Wednesday, September 1st, 2021

Objective: To compare people, things and actions.

Adjective and Adverb Comparative Structures

Adjectives and adverbs can be used to make comparisons. The comparative form is
used to compare two people, ideas, or things. The superlative form with the word
"the" is used to compare three or more. Comparatives and superlatives are often used
in writing to hedge or boost language.
Here are some rules and examples of how to form the comparatives and superlatives:

General Rules for Comparatives and Superlatives

  Adjective or
Comparative Superlative
Adverb

small smaller (the) smallest

fast faster (the) fastest

One-syllable adjectives
large larger (the) largest

big bigger (Note the (the) biggest

spelling here)

thoughtful more/less (the) most/least

thoughtful thoughtful
Most two-syllable
adjectives
useful more/less useful (the) most/least
useful

carefully more/less (the) most/least

carefully careful
Adverbs ending in -ly
slowly more/less slowly (the) most/least
slowly

sleepy sleepier (the) sleepiest

Two-syllable adjectives
ending in -y
happy happier (the) happiest

Two-syllable adjectives little littler (the) littlest

ending with –er, -le, -or, or
–ow narrow narrower (the) narrowest
 gentle gentler (the) gentlest

intelligent more/less (the) most/least

intelligent intelligent
Three or more syllable
adjectives
important more/less (the) most/least
important important
 

Two-Syllable Adjectives That Follow Two Rules (either form is correct)

Adjective Comparative Superlative

more/less clever (the) most/least clever

clever
cleverer (the) cleverest

more/less simple (the) most/least simple

simple
simpler (the) simplest

more/less friendly (the) most/least friendly

friendly
friendlier (the) friendliest
 

Irregular Adjectives

Adjective Comparative Superlative

good better (the) best

bad worse (the) worst

far farther (the) farthest

little less (the) least

few fewer (the) fewest

To form comparative sentences, use the comparative with the word "than." Here are
some examples:

 Fewer participants volunteered for the study than I had anticipated.  

  Business school was less expensive than law school.
  His application was processed more quickly than he thought.

It is also possible to use "(not) as…as" to express similarity or differences. Here are
some examples:

 Reading is as enjoyable as writing.
 The results were as conclusive as in previous studies.
 Finding participants for the study was not as easy as I thought.
 Her level of expertise was not as extensive as her employer had hoped.


Some Common Errors With Comparisons

Common Error 1: Using the comparative instead of the superlative

o INCORRECT: He is the happier person I know.

o REVISION: He is the happiest person I know.
 
o INCORRECT: She is the more thoughtful person I know.
o REVISION: She is the most thoughtful person I know.

 Common Error 2: Doubling up comparisons or superlatives

o INCORRECT: His car is more faster than mine.

o REVISION: His car is faster than mine.
 
o INCORRECT: His car is the most fastest.
o REVISION: His car is the fastest.

 Common Error 3: Using empty comparisons (part of the comparison is

missing)

o INCORRECT: The participants were more experienced.

o REVISION: The participants were more experienced than the previous
participant pool.
 
o INCORRECT: The line moved more slowly.
o REVISION: The line moved more slowly than the line next to it.

 Common Error 4: Using ambiguous comparisons (the comparison has

more than one possible meaning)

o INCORRECT: She likes pizza better than her husband. (Does this mean that pizza
is better than her husband?)
 o REVISION: She likes pizza better than her husband does. (Now it is clear that
the comparison is who likes pizza more.)
 
o INCORRECT: Her suitcase is bigger than John. (Does this mean that the size of
the suitcase is larger than another person?)
o REVISION: Her suitcase is bigger than John’s. (Now it is clear that the
comparison is about two suitcases, not about John.)

Common Error 5: Missing the article “the” in the superlative

o INCORRECT: Finishing quickly was least important task.

o REVISION: Finishing quickly was the least important task.
 
o INCORRECT: The youngest girl was also littlest.
o REVISION: The youngest girl was also the littlest.

FEWER, LESS AND MORE

We use fewer with countable nouns when we compare two things, to say that one

thing is smaller in number than another thing.
 I have fewer books than you.
 There are fewer men than women in the group.

We use less with uncountable nouns when we compare two things, to say that one

thing is smaller in amount than another thing.
 I eat less chocolate than my older sister.
 I earn less money than him.

We use more with countable or uncountable nouns when we compare two things, to

say that one thing is bigger in number or amount than another thing.
 There are more women than men in the group.
 My sister eats more chocolate than me.