Short superlative. English adjective

The adjective is the very part of speech without which our language cannot exist. And the point here is not only the need to impart imagery. Even banal concretization of objects is impossible without adjectives. If we do not know the exact signs of an object, we cannot imagine it and, therefore, we can hardly predict what actions we can perform with respect to this object.

We all understand that objects cannot be the same. One of them is larger, the second is smaller, the third is heavier, and the fourth is generally darker in color. So how can you describe something that differs from other objects in its characteristics? How can this difference be emphasized? It is for this that the comparative degree and the superlative degree of comparison of adjectives are needed. Let's try to figure out what it is.

And for what?

As mentioned above, comparative is needed in order to identify an object by comparing it with another object. Usually, one of the objects is initially called so that a person can imagine what he will have to compare with, and only then the signs of a new object relative to the original are listed, so that, by comparing, we can get an idea of ​​what is still unknown to us.

Comparative degrees and superlatives are really necessary in education to help the learner to better understand the nature of the subject, which, of course, contributes to the successful assimilation of the material. At the same time, our everyday speech would become much more scarce if it were not for these very comparisons - then in a number of situations we simply could not express our thoughts! To form a comparative and excellent and adverbs (which will be discussed later) is not at all difficult. The main thing is to be able to use them correctly.

What are we forming from?

First of all, you need to understand that the comparative and superlative degree of adjectives is a phenomenon that is characteristic only of qualitative parts of speech. for example, those that designate the belonging of an object to someone cannot form something similar: the ball, for example, cannot be more than Tanin than Sasha's, and the tail is more fox than wolf. The same can be said for a table that is more wooden than a chair? Nonsense!

So be sure to remember that only y has a comparative degree and a superlative degree.

Comparative - synthetics

Let's start with comparative the name of the adjective. First, you need to understand that it can be simple and complex, that is, it is formed either with the help of special suffixes, or by adding certain words that emphasize the difference between objects. A simple degree, it is also called synthetic, as mentioned above, is formed with the help of formative suffixes that are added to the choice of a suffix depends on which sound this very base ends with. For most consonants (with the exception of a few exceptions, which will be discussed below), the suffixes -ee- and -ey- are suitable: light - lighter, hot - hot, and so on.

The suffix - is used in such cases:

• When the adjective ends in г, х, д, т (expensive - expensive, dry - dry, rich - rich, young - younger). By the way, here, as you have already noticed, there is also an alternation of the consonant sound at the root of the word, which is also an important point.
• When the name of the adjective ends with the suffix -к- (high - higher, low - lower).
• In cases-exceptions, which, unfortunately, cannot be logicated (cheap is cheaper).

And the last group of suffixes -che- and -ge- are also used in isolated cases, more as exceptions (thin - thinner, deep - deeper).

In addition, one cannot fail to mention that there is a certain number of words in which the root itself changes even when the form of a comparative and superlative degree is formed (good - BETTER, bad - WORSE).

Everyday speech allows the addition of the prefix -by- to an adjective that is already in a comparative degree in order to slightly soften this difference (light-lighter - lighter, expensive - more expensive - more expensive). In a sentence, this form of an adjective is most often part of a compound nominal predicate... Moreover, it does not change in gender, number and case.

Comparative - analytics

Let's move on to the composite-analytical form of the comparative degree of the adjective. Everything is much simpler here: the words "more" and "less" are used before the adjective (risky - more risky, educated - less educated). In the sentence, the analytical form fully corresponds to the functions common name adjective.

Excellent - Synthetics

An excellent degree of comparison demonstrates, as the name implies, the absolute superiority of a feature, the highest degree of its manifestation. It also has synthetic (simple) and analytical (composite) forms.

"Synthetics" is formed with the help of a number of suffixes -eish-, -aish-, -sh- (simple - the simplest, quiet - the quietest). In addition, the literary style allows the use of the prefix -nay-, which is added to the adjective in comparative degree (small - LOW, simple - EASI). Here, there is already a change in gender, number and case, in contrast to the comparative degree.

Excellent - analytics

With a compound form, everything is as simple as with a comparative degree. It usually adds the words "most", "most / least", inherent in most of the book style (MOST successful, LEAST rational, MOST simple), and "all / all" in combination with a comparative adjective, which are used in colloquial speech(smarter than ALL, more interesting than ALL).

Comparison of adverbs

And now let's move on to another part of speech - the adverb. Its necessity and usefulness are undeniable. Basically, they have a lot in common. Comparative and superlative degrees of adverbs are a rule, in comparison with an adjective, much less voluminous and much lighter.

