Hello my dear readers.

English grammar rules are quite easy to understand for both adults and children. To prove it to you, today we will analyze one of the most popular topics: degrees of comparison of adjectives in English language.

Bright and memorable tables will not leave you indifferent, and the practical part, consisting of tasks, exercises and, will forever consolidate the knowledge gained.

Ready to start the lesson?

Let's start simple

You probably know that in English there is 3 degrees of comparison of adjectives: simple, comparative and superlative.

• Remember, and better write down: If in front of you English word from one syllable (hot, big, cool, kind) - just add the ending -er to the end of the adjective and get a comparative degree.

For example:

hot-hotter wide-wide

big bigger kind kinder

• But do not forget that there is also a superlative degree (this is when something is the very best\beautiful\fast). So, if we still have a word of one syllable, then the superlative degree is formed by adding the article the at the beginning of the word and the ending -est at the end.

For example:

hot-hotter-the hottest wide-wider-the widest

big-bigger-the biggest kind-kinder-the kindest

This is where the simple part of the rule ends.

And the next one begins.

Don't forget the important

• If you haven't noticed, then in the examples above we have doubled consonants. This only happens under the following conditions:

1. The word consists from one syllable.
2. The word ends like this: one vowel + one consonant.

For example,

fat-fatter-the fattest

• I will talk about the obvious, but sometimes confusing - to words ending in a vowel -e, we simply add -r And -st.(this is also seen in the above examples)
• Another important point! There is a list of short adjectives consisting of two syllables and ending in - y. When we form degrees of comparison with them, then the letter -y is replaced by -i .

For example,

lucky-luckier-the lucki est.

• There is an unspoken rule that adjectives consisting of two syllables can form degrees of comparison in the second way about which read below.

Another way to form degrees of comparison

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Answers:
Exercise 1.
1. Hot-Hotter-The hottest
2. Beautiful-More beautiful-The most beautiful
3. Happy-Happier-The happiest
4. Brave-Braver-The bravest
5. Fast-Faster-The Fastest
6. Calm-Calmer-The calmest
7. Cool-Cooler-The coolest
8. Loud-Louder-The loudest
9. Short-Shorter-The shortest
10. Strong-Stronger-The strongest
11. Dangerous-More dangerous-The most dangerous
12. Handsome-More handsome-The most handsome
13. Nice-Nice-The nicest
14. Sarcastic - More sarcastic - The most sarcastic
15. Bad-Worse- The worst

Exercise 2.
1. The safest \ the fastest.
2. Longer\Shorter
3.Louder
4.Closer
5. Bigger
6. More expensive
7. More beautiful
8. The best
9. The tallest
10 Taller

Exercise 3
1. The smartest
2.Worse
3. The kindest
4. The most populated
5. Further
6. (Much) happy
7. The best
8. The most popular
9. Further
10.Worst

In English, it requires special attention and careful study. Adjectives have three forms: positive, comparative and superlative. By analogy with the Russian language, an example can be given:

• large (positive) - more (comparative) - the largest (excellent).

In English, three methods are used to form degrees of adjectives:

• suffix;
• composite;
• exceptions.

Suffixal way of forming adjectives

The method applies only to single-syllable adjectives and to adjectives consisting of two syllables, but ending in -y, -er, -ow. In this case, the comparative degree is formed by adding -er at the end of the word. And superlative - by adding -est and the definite article the before the adjective. For a clear example, let's make a table with the translation of the degrees of comparison of adjectives in English:

Do not forget that when you add a suffix to a word, it may undergo some changes. So, for example, if a word starts with the letter -y, and it is preceded by a consonant, then the letter -y changes to -i.

If a monosyllabic adjective ends in a stressed vowel and one consonant, then the last consonant is doubled when forming a comparative degree.

See also the table of degrees of comparison of adjectives below.

Compound way of forming adjectives

This method education is used only for polysyllabic words. To form adjectives, we put the word more or the most before an adjective, depending on what degree we need. We will also consider a good example in the table of degrees of comparison of adjectives in English.

Exceptions in education

This method includes the so-called exception words. There are not so many of them in English, but they have their own characteristics that must be remembered. Below is a table of exceptions for the degrees of comparison of adjectives in English, which you need to know by heart.

The last two adjectives require close attention. It is necessary to understand the difference between the older and elder forms. We use elder/the eldest only when we are talking about family ties. In all other cases, we use the words older/the oldest.

My brother is elder than my sister. - My brother is older than my sister.

It is the oldest house in our village. - This is the oldest house in our village.

The words farther/the farthest are used only in their direct meaning when talking about physical distance. In other cases, we use the words further/the furthest.

We are going farther and farther in deep forest. We are going deeper and deeper into the dark forest.

Let "s go further in our discussion. - Let's move on in our discussion.

