Adjectives describe nouns, and comparative adjectives compare two nouns in terms of appearance, size, quality, or measurement. Adding “er” to the end of the word creates most comparative adjectives, but some require “more” before the adjective. Superlative adjectives express the highest status of a comparative and usually compare three or more objects. Some adjectives cannot be turned into comparatives by adding “er,” and some have irregular comparative forms. The rules for adjectives have been questioned and largely ignored for decades.
Adjectives are words that describe a noun. Comparative adjectives are words that compare two nouns. Such comparison may be in terms of appearance, size, quality or any other measurement, objective or subjective. These parts of speech are often created by adding the letters “er” to the end of the word, although some words require the word “more” to be added in front of the adjective instead.
English language and grammar become more descriptive when adjectives are used. For example, the reader gets a clearer picture when an author writes “It was a dark and stormy night” rather than “It was night.” The words “dark” and “stormy” are adjectives that describe the night and help create an atmosphere.
Comparative adjectives could be used to compare a new night with this particular night. For example, the writer might say, “The night was darker and stormier than the one before.” To indicate an opposite situation, he might say: “The night was brighter and clearer than the previous one, but it was still an omen.” Both of these examples include comparative adjectives because they compare one thing to another.
In most cases, comparative adjectives can be created by adding “er” to the end of the adjective. This is the case with “prettier”, “smarter”, “bluer” and “taller”. However, comparatives are not always positive. Someone can even be “badder” or “dirtier”.
Some words, however, cannot be turned into comparative adjectives by adding “er.” For example, neither “efficienter” nor “naturaler” are English words. In these cases, using the word “more” before the adjective is the correct way to create the comparative. For example, “Building an assembly line is usually more efficient than assembling one item at a time.”
The occasional weird word, like “good,” follows neither rule. “More good” is not a word and “more good” is not correct either. In this special case, the comparative form of “good” is “better”.
Superlative adjectives are those that express the highest status of a comparative and usually compare three or more objects. For example, “Of Mary, John, and Sally, John is the tallest.” Superlative adjectives are usually formed by adding “est” to the end of the adjective or by adding the word “most” in front of it.
It used to be improper to turn certain adjectives into comparatives. The word “perfect,” for example, was said to be immune to comparison because it either is perfect or it isn’t. Those rules, however, have long been questioned and largely ignored for decades, except by the strictest grammar technicians.
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