First, it should be noted that the degrees of comparison form only adverbs ending in -o, -e, which are based on qualitative adjectives (simple, quiet, deep).

Secondly, we have before us all the same two forms: comparative and excellent, with the division in the first case into simple and composite. For the formation of a simple comparative degree, the suffixes -ee-, -ey-, -e- and -che- are used, added to the adverb without this characteristic -o, e: simple - simple, funny - funny. Whereas the compound form is created using the already known words "more / less" and the original form of the adverb - LESS loudly, MORE freely. With the superlative degree of the adverb it is even much easier: there is no synthetic form, and the analytical one is formed by adding a short "all" to the comparative degree of the adverb (quietly - quieter - quieter than ALL, bold - bold - bolder than ALL).

Summarize

We have studied the comparative and superlatives. A table that will help to summarize and repeat all of the above material is presented below.

Adjective
	Synthetic	Analytical	Synthetic	Analytical
Comparative	Suffixes: her, her, e, k, she, the same Prefix: by (bolder, more expensive)	more / less Adjective (more daring, less expensive)	Suffixes: her, her, e, she (quieter, faster)	more / less (louder)
Excellent	Suffixes: eish, aish, sh Prefix: nai Comparative synthetic (bold, best)	most, all / all, most / least Adjective (the most daring, the most expensive)		Comparative synthetic (prettier than everyone)

Conclusion

Comparative degree and superlative degree are, in principle, an elementary topic. It is enough to know a few suffixes to successfully complete numerous grammar exercises. By the way, this feature of adjectives and adverbs is characteristic of many languages. For example, English: the comparative and superlative degree in this language is formed by adding either a suffix to monosyllabic words, or amplifying words to polysyllabic ones. Everything is even easier here than here! If you wish, you can master this rule without difficulty. Practice, practice and more practice!

Degrees of adjectives comparison - Comparison of adjectives

Adjectives in English language do not change in number or case, they change in degrees of comparison. This applies to quality adjectives. Relative adjectives do not have degrees of comparison (about qualitative and relative adjectives- in the material "").

There are three degrees of comparison of qualitative adjectives in English:

1. Positive. An adjective in its usual form.
big big
2. Comparative. Indicates that one object has a bo? a higher degree of quality than another. Often used with the preposition than.
bigger bigger
3. Excellent (superlative). Indicates that the object is of the highest quality.
the biggest

Rules for the formation of degrees of comparison

1. The comparative degree is formed by adding the suffix -er [? R] to the base of the word. Excellent - suffix -est [? St]. A few nuances:
a. In adjectives with one syllable, the last letter is doubled.
hot - hotter - the hottest hot - hottest - hottest
b. If the last letter of the adjective is -y, and there is a consonant in front of it, then it is replaced by -i; if a vowel, then -y remains unchanged.
busy - busier - the busiest
gray - grayer - the grayest gray - grayer - the grayest
v. If the last letter in the adjective is mute -e (that is, it is not pronounced), then when writing it is omitted and merged with -e in a comparative or superlative suffix.
cute - cuter - the cutest
2. If an adjective has two or more syllables, then more is used comparatively before it, and the most is used in the excellent:
beautiful - more beautiful - the most beautiful
3. There are a number of two-syllable adjectives that can be changed according to the first rule and the second:
able able
angry angry
clever smart
common common, common
cruel cruel
frequent frequent
friendly friendly
gentle gentle
handsome handsome, handsome
narrow narrow
pleasant pleasant
polite polite
quiet quiet
serious serious
simple simple
sour sour
4. Adjectives-exceptions:
good / well - better - the best
good - better - best / best
bad - worse - the worst
bad - worse - worst
little - less- the least
small - less - smallest / smallest
much (uncountable) / many (calculus) - more - the most
many - more - most
old - older - the oldest
old - older - oldest
old - elder - the eldest
elder - older - oldest (only about people; for example: my elder brother is my elder brother)
late - later - the latest / the last
latest - later - most recent (new, latest in time)
near - nearer - the nearest
close - closer - closest (distance)
near - nearer - next / the next
close - closer - next (in time or in order)
far - farther - the farthest
farthest - farthest - farthest (distance only)
far - further - the furthest
distant - more distant - most distant (in an abstract sense)

The comparative degree and the superlative degree of adjectives are used very often both orally and in written speech... And this applies not only to the Russian language. Today we are interested in foreign vocabulary, namely comparative and superlative degrees in English. Nowadays, there is more and more need to communicate in it. In order to speak correctly, and for the foreigners around you to understand you correctly, you need to study the rules for the formation of these degrees.

