Forming regular
comparatives and superlatives
How these forms are created
depends on how many syllables there are in the adjective.
Syllables are like "sound beats". For instance, "sing" contains one
syllable, but "singing" contains two -- sing and ing. Here
are the rules:
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Adjective form
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Comparative
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Superlative
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Only one syllable, ending
in E. Examples:
wide, fine, cute
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Add -R:
wider, finer, cuter
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Add -ST:
widest, finest, cutest
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Only one syllable, with
one vowel and one consonant at the end. Examples:
hot, big, fat
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Double the consonant, and
add -ER:
hotter, bigger, fatter
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Double the consonant, and
add -EST:
hottest, biggest, fattest
|
Only one syllable, with
more than one vowel or more than one consonant at the end. Examples:
light, neat, fast
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Add -ER:
lighter, neater, faster
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Add -EST:
lightest, neatest, fastest
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Two syllables, ending in
Y. Examples:
happy, silly, lonely
|
Change Y to I, then add
-ER:
happier, sillier, lonelier
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Change Y to I, then add -EST:
happiest, silliest, loneliest
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Two syllables or more,
not ending in Y. Examples:
modern, interesting, beautiful
|
Use MORE before the
adjective:
more modern, more interesting, more beautiful
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Use MOST before the
adjective:
most modern, most interesting, most beautiful
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How to use
comparatives and superlatives
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Comparatives
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Comparatives are used to compare two things. You can use sentences
with THAN, or you can use a conjunction like BUT. Examples:
- Jiro is taller than Yukio.
- Yukio is tall, but Jiro is taller.
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Superlatives
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Superlatives are used to compare more than two things. Superlative
sentences usually use THE, because there is only one superlative.
Examples:
- Masami is the tallest in the class.
- Yukio is tall, and Jiro is taller, but
Masami is the tallest.
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