​Positive Degree

Quality or attribute in its most simple degree:

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fast, hard, smart, pretty, clean, large, small, old, easy, etc.

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​as.... as

2. Comparatives of inferiority.

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To form this type of comparison we can use the conjunctions “not as…as” or “less…than”.

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In both cases, the adjective is in the positive degree.

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Mark is not as fast as Juan.

Sue’s room is less clean than Angela’s.

Beth is not as tall as me.

Los Angeles is not as big as New York.​

Comparatives &Superlatives

By Julia Garcia

Comparatives and Superlatives

​Grades of Adjectives:

Positive / Comparative / Superlative

Adjectives can vary in degree or intensity.

They have comparative and superlative forms.

• My house is larger than hers.

• This box is smaller than the one I lost.

• Your dog runs faster than Jim's dog.

• The rock flew higher than the roof.

• Jim and Jack are both my friends, but I like Jack better.

​Some text here about the topic of discussion.

Comparatives

• My house is the largest one in our neighborhood.

• This is the smallest box I've ever seen.

• Your dog ran the fastest of any dog in the race.

• We all threw our rocks at the same time. My rock flew the highest. (" of all the rocks" is understood)

Superlatives

​Superlatives

The superlative degree denotes quality in the highest degree and as in Spanish, “the” is used before the adjective in the superlative form.

​

Juan is the fastest .

Angela’s room is the cleanest.

I am the tallest.

New York is the biggest city in the United States.

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​Rules (1/3):

1. One syllable adjective ending in a silent 'e' — nice

Comparative — add 'r' — nicer

Superlative — add 'st' — nicest

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2. One syllable adjective ending in one CONSONANT/VOWEL/CONSONANT — big

Comparative — the last consonant is doubled and 'er' is added —bigger

Superlative — the last consonant is doubled and 'est' is added—biggest

​

3. One syllable adjective ending in more than one consonant or more than a vowel (or long vowels) — high, cheap, soft.

Comparative — 'er' is added — higher, cheaper, softer.

Superlative — 'est is added — highest, cheapest, softest​.

Comparatives

• We use it to compare things.

• One-syllable adjectives: -er

• Two-syllable adjectives which end in 'y': -ier

• Other two-syllable (or more) adjectives: more + adjective

• We always need to add 'than' after the adjective.

Superlatives

• We use it to say which thing is top in a group.

• One-syllable adjectives: -est

• Two-syllable adjectives which end in 'y': -iest

• Other two-syllable (or more) adjectives: the most + adjective

• We always need to put 'the' before the adjective.

Irregulars

• Be careful! Some adjectives have special forms.

Superlatives

It is used to compare three or more things.

One Syllable.

Form: The ....... est

Example: The biggEST

Two syllables ending in y

Change y to i and add est

Two or more Syllable

Form: The most.

Example: The most expensive.

Irregular forms

• My girlfriend is more beautiful than yours.

• My father is more knowledgeable than yours.

• His laptop is more expensive than mine.

Large comparatives