5th week – Unit three and six, Lesson 4 Lecturer: Maura de

Oliveira

ADJECTIVES – DEGREES OF COMPARISON

1. Adjectives
Are words which modify a noun or pronoun by providing descriptive or specific detail and
compare two or more nouns. Unlike adverbs, adjectives do not modify verbs, other
adjectives, or adverbs. Adjectives usually precede the noun or pronoun they modify.
Adjectives do not have to agree in number or gender with the nouns they describe.
Adjectives answer the following questions: What kind? How many? Or which ones?
Examples
 Samuel bought a used tractor for farm. (used describes what kind of tractor Samuel
bought).

 Lurdes took ten hoes for the practical lesson in arboreto. (ten tells how many hoes
Lurdes took.)

 Luis climbed that tree in the backyard. (that specifies which tree Luis climbed.)

Degree of comparison

There are three degrees of comparison:

1. Positive (expresses a quality without comparison)
2. Comparative (denotes a higher degree of quality)
3. Superlative (denotes the highest degree)

Formation of Degrees of Comparison:

All adjectives of one syllable form their degrees of comparison by adding the suffix “-er” in
the comparative degree and the suffix “-est” in the superlative (synthetical way).
E.g. long – longer – longest

Comparative Degree

 We use a comparative adjective + than to compare two people, places, or things.

Eg: Lydia is taller than Alex.

Gorillas are more intelligent than cows.
5th week – Unit three and six, Lesson 4 Lecturer: Maura de
Oliveira
You can use a comparative adjective + noun when the comparison is clear from context.

Eg: The bigger house is mine.

The more interesting shows are on cable TV.
Superlative degree
We use when we are comparing two or more places, things or people.
Eg: Gil is the tallest student in the class.
Lagos is the most beautiful city i have ever seen

Here belong also adjectives of 2 syllables:

a) Adjectives in “-y, -er, -ow, -ble”

E.g. busy – busier – busiest
Clever – cleverer – cleverest
Yellow – yellower – yellowest
Able – abler – ablest

b) Adjectives with the final stressed syllable:

E.g. com'plete – completer – completest
Se’vere – severer – severest

Note: All adjectives of two syllables may form their degrees of comparison by adding
“more” and “most” as well.
happier – happiest
E.g. happy
more happy – most happy

All other adjectives of two and more syllables add the word “more” in the comparative
degree and “most” in the superlative (analytical way).
E.g. expensive – more expensive – most expensive

Some adjectives form their degrees of comparison in a special way:

The following adjectives have suppletive forms of comparison:

good – better – best

bad – worse – worst

many
more – most
much

little – less – least.

5th week – Unit three and six, Lesson 4 Lecturer: Maura de
Oliveira

2.1.3. Order of adjectives

In English, it is common to use more than one adjective to describe a noun. These adjectives
must be used in the proper order. When we use more than one adjective before a noun in
English, we often put the adjectives in a specific order. It can sounds quite strange if the
adjectives are in a different order. However, there are two things to remember.
 First, it’s very rare to use more than three adjectives before a noun.
 Second, sometimes the order can be changed, usually to emphasise something.

Here is the order that we generally follow:

1. Opinion: pretty, horrible, lovely

2. Size: huge, tiny, big, little
3. Age: old, young, new
4. Shape: round, square, triangular
5. Colour: black, red, yellow.
6. Origin: British, Chinese, French
7. Material: woollen, wooden, silk
8. Purpose: writing (paper), school (shoes)

Here are some examples:

 I carried a very small black suitcase.
 They have some old French paintings.
 She was wearing a new red silk dress.
 There are some new Chinese students in the class
NOTE; WATCH THIS VIDEO ABOUT ADJECTIVE ORDER;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSepkJV91mk&feature=youtu.be