What is an adjective

Before we talk about how comparative and superlative degrees are formed in English, let's take a quick look at the adjective itself. What is this part of speech? In a nutshell, an adjective is used when we need to describe an object, person or process. Answering questions what?, what?, what?, what?, this part of speech helps us not only to describe them, but also to compare with each other, as well as to declare the superiority of a particular object or character.

• We live in this big home for a very long time.
• old the park looks much better early in the morning.
• We are the youngest specialists in this field.

The highlighted words clearly show what function the adjective performs in the sentence. This function is definition. And in this sense, there is no difference between Russian and English.

Comparison Degrees: Rule

Comparative and superlative degrees of adjectives are two of the three forms in which this part of speech can be used. There are three degrees of comparison in total:

• Positive - here the adjective has its own initial form, for example: white, thick, tall, nice, etc.
• Comparative - this form is used when we want to compare something with something, to show the advantage of something over something, for example: better, taller, thicker, smarter, smaller, etc.
• Excellent - we use this option when we want to show that someone or something has the highest degree of quality, for example: highest, most expensive, best, least, etc.

The choice of the word variant depends on what idea you want to convey to the interlocutor. We will consider all the possible rules for the education of both degrees separately.

comparative

In English grammar, there are rules by which both the comparative and the superlative are formed. Exercises to test understanding of this topic are aimed at ensuring that you correctly form one degree or another with any adjective. Let's start by looking at the comparative form. In order to form a comparative form from any adjective, you need to follow these rules:

• If the word is monosyllabic or two-syllable, but the stress falls on the first syllable, then we add the suffix "er" to it: smart (smart) - smarter (smarter); hard (heavy) - harder (heavier).

• If the word ends with "e", one letter "r" is added to it: large (large) - larger (larger); polite (polite) - politer (more polite).

• If a monosyllabic word ends with a consonant, preceded by a short vowel sound, then the last letter is doubled when a suffix is ​​added: big (big) - bigger (more); hot (hot) - hotter (hotter).

• If the adjective ends with the letter "y", when adding a suffix, it changes to "i": noisy (noisy) - noisier (more noisy); easy - easier.

• If an adjective has more than two syllables, no suffix is ​​added to it. We put before this adjective the comparative adverb "more", which in translation into Russian means "more": beautiful (beautiful) - more beautiful (more beautiful); interesting - more interesting.

• If it is necessary to indicate that the quality is lower than that of another object, then instead of the above-mentioned word we take "less", translated as "less": beautiful (beautiful) - less beautiful (less beautiful); interesting (interesting) - less interesting (less interesting).

Thus, we can easily form sentences where we want to compare the qualities of different objects.

Superlative degree

Comparative degree and superlative degree are very easily formed by Russian-speaking users, since the concept of comparison and superiority is very similar to what we know in Russian. So, for the education of the last degree, we need to apply concepts such as "most, most / least." But there is also certain rules to be followed:

• If a word has one syllable, we add the suffix "est" to such an adjective, while the article "the" will be in front of the newly formed word: smart (smart) - the smartest (smartest); hard - the hardest.

• If there is an “e” ending at the end of the word, we will only use the “st” suffix: large - the largest; polite (polite) - the politest (most polite).

• If a word ends in a consonant preceded by a short vowel sound, we double the last letter in the letter. In speech it does not manifest itself in any way: big (big) - the biggest; hot - the hottest.

• If in a word on last place there is the letter y, when adding a suffix we change it to i: noisy (noisy) - the noisiest (the most noisy); easy - the easiest.

• For long polysyllabic words, there is another way of education. We put the adverb "the most" before the word, which translates as "the most, the most, the most": beautiful (beautiful) - the most beautiful (the most beautiful); interesting - the most interesting.

• If you need to indicate that the quality is the lowest, then instead of the word "most", we take "the least", translated as "least": beautiful (beautiful) - the least beautiful (least beautiful); interesting - the least interesting.

• There are two words. In this case, we also put these adverbs in front of them: easy-going (sociable) - more easy-going (more sociable) - the most easy-going (most sociable); easy-going (sociable) - less easy-going (less sociable) - the least easy-going (least sociable).

Comparative and Superlative: Words of Exception

There are words that, in spite of everything existing rules, form degrees in their own way. Such words must be learned by heart. The comparative degree and superlative degree of such words are placed in a separate table.