It is necessary to pay attention to the fact that there are adjectives that do not change in accordance with the degrees. Such forms are typical only for those adjectives that express any degree of a particular feature, quality or phenomenon. It is worth remembering that this topic is studied at an early stage of language learning, so all tables of degrees of comparison of adjectives in English for children will be as useful as for adults.

Practice exercises

Fill in the table of degrees of comparison of adjectives in English with translation:

Put the adjectives given in brackets into the correct form:

1. Do you know our ... (far) destination?
2. I couldn't solve this task on my math test. It was the ... (difficult) for me.
3. History is ... (easy) for me than Art lessons.
4. My mum is ... (old) than my dad.

Exceptions of degrees of comparison of adjectives in English. The table must be filled in.

Translate into English:

1. My grandfather is the oldest in our family.
2. It was the worst memory of my life.
3. Yesterday I met one of the most beautiful girls on the planet.
4. I promised that I would study better.
5. My friend is the most a kind person in the Universe.

Expressing various degrees of quality inherent in the subject, the name of which is determined by this adjective or adverb. These degrees are positive(positive degree) comparative(Comparative Degree), excellent(Superlative degree).

Positive degree (interesting - interesting) adjectives is called their basic form, not expressing the degree of comparison.

Comparative degree (more interesting - more interesting)(comparative) adjectives. The comparative degree allows you to compare things.

If the adjective consists of the 1st syllable, the ending -er is added: nice -nicer; big - bigger. If there are two syllables and the ending of the verb in the main form -y, the ending changes to -ier: heavy - heavy; early - earlier. If the adjective is long (consists of 2/3/4 syllables), the word more is used - more: expensive - more expensive.

Superlatives (the most interesting - the most interesting)(superlative) adjectives. The superlative degree of adjectives in English is necessary to indicate the quality to which the word "most" can be added.

Don't forget to add the article the! If the adjective consists of the 1st syllable, the ending the …-est is added: nice - the nicest; big - the biggest. If two syllables and the ending of the verb in the main form -y, the ending changes to the ... -iest: heavy - the heaviest; early - the earliest. If the adjective is long (consists of 2/3/4 syllables), the word most is used - the most (most): expensive - the most expensive.

Use after superlative adjectives in with cities, buildings, etc. exceptions: of my life, of the year. For example, It "s one of the oldest castles in Britain. - It is one of the oldest castles in Great Britain. It was one of the worst experiences of my life. - It was one of the worst experiences of my life.

The ... the ... rule

Rule than ... so ... (the ... the ...) You can use the … the … with two comparative adjectives to show the dependence of one on the other. For example:

The warmer the weather, the better I feel. - The warmer the weather, the better I feel.

The harder he works, the more money he get. The more he works, the more money he gets.

The more electricity you use, the higher your bill will be. - The more electricity you use, the higher your utility bill will be.

The bigger, the better.- The bigger, the better.

The greater your storm, the brighter your rainbow.

as ... as /than rule

The rule is so ... as ... (or such ... as ...) (as ... as ...). Between as and as only an adjective is used without a comparative or superlative degree. For example:

… as often as he could... - as often as he could

As in Russian, so in English, adjectives have three degrees of comparison: positive, comparative, superlative.

As can be seen from the above examples, the comparative and superlative degrees of adjectives in English are formed in three ways:
1) by adding suffixes - er And - est to the main form (synthetic);
2) through the use of words more/less And most/least before the main form (analytical);
H) by forming degrees of comparison from different roots. Adjectives in the superlative degree are preceded by the definite article. the.
The rules for choosing the method of forming degrees of comparison are very simple.
Synthetic way(using suffixes - er for the comparative degree and - est for superlatives) applies to:

• all one-syllable adjectives: tall - taller - the tallest; fat - fatter - the fattest. The exceptions are: like- similar - more like - the most like; real- real - more real – the most real;
• all two-syllable adjectives ending in – at : happy - happier - the happiest; funny - funnier - the funniest.

Two-syllable adjectives ending in – le , - ow , - er and disyllabic adjectives with stress on the second syllable (except: exact- accurate - only moreexact – themostexact), as well as adjectives common, handsome, pleasant, solid, quiet, wicked, cruel, stupid, tired can form degrees of comparison both synthetically and analytically:

