Degrees of Comparison

Adjectives and adverbs are used to reflect the relative degree of the attribute they define. There are three degrees of comparison we use in English grammar.

The three degrees of comparison

There are three degrees or types of degrees of comparison used in various sentences representing the comparability of the adjective used in the sentence.

The three degrees are: 

• Positive or first degree
• Comparative or second degree
• Superlative or third-degree

1. Positive degree: Denotes the unaltered or the simple version of a property eg. delicious, small, and easy
2. Comparative degree: Denotes the bigger version than the 1st degree eg. more delicious, smaller, and easier.
3. Superlative degree: Denotes the biggest version of property and implies the highest quality, quantity, or degree—that is, in comparison to all other degrees. Eg. most delicious, smallest, and easiest.

All three degrees of comparison are used according to the sentence to be used and are decided along with sentence formation.

Uses of degrees of comparison: 

Other than the comparative use of the three degrees when using a sentence to compare something, there are more ways of the usage of these three degrees of comparison.

They can be used as described below:

• Positive degree: This is used to refer to the smallest degree of comparison being stated in a sentence. It can be used as an adjective of 1st degree in a sentence or is used with “as” before and after the word to be compared. 

For eg: Josh is not as smart as Tommy.

• Comparative degree: This is used for the next highest degree of comparison or can be used for comparing two quantities or items, mostly by using the word “than”

For eg: Forests are scarier than lakes.

In another way, the ending -er is used to represent a word in the comparative degree. This is done in monosyllable or single-syllable words like happy, rich, brave, etc.

For eg; Rony is faster than Rocky in marathons.

In the case of two-syllable words, it is implied using the word “more” in front of the degree to be expressed.

Two-syllable words include words like beautiful, difficult, courageous, etc.

For eg: Wallace is more intelligent than Chris when it comes to academic capability.

• Superlative degree: This degree of comparison is the highest degree and refers to the extreme of an adjective. It is expressed using -est in the ending usually eg; smartest, fastest, smoothest, etc.

For eg: Rahul is the smartest kid in his class.

The superlative degree of comparison is usually preceded by “the” and followed by the noun in the sentence.

It can also be expressed using “most” preceding the adjective or the expressed degree.

For eg: Teena is the most creative student of her peers.

Rules of changing degrees of comparison with examples:

• For most adjectives with one syllable and for some with more than one syllable are changed by adding “-er” for comparative and “-est” for the superlative degree. For eg;

• When the adjective in positive degree ends with an “e”, -”r” in comparative and “-st” in the superlative degree are added at the end of the word. For eg;

• When the positive degree ends with a “y” which is preceded by a consonant, the “y” is changed into “i” and then “-er” is added in comparative and “-est” in the superlative degree of comparison. For eg;

• When the positive degree is a one-syllable word ending in a single consonant which is preceded by a vowel; then this consonant is doubled and then “-er” in comparative and “-est” in superlative degree is added at the end of the word. For eg;

• In case of two-syllable words “more” is used in comparative and “most” in superlative degree preceding the adjective. For eg;

• In case of two-syllable words with “-ful”, “-less”, “-ing”, and “-ed” in the end, we can use either “-er” and “-est” or “more” and “most”. It is also applied to other words like modern, foolish, famous, certain, recent, etc. For eg;

• When using a comparative degree for comparing two qualities in the same person or thing, we use “more” instead of adding -er; for eg;

1. Josh is braver than Stefan.
2. Nick is more tall than fat.

In the first sentence, Josh is compared to Stefen while in the second, two qualities of Stefen are compared.

Degrees of Comparison examples:

In the following table, examples of words and their use according to the degree of comparison are given, for an intensive understanding of the various degrees of comparison in a sentence.                      

As you go through the examples, try to form a sentence in your mind using the different degrees of comparison to enhance your understanding of the topic.

Degrees of Comparison Examples in sentences:

Given below are some sentences with the three degrees of comparison to help you understand sentence formation better. Go through each sentence and try to identify the degree of comparison used.

• The first degree of comparison examples:

1. The bags Christen is carrying are not as heavy as mine.
2. Perfumes sprayed on roses are not as sweet as those on jasmines.
3. Jules is a silent kid.
4. My father is happy when he is home.
5. Exercises make me strong as a person.
6. The coffee served here is hot.
7. My English teacher is very tall.
8. Trekking is not as fun as it sounds.
9. This mobile phone I have is very slow and old.
10. My tv-series is as interesting as yours.

• The second degree of comparison examples:

1. The flowers in my garden are more fragrant than in the public park.
2. Mount Everest is higher than the Alps.
3. Physics is more difficult than Biology.
4. Raina does more physical activities than Swaraj during the day.
5. Principal is more wonderful in person than she is online.
6. The art in this museum is worse than that in the exhibition.
7. Cassie is less popular than Maddy in our school.
8. Stephen got the biggest glass of milk among the three kids.
9. Tyler is taller than the rest of his friends.
10. This coffee is sweeter than the one we had earlier.

• The third degree of comparison examples:

1. Rajesh is the tallest kid in his class.
2. Summers are the hottest in the month of June here.
3.  Brownies are the most delicious dessert in the world.
4. Susan became the youngest genius in the field of Chemistry.
5. Mount Everest is the highest mountain on Earth.
6. This ring is the most precious among her collection.
7. He went to the coolest party of the year.
8. Josh was seen talking to the most famous celebrity in town.
9. This is the best restaurant in this city.
10. Gwen is the most sincere student in his class.

Conclusion:

The article contains the concept, examples, and exercises for the topic; degrees of comparison. The important points to be kept in mind are:

• Use the correct degree of comparison as needed according to the sentence.
• Remember to add “the” in front of the superlative degree of comparison.
• Learn and revise the examples of degrees of comparison i.e., how the word form is changed as we move towards a higher degree.
• Place the adjective being compared at the correct position in the sentence, usually before the noun.
• For more than one syllable, words like “more” and “most” are used preceding the adjective in the comparative and superlative degree, respectively.
• For one-syllable words, “-er” and “-est” is added at the end of the word in comparative and superlative degree respectively.