	Positive	Comparative	Excellent
small
		farther, further	the farthest, the furthest
			the oldest, the eldest
			the latest, the last

When using a word consisting of two components, one of which is an exception word, it is necessary to use its form: good-looking (beautiful) - better-looking (more beautiful) - the best-looking (the most beautiful).

Stable phrases

Both the comparative degree and the superlative degree are used in sentences as part of special designs. Most often these are options:

• The design is "the ... the ...". The more I read, the more I know. The more I read, the more I know.
• The construction "as ... as ...". He is as tall as his brother. He is as tall as his brother.
• The construction is "not so ... as ...". She is not so fit as me. She's not as slim as me.

These are the most common sentences in which we use the mentioned degrees of comparison.

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

Comparison: types, table

The ability to form degrees of comparison is possessed by adjectives and adverbs formed from them.

There are three of them:

• Positive.
• Comparative.
• Excellent.

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

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

What adjectives can be used to form degrees of comparison

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

• Qualitative - means signs that an object or a living creature can have in different degrees: sweet, sweeter, sweetest.
• Relative - they call the signs of an object or living creature in their relation to circumstances, actions or other personalities, things: phone call, wooden building.
• Possessive - indicate that something belongs to someone: Pushkin's stanza, paternal parting words.

Only from the first category can a comparative and superlative degree of adjectives be formed (charming - more charming, the most charming), since one cannot say: "a more wooden building" or "the most Pushkin stanza".

Also, adverbs that come from the qualitative category of adjectives can form degrees of comparison: cheerful - cheerful (more cheerful).

Comparative degree of adjectives in Russian

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

Information on forms of comparative degree

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 two forms of the comparative degree of adjectives in the Russian language can be distinguished: simple and compound or, as it is sometimes called, complex.

Methods for the formation of a simple form

There are several ways to form it.

• With the help of the suffixes -ee, -ey, -e, -che, added to the stem: cheerful - more cheerful. However, it is worth remembering that if suffixes of the comparative degree of adjectives -е, -che are used, then the consonants in the root of the word may alternate, and the suffixes -к, -ок, -ек may be abolished altogether. For example: narrow - narrower, sonorous - louder.
• Sometimes a simple form can be formed by adding all the same -ee, -ee, -e, -che, as well as the prefix po. For example: soon - quickly, quickly - quickly. Adjectives formed in this way, as a rule, are the lot of colloquial speech.
• Sometimes the comparative degree of adjectives in Russian is formed using a different basis of the word: bad - worse.

It is worth remembering that not every high-quality adjective can form a simple form. It so happened historically that from some words it is simply impossible to form it. For example, from such adjectives as "tall" or "business". After all, one cannot say: "taller" or "more efficient".

Unlike a positive one, a simple comparative degree has no ending and does not change. For example, the adjective “light” changes in gender and number: “light”, “light”, “light”, etc. In addition, it declines in 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 - definitions: "Cook jam sweeter".

Complex form

Unlike a simple one, it is formed not with the help of suffixes or prefixes, but by the way of adding the words "more" or "less" to the adjective in a 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 a complex form are declined in cases, change in numbers and, accordingly, in gender, while "more" and "less" remain unchanged. For example: more powerful (powerful, powerful, powerful).

Both in a simple form and in a compound form, comparative adjectives in a sentence play the role of predicates or definitions: "Their relationship was closer and more elevated than that of anyone around."

Having reviewed the information about the comparative degree, it is now worthwhile to move on to the study of the excellent. And it will help you not to forget how the comparative degree of adjectives is formed - the table.

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

Superlative Comparison at a Glance

It serves to demonstrate that a certain object or living being is absolutely superior to any others in a certain quality, which is represented in their highest measure.

For example: "The house of the third pig was the most durable and the wolf could not destroy it."

A little about superlative forms

Knowledge of how the simple and complex comparative degree of adjectives is formed will help to deal with this topic. In the case of the superlative degree, both of its forms bear similar names: simple and composite (complex) and are formed according to the corresponding principle.

They are formed according to the same principle:

• Simple is formed by adding the suffixes -eish, -aish to the stem: caring - caring. Similarly to the comparative one, the excellent suffix of the stem -k may also drop out: low, lowest. A word formed using a simple superlative form is inflected in cases and changes in numbers and gender. At the same time, the comparative degree of an adjective in a simple form is devoid of this property. For example: "light". As mentioned above, in the comparative form, it is invariably "lighter". But in the superlative degree - "the lightest", it is capable of changing: "the lightest", "the lightest".
• The compound (complex) form is formed by adding the words "most", "least" or "most" ("most", "most", "most") to the adjective in a positive degree. For example: the brightest, the least entertaining, the funniest. In some cases, the comparative degree of the adjective plus the word "all" can also participate in the formation. For example: "This girl coped with the task faster than anyone in the class." As in the case of the comparative compound form, the adjective in the excellent changes in the same categories. And the additional words: "most" or "least" remain unchanged: "The wolf ran the shortest path to Grandmother's house and outstripped Little Red Riding Hood." However, the "most" also changes: "The wolf ran the shortest way to Grandmother's house and outstripped Little Red Riding Hood."

