Degrees of comparison

Degrees of comparison
(Adjectives)

1
There was an old man named
Rama in Mysore .
He was a poor farmer. He had three
lazy sons.
sons
But all of them were strong and
healthy young men.

2
This worried and saddened the
old man.
The worried old man got an
idea.
He called his sons and said, “ I
have hidden a treasure in our
farm land.
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Go, find and share the treasure
among you”.
The over joyed sons started to turn
each nook and corner of the field
but didn’t find anything. They were
disappointed.

4
Their father said to them, “ You
have ploughed the field,
field why not
sow a crop.” The sons agreed.
Soon the crops grew lushly green.
Th father
The f th saidid to
t the
th sons, “ This
Thi
is the treasure I wanted y you to
share.”

5
The delighted
g sons thanked their
loving father.

We see that
W th t fruits
f it off hard
h d work
k
are always
y sweet.

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 Old
Poor
Worried Farmer/man
S dd
Saddenedd
Loving

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 Lazy
Strong
Sons
Healthy
Delighted

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These words old, poor, worried, Saddened, 
h d ld d dd d
Strong, healthy,  delighted  lazy, loving, 
lushly, green ‐ Adjectives

They tell us something about the Noun

man or farmer, son and crop.

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yThe form of an adjective is often 
j
changed to show the  extent  or 
degree of  quality present in  a 
person or thing.
This change in form to show the 
difference in level is called 
Comparison.

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Example
Old            older oldest
Strong        stronger strongest
H lth      
Healthy      h lthi
healthier h lthi t
healthiest
Loving        more loving most loving

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Forms of Adjectives
11. Positive
2 Comparative
2. Comparative‐ er
3 Superlative
3. Superlative‐ est

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Fast - faster – the fastest

fast faster
the fastest
13
Large - larger - the largest

large larger the largest

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 the
higher highest
high

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QUICK QUICKER the QUICKEST

Quick Quicker Quickest

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TALL                           TALLER TALLEST

TALL                       TALLER TALLEST

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Fat – fatter – the fattest

fat fatter the fattest

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Big - bigger - the biggest

big
g bigger
b gg the b
biggest
gg
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1. My grandmother has a ____house.
2. The girl wore a ____dress.
3 I wrote a ____ letter.
3. I wrote a   letter
4. My mother is a ____woman.
5. An elephant is a _____animal.
[ Huge  beautiful  Big  Long  Pretty ]
[ Huge, beautiful, Big, Long, Pretty ]
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 Happy
ppy – Happier
pp – The Happiest
pp

happy happier the happiest

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 Ugly – uglier – the ugliest

ugly uglier the ugliest

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Match the followingg
Positive Adjective Comparative
Adjective
1. Prettier
1 Dry
1.
2. Drier
2. Easy
3 Lovelier
3.
3. Pretty
4. Easier
4. Lovely
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b
beautiful
tif l more beautiful

the most beautiful

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Expensive – more expensive – the
most expensive

the most
more expensive
i
expensive
expensive
i
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DANGEROUS    MORE DANGEROUS      THE MOST DANGEROUS

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Terrible - more terrible - the most
terrible

terrible more the most

terrible terrible
b
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Little – less the least

little less the least

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B d – worse – the
Bad h worst

bad worse the worst

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 Irregular Adjectives
Positive Comparative Superlative

• Good • Better • Best

• Bad • Worse • Worst
• Little • Less • Least
• Old • Elder • Eldest
• Many/Much • More • Most
• L
Late • Later • L
Latest
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 Kinds of degrees 
of comparison

Comparative  Superlative 
Positive  
Degree Degree
Degree

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The rabbit is a cute animal.

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 A Giraffe  has  a long neck
VIKASANA BRIDGE COURSE - 2012 33
Elephant is a huge animal
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In these sentences the nouns Rabbit,
Rabbit
Giraffe and the Elephant have one
quality above average.
average

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36
 Positive  Degree

Degree of  Degree of 
q y
Equality q y
Inequality

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Positive degree is used to 
compare two things which are 
hi hi h
equal in status / same quality
equal in status / same quality.

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Equal

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 Degree of Equality
Degree of Equality

Joyce is as pretty as her twin Jean.

Jean is as intelligent as Joyce.

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Note: Here the adjective in
Note: Here the adjective   in
positive form is used
positive  form is used 
j
with conjunction 

as ‐‐‐as
to express  equality.

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1 An apple is as delicious as an orange.
1. An apple is as delicious as an orange

2.    Silver is as expensive as gold.

3.    Anna  is as rich as Tina.

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 Complete the following sentences
1. Few historians write as-------- as Macaulay.
((well / better / best )

2. Veryy few books are as -------as Shakespeare`s

p
dramas.
( popular / more popular / most popular)

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3. Hercules   is as as  Atlas.                
3. Hercules   is as‐‐‐‐‐‐‐as  Atlas.                
(strong/stronger/strongest)

4. Vani
4  Vani is as‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐as  Rani. 
is as as  Rani  
(Intelligent/more intelligent/ most 
intelligent))

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Positive degree is also used to
compare two things which are not
equal & do not have same status.