For almost all of these words, the analytical method of forming degrees of comparison is more preferable.
Adjectives formed with a negative prefix un- from two-syllable adjectives to -at, can also have two forms of degrees of comparison: unhappy- unhappy, unfortunate unhappier/moreunhappy-theunhappiest/themostunhappy.
When forming degrees of comparison by means of suffixes - er And
-est The following spelling rules apply:
if the adjective ends in mute - e , then adding - er and - mute - e omitted: mature - ripe -riper-theripest;
if the adjective ends in a consonant with a preceding short vowel, then in the comparative and superlative degree the final consonant is doubled: big – bigger – thebiggest; hot – hotter – thehot test; thin – thinner – thethinnest;
if the adjective ends in - at with a preceding consonant, then in a comparative and superlative degree - at goes into - i -: dirty -dirtier-thedirtiest;busy-busier-thebusiest;easy-easier-theeasiest. If before -at there is a vowel, then - at remains unchanged: cheerful - gay-gayer-thegayest.
Most two-syllable adjectives, as well as adjectives consisting of three or more syllables, form a comparative degree using the word Thatre- more , and the superlative degree with themost- most. For example: beautiful beautiful - more beautiful - the most beautiful, frequent - frequent - more frequent - the most frequent.
Analytical method formation of degrees of comparison using words less- less and theleast- least applicable to all quality adjectives without exception. For example: capable able - less able - the least able; interesting - interesting - less interesting - the least interesting.
adjectives good,much,many,late,near,old,far form degrees of comparison from different roots:

adjectives far,old,near,late have double degrees of comparison. Forms farther/thefarthest are used in the meaning of the distance distance:
Weliveinthefarther sideofthe town. - We live on distant end of the city.

Forms further/thefurthest are also used in the meanings: further, later; additional. Moreover, the form further, as a rule, corresponds to the value "additional, one more":
Here is a further example.- Here Another one example.
adjective form theeldest- the oldest of the family members - is used only as a definition for a noun. Form elder- the eldest in the family - is never used in comparative constructions:
My brother John is three years old older (than I am).- My brother John for three years older(than me). in which it is not about seniority, but about the age of family members. In such cases, the forms older/theoldest.

Both in Russian and English adjectives have three degrees of comparison: positive, comparative and superlative.

Positive degree of adjectives in English used in the following designs:

as ... as – "so (oh) the same ... like", "the same", etc.

For example:
Jane is as tall as John.
Jane the same growth, How and John. (= Jane and John are the same height.)

not as ... as / not so ... as – "not like".

For example:
John is not as tall as Arnie.
John not like that high, How Arnie.

Comparative and superlative degrees of adjectives in English formed in two ways.

In the first case, if the adjective is monosyllabic, i.e. consists of one syllable (for example, clean, new, cheap) or from two, where the second syllable ends in -y or -er, then the degrees of comparison of such adjectives are formed by adding endings -er And -est.

Pay attention to spelling changes in the formation of degrees of comparison of monosyllabic adjectives:

unpronounceable" e" is omitted at the end, for example:

late - late r– the late st

If the word ends with -y preceded by a consonant, then " y"changes to" i", For example:

eas y– eas i er-the eas i est

If a word ends in a consonant preceded by a short stressed vowel, then the final consonant is doubled, for example:

ho t– ho tt er-the ho tt est

In the second case, if the adjective consists of three or more syllables, or of two syllables, where the second syllable ends Not on -y And -er, then the degrees of comparison of such adjectives are formed using the words more And most.

Some adjectives can be formed in both ways, for example:

narrow-narrow er/more narrow-the narrow est/the most narrow
shallow - shallow er/more shallow – the shallow est/the most shallow
quiet-quiet er/more quiet-the quiet est/the most quiet

Note that the adjective in the superlative degree is preceded by the definite article. the. There is a completely logical explanation for this - the superlative degree distinguishes an object or concept from a number of similar ones due to the maximum presence of one or another feature. Therefore, we are talking about one of a kind(or given group) subject.

Comparative adjectives can be preceded by amplifying words. much, a lot, far- in meaning "much", "much", and so on., a little, a bit, slightly- in meaning "not (by) much", "slightly", and so on.

For example:
Let's go by plane. It's much faster and much more comfortable.
Let's go by plane. So much faster and much convenient.

My brother is a little taller and slightly more intelligent than yours.
My brother A little above and a little smarter than you.

The repetition of adjectives in a comparative degree means duration or continuation (in such cases, the Russian " All"), For example:

More and more people were coming.
People All came and went.

He was getting older and older.
He became All older.

It is possible to use indefinite pronouns before an adjective in a comparative degree any And no, For example:

This report wasn't any better than the previous one.
This report was not at all no better than the previous one.

You are no better than me.
You nothing better than me.

If you want to emphasize the dependence of one action on another, you can use the expression the + comparative adjective + the + comparative adjective, which translates as " than … so", For example:

The sooner you'll start, the sooner you"ll finish.
The sooner you will start the sooner finish.

The richer you are the more difficult your life is.
How You richer, the more difficult your life.

Pay attention to the following adjectives, the degrees of comparison of which are formed differently than indicated above. These adjectives and their derivatives just need to be memorized.