As for the syntactic role, adjectives in this degree, as a rule, act as predicates: "The most amazing journey." Less often - definitions: "It was a story about an amazing journey." And in a complex form, they most often play the role of definitions: "He was smarter than everyone in school."

Superlative and comparative adjectives: exercises to consolidate knowledge

To better remember all the material presented, it is worth practicing by performing a few fairly simple exercises.

By itself, the topic of comparative degrees of adjectives is pretty 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.

ONLY QUALITATIVE APPENDICES HAVE DEGREES OF COMPARISON!

Qualitative adjectives differ in that they can denote a sign in varying degrees of its manifestation ( large - larger - largest). These forms are called degrees of comparison:

Comparative

Excellent

The paradigm of degrees of comparison also includes the adjective from which forms of degrees of comparison are formed. The semantic basis of the degrees of comparison is a quantitative assessment of the measure of a feature. In the paradigm of degrees of comparison, the original adjective is called the form of the positive degree.

Comparative degree (comparative) - denotes a quality that is in some object to a greater extent than in another, the name of which is put in the form of gender case or name case; the latter is preceded by a comparative union How(the truth is more expensive than gold).

Superlative degree (superlative) - denotes the highest degree of quality in any subject in comparison with another: favorite writer; inflected like ordinary adjectives.

Comparative and superlative degrees can be expressed in simple (synthetic) and complex (analytical) forms.

comparative

The simple form of the comparative degree does not change in gender, number and case; and therefore it must be able to distinguish it from the form of the comparative degree of the adverb. If a word of this type is syntactically related to noun, then compare the degree of the adjective, if connected with a verb, then compare the degree of the adverb ( oak is stronger than birch- an addendum; he gripped the handle tighter- adverb)

Forms of a comparative degree tend to be used in a position with a ligament, i.e. in the role of a predicate, but it can also be a definition.

Formed from the stem of the original adjective using suffixes - her (s) - bolder,whiter(productive way) or - e, - more - more expensive, richer(unproductive way).

From adjectives based on k, r, x and some words stemming from d, t, st comparative degree formed by suffix –E(while the final consonant stems alternate with sibilants) ( loud - louder, quiet - quieter, steep - cooler). In adjectives on -OK and -To the generating stem is truncated, the remaining final consonant alternates with a hissing or paired soft ( high - higher, low - lower).

Comparative forms with suffix –Yes single ( far - farther, early - earlier, long - longer).

From three adjectives, the form is formed in the supplementary way ( small - less, good - better, bad - worse).

Forms of a comparative degree are not formed from adjectives that call signs that do not change in degrees. Sometimes they are not formed in accordance with the usus, and not the meaning ( decrepit, alien, scanty).

The complex form of degrees of comparison is formed by the addition of the word more... Moreover, such combinations can be formed with short form (faster, more red).

Superlative degree

The simple form of the superlative degree has features in its meaning: in addition to the above-mentioned basic meaning of the superiority of quality in an object compared to other objects, this form can denote the highest, limiting degree of quality in any object without comparison with others. In other words, it can mean an irrespectively high degree of quality: worst enemy, the kindest creature.

The simple form is formed by attaching a suffix -Eish (-eish). At the same time, it is not formed from all adjectives, usually it is absent in those lexemes from which the form of the comparative degree is not formed. It may also be absent in those forms that have the form of a comparative degree. These are quality adjectives with suffixes -Ast-, -ist, as well as many words with suffixes - liv-, -chiv-, -k-(narrow - narrower, hairy - hairy, silent - more silent).

A complex form is formed by a combination of a quality adjective and a word most... It is not related to lexical restrictions: the reddest, the kindest, the narrowest.

For adjectives with suffixes –Owat - (- evat-) no superlative form is formed because the value of the incomplete characteristic is incompatible with the value of the high degree of the characteristic ( deafest, most deafish).

The superlative shape denotes the highest quality. In contrast to the comparative degree, the forms of the superlative degree cannot express a comparative assessment of the degree of a feature in the same subject and in two subjects.