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TEENA     U
Unequal  
l   REENA
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Degree of inequality

Teena is not so tall as her

friend Reena.
Teena is not so  beautiful as 
Reena.
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Note: Here the adjective in
Note:     Here  the adjective in

positive form  is joined

with the 
t t e co
conjunction 
ju ct o not so‐‐‐‐‐as to 
ot so as to

express  inequality
inequality.
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1, Gold is not so useful as Iron.

2 Hindi is not so difficult as Sanskrit.
2.Hindi is not so difficult Sanskrit

3. The city bus is not so crowded as it was yesterday

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Example
y Gold is not so ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ as Iron.
(useful/ more useful/most useful)

y English is not so ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ as  Malayalam.
( difficult/ more difficult / most difficult )

y Sheeba was not so ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐as Solomon.
(wise/ wiser/ wisest)

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Comparative degree

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Who is faster / slower?
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Example
E l
yThe lion is faster than the 
Th  li  i  f t  th  th  
tortoise.
yThe tortoise is slower than the 
lion.

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Which is smaller / riper ?
p
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Example
E l
yThe green apple is smaller than  
the red one.

yThe red apple  is riper than the 
h d l h h
green one.
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y Which is cheaper / more expensive ?

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Example
The cycle is cheaper than  the 
car.

The car is more expensive than 
the cycle.

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 p g
Comparative degree of 
comparison
The  adjective of comparative is
used to show the wide difference
b
between two things.
h

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Example
yRiver Nile in Africa is longer 
than river Ganga in India.
river Ganga in India

yThe peaks of Himalayas are 
higher than  any other 
hi h  th      th  
mountain peaks in India.
mountain peaks in India
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y Cricket is more popular than
Hockeyy

yHotel Taj is bigger than Hotel 
Meridian in Mumbai.
Meridian in Mumbai

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Note:
Here the adjectives of comparative
degree are followed by “than”,
thus this kind of comparison is
called Comparative degree.

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1. Gold is ___than silver. (more precious/ most
precious)
2. Dog is _____ than man. (more faithful/ most
faithful)

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Fill in the blanks by choosing the 
correct   form  of  adjectives.
Milk is ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐than any other 
Milk is  than any other 
food.
Shimla is ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐than most other 
hill station in India.
hill station in India

[modern/useful/nutritious/famous]
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My brother works in an office building 
which is   
which is   ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐than ours.
than ours.

Iron is ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ than silver in the world.

( modern/ useful/ nutritious/ famous )

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Superlative degree of comparison

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Mt. Everest is the highest peak in the 
world.
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F t
Fast Faste the  Fastest
r
An Aeroplane is the fastest 
mode of transportation.
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These flowers are beautiful.

This flower is more 
beautiful than the pink 
ones.

Rose is the most beautiful flower.
John is a strong man.
man
Peter is stronger 
than John.

Brown is the strongest 
man of all.
  f  ll
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 p g
Superlative degree of 
comparison
This Superlative adjective is used
to show that a person or a thing 
 h  h           hi  
has the best or the worst of 
quality.

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NOTE:
Here the adjective in  superlative

degree is preceded by the,
h thus 

such sentences are said to be in

Superlative degree .

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Example
John is the tallest boy in the 
class.

Mr. Rao is the most honest 
employee in this office  
employee in this office. 
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India is  the most populous country 
in the world.
in the world

Today is the warmest day  of this 
month.
month

The Humming bird is the smallest 
bi d i   h  
bird in the world.
ld
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1. Mahatma Gandhi was the ____ leader of our times.( 
more popular/ most popular)
2. Mango juice is the ____ drink. ( more delicious/ 
most delicious)

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Change the following sentences 
into superlative degrees
into superlative degrees
y Roopa is more generous than her family 
members
members.
¾ Roopa is the most generous girl in her family.

y The planet Jupiter  is bigger than the Earth.
¾ Jupiter  is  the  biggest planet in the solar system.
Jupiter  is  the  biggest planet in the solar system

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y This is a very costly Necklace.
¾ This  necklace is the costliest one.

y Fox  is  a cunning animal.
¾ Fox is the most cunning animal in the world

y Cheetah is a swift runner.
¾ Cheetah is the swiftest  animal in the animal kingdom.

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 y
Identify the error
1.  This is one of /the most 
/
interesting book/ I have / ever 
read.
read

2.  No girl / in her troupe  is / so 
sprightly as / your daughter.
i h l    /   d h
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33. No river/ in the world evokes/ 
 No river/ in the world evokes/ 
such awe and reverence /as the 
Ganges.

4. Krishnan is / more intelligent 
than/ any student / of this class.
than/ any student / of this class
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5. Raju
 R j cannot walk  / much than / 
t  lk  /  h th  / 
two miles / at a stretch.

6. India is/ one of the most/ 
d f h
de e op g cou t y/ t e o d.
developing  country/ in the world.
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THANK YOU

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