
easy - easy	easy er – lighter	Sometimes it's easier to agree than to argue – Sometimes it’s easier to agree than to argue.

Table 2. Formation of the superlative degree of monosyllabic adjectives.

Rule The superlative degree of monosyllabic adjectives is formed by adding the suffix –est and definite article. It should be noted that some two-syllable adjectives also form the comparative degree according to this rule.
Positive degree	Superlative	Example
near – close, nearest	the nearest – closest, closest	The nearest hospital is five kilometers away from here - The nearest hospital is five kilometers from here.
large - big	the largest - the largest	I need the largest size of shoes – I need the largest big size shoes.
funny - funny	the funniest - the funniest	It was the funniest day in my life – It was the funniest day in my life.
weak - weak	the weakest - the weakest	My friend is the weakest sportsman in this competition - My friend is the weakest athlete in this competition.
loud – loud	the loudest - the loudest	This is the loudest doorbell we have - This is the loudest doorbell we have.

Table 3. Formation of the comparative degree of polysyllabic adjectives.

Rule The comparative degree of polysyllabic adjectives is formed using the word more.
Positive degree	comparative	Example
modern - modern	more modern – more modern, more modern	Her new flat is more modern than ours - Her new apartment is more modern than ours.
comfortable - comfortable	more comfortable – more convenient, more comfortable	Can you find a more comfortable place to work? – You can find more comfortable spot for work?
modest - modest	more modest – more modest, more modest	My daughter is more modest than my son - My daughter is more modest than my son.
careful – caring	more careful – more caring, more caring	John is more careful than Tom – John is more caring than Tom.
expensive - expensive	more expensive - more expensive, more expensive	I thought that these flowers were more expensive - I thought that these flowers were more expensive.

Table 4. Formation of the superlative degree of polysyllabic adjectives.

Rule The superlative degree of polysyllabic adjectives is formed using the word most and definite article before an adjective.
Positive degree	Superlative	Example
serious - serious	the most serious - the most serious	This is the most serious event in December - This is the most serious event of December.
interesting – interesting	the most interesting - the most interesting	Cosmopolitan is the most interesting magazine for women interesting magazine for girls.
dangerous – dangerous	the most dangerous - the most dangerous	That my trip was the most dangerous in my life - That my trip was the most dangerous in my life.
useful - useful	the most useful - the most useful	It was the most useful advice of you - This was your most useful advice.
beautiful – beautiful	the most beautiful - the most beautiful	You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen – You are the most beautiful girl from all that I have seen.

Table 5. Exceptions.

6. Adjectives that do not have degrees of comparison.

Not all adjectives in English have degrees of comparison. Adjectives with degrees of comparison include quality adjectives (comparable adjectives).

Adjectives that do not have degrees of comparison are called relative adjectives (non-comparable or absolute adjectives), and they cannot be used with adverbs such as “very” or “too”.

TO relative adjective relate awful, excellent, huge, impossible, terrible, unique, unknown, wrong, domestic, agricultural and many others.