Comparison of compounds

Degrees of Comparison

The Position of Adjectives

When we use more than one adjective before a noun, there is often a preferred order for these adjectives. However, this order is not fixed: opinion + size/physical quality/shape/age + colour + participle adjectives + origin + material + type + purpose + noun.

 an old plastic container (= age + material + noun)

 a hard red ball (= quality + colour + noun)

 a frightening Korean mask (= opinion + origin +noun)

 a round biscuit tin (= shape + purpose (for holding biscuits) + noun)

 a small broken plate (= size + participle adjective + noun)

 a useful digital alarm clock (= opinion + type + purpose + noun)

Note that there are a few adjectives which go before or after nouns and they change in meaning according to their position:

This elect body meets once a year (specially chosen).

The president elect takes over in May (who has been elected).

George was late for the meeting (didn’t come in time).

The late George Brown was an outstanding musician (who is dead now).

Present employees number 3.000 (who work at present).

The employees present should vote on this (who participate in the meeting).

There are three degrees of comparison: positive (or absolute), comparative and superlative. There are three ways of forming the comparative and the superlative degrees: synthetic, analytical and suppletive.

Synthetic: by adding the suffix –er to the comparative degree and the suffix -est to the superlative degree.

Types of adjectives forming their degrees of comparison in a synthetic way:

1) monosyllabic: great ― greater ― greatest;

2) disyllabic: ending in –y: lovely ― lovelier ― loveliest;

-ow: narrow ― narrower ― narrowest;

-le: simple ― simpler ― simplest;

-er: clever ― cleverer ― cleverest;

-some: handsome ― handsomer ― handsomest;

Analytical: the comparative degree is formed by adding the word more, the superlative ― most: careful ― more careful ― most careful; personal ― more personal ― most personal; tired ― more tired ― most tired

Suppletive (Irregular):

good ― better ― best; bad ― worse ― worst; little ― less ― least;

many ― more ― most;

near ― nearer ― nearest (for distance) // next (for time);

far ― farther ― farthest (for distance) // further ― furthest (for time & distance);

old ― older ― oldest (for age) // elder ― eldest (for seniority);

late ― later ― latest (for time) // last (for order);

Compound adjectives can be inflected in two ways:

1) the first element is inflected if it is an adjective or an adverb (regular with well -): well-known — better-known — best-known;

2) an analytical way: kind-hearted — more kind-hearted — most kind-hearted.

The following adjectives do not form degrees of comparison:

1. Limiting qualitative adjectives which single out or determine the type of things or persons, such as: previous, middle, left, childless, medical, dead, etc.

2. Relative adjectives such as: wooden, woolen, leathern.

3. Adjectives with comparative and superlative meaning which are of Latin origin: former, inner, upper, junior, senior, prior, superior, minimal, etc.

Word combinations with less and least are not considered to be analytical forms of degrees of comparison. Remember the phrase ― the lesser of two evils, lesser is not a comparative degree but an adjective meaning ‘not as great as other(s)’.

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