3. The Adjective and the Adverb Comparison of adjectives

There are three forms of comparison: positive, comparative, superlative.

Positive Form

Use the positive form of the adjective if the comparison contains one of the following expressions:

as … as (Jane is as tall as John)

not as … as / not so … as (John is not as tall as Arnie)

Comparative Form and Superlative Form (-er/-est)

one-syllable adjectives (clean, new, cheap)

two-syllable adjectives ending in -y or -er (easy, happy, pretty, dirty, clever)

positive form clean

comparative form cleaner

superlative form (the) cleanest

Comparative Form and Superlative Form (more/most)

adjectives of three or more syllables (and two-syllable adjectives not ending in -y/-er)

positive form difficult

comparative form more difficult

superlative form (the) most difficult

Comparative Form and Superlative Form (irregular comparisons)

Good - better - best bad / ill - worse - worst little (amount) - less - least little (size) - smaller - smallest much / many - more - most far (place + time) - furthe - furthest far (place) - farther - farthest

late (time) - later - latest late (order) - latter - last near (place) - nearer - nearest near (order) - next old (people and things) - older - oldest old (people) - elder - eldest

Form and Comparison of Adverbs

Form

In general: adjective + -ly (adjective – adverb = slow – slowly)

Comparison of adverbs

There are three forms: positive, comparative, superlative.

Comparison with -er/-est

all adverbs with one syllable

the adverb: early

positive form hard

comparative form harder

superlative form (the) hardest

Comparison with more - most

adverbs ending on -ly (not: early)

positive form carefully

comparative form more carefully

superlative form (the) most carefully

Irregular adverb

well - better - best badly - worse - worst much - more - most

little - less - least late - later - last far - farther/further - farthest/furthest

Adjective or Adverb

Adjectives are used to modify nouns The dog is loud.

Adverbs are used to modify verbs, adjectives or other adverbs The dog barks loudly.

Linking Verbs

Some verbs can only be used with adjectives, others might change their meaning when used with an adverb (look – look good (= appearance) – look well (= healthy); feel – feel good (= state of health/mind) – feel well (= have a good sense of touch).