Adjectives, or words used to describe nouns, have many forms.
Two of those forms are comparative and superlative adjectives, which are often confused with each other. While both are used to draw comparisons between two or more things, they have different forms and different meanings.
This guide will cover how and when to use superlative and comparative adjectives.
Then, conveniently review grammar, spelling, and proper adjective use with the Originality.ai Grammar Checker.
Comparative adjectives compare two people or things and describe which one has more (or less) of a specific attribute.
For example, “The mountains are snowier than the city.” In this sentence, the two nouns compared are the mountains and the city and the quality assessed is how much snow each place has.
Comparative adjectives can also be used to compare the state of a single noun through different points in time. For example, “The town is bigger than I remembered.”
When forming comparative adjectives:
Examples:
Superlative adjectives describe a person, place, or thing that has more of an attribute or quality than everyone or everything else in the group being described.
For example, “That puppy is the smallest dog I’ve ever seen!” In this sentence, the noun “puppy” is compared to all other dogs that the speaker has encountered.
When forming superlative adjectives, follow the same pattern as when forming comparative adjectives.
Examples:
While both comparative and superlative adjectives are used to make comparisons between various nouns, they are used in different ways.
For example, if you wanted to compare Jane’s height to her family members, you would use a comparative adjective to say that Jane is taller than her brother, but you would use a superlative adjective to say that Jane is the tallest person in her family.
Examples:
When constructing a sentence with a comparative adjective, the easiest form is:
Noun 1 + be + comparative adjective + than + noun 2.
Examples:
When using this sentence format, noun 1 has more of the quality described than noun 2.
In some cases, the comparison is clear and the second noun is not specifically mentioned. If only one noun is used in the sentence, the word “than” is not needed.
Examples:
When constructing a sentence with a superlative adjective, the adjective is placed before the noun and usually paired with the definite article “the”.
The + superlative adjective + noun …
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If the noun is used with a possessive adjective (my, your, her) or a possessive noun (student’s, sister’s), this replaces the definite article. As well, the word “the” is not necessary if the comparison is being with itself.
Examples:
Now that you understand when and how to use comparative and superlative adjectives, you’re ready to construct the most descriptive sentences in your next piece!
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