Degrees of Comparison

ENGLISH GRAMMAR
Adjectives: To qualify a noun or a pronoun,
we make use of adjectives

 a cool guy
 a messy desk
 a mischievous cat
 garrulous squirrels
 six candles
 a round table
Degrees of Comparison:
 Most adjectives have three different forms to show degrees of comparison- the
positive, the comparative and the superlative.

 The positive is used to describe one item, person, or group.

e.g. Rohan is a brave boy.

 The comparative is used to describe two items, people, or groups.

e.g. Arpit is braver than Rohan.

 The superlative is used to describe three or more items, people , or groups.

e.g. Karna is the bravest of the three.
A) One syllable adjectives form their comparative and
superlative by adding…..er and ….est to the positive
form.

e.g. Bright- Brighter- Brightest

Dark- Darker- Darkest

Adjectives ending in –e and –r and –st

e.g. Braver- Bravest
B) Adjectives of three or more syllables form their
comparative and superlative by putting more and most
before the positive.

e.g. Interested- more interested- most interested

Beautiful- more beautiful – most beautiful

c) Adjectives of two syllables follow one or other of the

above rules.
*Those ending in - ful –re usually take more and most.
e.g. Doubtful- more doubtful- most doubtful
Obscure- more obscure- most obscure

*These ending in - er ,-y, -ly, usually add –er and –est.

e.g. Clever- cleverer- cleverest
Pretty- prettier- prettiest (y becomes i)
silly- sillier- silliest (y becomes i)

D)Irregular Comparisons:
e.g. ill/bad- worse- worst
well/good-better- best
far-farther-farthest (of distance only)
further-furthest (used more widely)
late-later/latter-latest/last
little-lesser- least
old- elder- eldest (Family)
older- oldest (people and things)
in-inner- innermost
*Comparative Degree is generally followed by the word
‘than’
*Superlative Degree is preceded by ‘the” and followed by
‘of/in’
*There are some adjectives which cannot be used in the
comparative form: dead, singular, unique, junior, senior,
inferior, superior, excellent, favourite, perfect etc.
Interchange of Degrees of Comparison:
It is possible to transform the grammatical structure of a
sentence by interchanging the degrees of comparison of
adjectives without altering the meaning of a sentence.

SR.No Model S.D C.D P.D

I One of the Supreme Model …..one of the SD… …..CD than many Very few (N-Plural)
(N- Plural) other (living) most …..are as PD as….
other(non-living)….
(N-Plural)
I - One of the Supreme Model :

SD-George is one of the strongest wrestlers.

CD- George is stronger than many other

wrestlers.

PD- Very few wrestlers are as strong as George.

CD- Eric is more hardworking than many other
teenagers.

SD- Eric is one of the most hardworking teenagers.

PD- Very few teenagers are as hardworking as

Eric.
S.No Model S.D C.D P.D

II Supreme Model Positive the SD CD than any No other…. as/so

other….. PD as…..

II. Supreme Model Positive

SD-George is the strongest wrester (of all).

CD-George is stronger than any other wrestler.

PD- No other wrestler is as strong as George.

CD-Jiya is more popular than any other celebrity.

SD- Jiya is the most popular celebrity.

PD- No other celebrity is as popular as Jiya.

Model III -Supreme Model Negative

(To be done in Gr 8)
 S.NO Model SD CD PD

IV Comparative Degree Positive X …1.. CD than…2.. …2..not as PD

as…1…

(There is no SD because there are only two things for

comparison.)

CD- Tom is more loyal than John.

PD-John is not as loyal as Tom.

SD- X
CD-The aeroplane flies faster than birds.

PD-Birds do not fly as fast as aeroplane.

SD- X
Model V-Comparative Degree Negative

(To be done in Gr 8)
SR. MODEL SD CD PD
NO.
I One of the Supreme Model …one of the SD…. ….CD than Very few….are as
(N-Plural) many(living)/ PD as….
most(non- (N-Plural)
living)other
(N-Plural)
II Supreme Model Positive ....the SD…. ….CD than any No other..as/so PD
other….. as…..

III Supreme Model Negative ...not the SD…… ….not CD than Some other…are
some other….. atleast as PD
(N-Plural) as….is

IV Comparative Degree Positive X ....CD than….. ..not as PD as……

V Comparative Degree Negative X ….not CD than…. …atleast as PD

as….
Thank you