Adjectives are words that describe nouns or nominal elements—that is, words that function as nouns such as: Gerunds, Participles, and Infinitives—as well as their qualities and attributes. They perform other important functions one of which is to show the differences between the attributes or qualities of nouns in a sentence also known as comparison which you will be exposed to in the following sections.
What are Comparative Adjectives?
Comparative adjectives are adjectives that are used to compare the qualities or attributes of nouns. The qualities being compared, then, could be any of the following: height, weight, age, appearance, depth, durability, etc.,. It compares both physical and abstract qualities between nouns. For example:
- Mercy is taller than Meredith. (Physical attribute)
- Mr. Hopkins is smarter than Dr. Thatcher. (Abstract attribute)
The first example compares the physical attribute of two nouns showing the difference between them and how one outclasses the other. It is a physical attribute because we can observe and interact with it. The second example, on the other hand, compares the abstract attribute of two nouns showing the difference between them. Smartness is an abstract quality because we cannot physically interact with it and it is also a cognitive feature.
You would notice from the examples above, the addition of the inflectional bound morpheme: "-er", to the adjectives: Tall + -er becomes Taller, and Smart + -er becomes Smarter. This is because in forming comparative adjectives, generally, we add the bound morpheme "-er" to a base adjective also known as positive adjective. However, there are rules and exceptions that determine the formation of comparative adjectives as you would see in the sections that follow.
Categories of Comparative Adjectives
There are two main categories of comparative adjectives, namely: Short Adjectives, and Long Adjectives.
Short Adjectives
Short adjectives are adjectives made up of one syllable to which the bound morpheme, "-er", is attached to form a comparative adjective. For instance;
- Fast becomes Faster.
- Short becomes shorter.
- Slow becomes slower.
- Swift becomes swifter.
- Smart becomes smarter.
- High becomes Higher.
Each of the adjectives above that change to comparative adjectives is a one syllable word. Syllables are sounds that can be produced in one breath or a single production of sound without pause. However, still in the category of short adjectives, there is an exception for two other classifications in this category: two syllable words ending in "-y" and words that have a vowel in between two consonants in their formation.
In the case of two syllable words ending in "-y", for example; Lazy, Heavy, Crazy, Shady, Hazy, etc., when forming a comparative adjective, we remove the ending, "-y", and replace it with the bound morpheme, "-ier", not "-er", this time.
Observe the following:
- Lazy becomes lazier not lazer.
- Heavy becomes heavier not heaver.
- Crazy becomes crazier not crazer.
- Shady becomes shadier not shader.
- Hazy becomes hazier not hazer.
And in the case of words that have a vowel lodged between two consonants in their formation such as: big, fat, wet, hot, fit, etc., we double the final consonant and add the bound morpheme, "-er", to it in forming a comparative adjective.
Observe the following:
- Big becomes bigger not biger.
- Fat becomes fatter not fater.
- Wet becomes wetter not weter.
- Hot becomes hotter not hoter.
- Fit becomes fitter not fiter.
Long adjectives
Long adjectives are words that are made up of two or more syllables e.g., three syllables, four syllables, five syllables, etc.,. In forming comparative adjectives from long adjectives, we add the words: "more" and "less", before them depending on whether one noun outclasses the other (more), or is outclassed by the other (less). Unlike in short adjectives, we do not add the morpheme, "-er", at the end of these adjectives.
Observe the following:
Here are examples of adjectives based on syllable count:
2 Syllables:
- Honest becomes more honest or less honest not honester.
- Careful becomes more careful or less careful not carefuler.
3 Syllables:
- Exciting becomes more exciting or less exciting not excitinger.
- Delicate becomes more delicate or less delicate not delicater.
- Dangerous becomes more dangerous or less dangerous not dangerouser.
4 Syllables:
- Inspirational be becomes more inspirational or less inspirational not inspirationaler.
- Ridiculous becomes more ridiculous or less ridiculous not ridiculouser.
Just as there are always exceptions to rules in the English language, there are also exceptions in the formation of comparative adjectives. We refer to such adjectives as irregular adjectives because they do not follow the regular pattern in their formation of comparative adjectives.
Observe the following:
- Good becomes better not gooder.
- Bad becomes worse not badder.
- Far becomes farther or further not farer.
- Well becomes better not Weller.
- ill becomes worse not iller.
Also, there are adjectives that take both the bound morpheme, "-er", and the words, "more or less", in their formation of comparative adjectives. Some of these words include;
- Simple can be realized as both Simpler and More simple or less simple.
- Common can be realized as both commoner and more common or less common.
- Clever can be realized as both cleverer and more clever or less clever
- Narrow can be realized as both narrower and more narrow or less narrow.
- Quiet can be realized as both quieter and more quiet or less quiet.
- Handsome can be realized as both handsomer and more handsome or less handsome.
Structure of Comparison Sentences
In forming sentences that show comparison between two nouns, you use the following elements: Subject, Verb, Comparative Adjective, Conjunction (Than), and Noun or Noun and any other element. Thus we can generate the structural formula as: Subject + Verb + Comparative Adjective + Than + Noun + empty/ other elements = Comparison Sentence.
Observe the following:
- Matthew is healthier than Jeremiah.
- Samson was taller than Jude in high school.
- The Croods is more interesting than the Incredibles in terms of comedy.
- Farmers are better than scammers.
- To forgive is better than to hold grudges.
You would notice that the only verb forms used in the sentences above are inflectional variations of the verb: "be", e.g.,. "is", "are", and "was". This is because they are linking verbs and linking verbs are the only verbs that can introduce adjectives in a sentence after a verb to function as complements. Another class of verb that is capable of such is stative verbs. You would also observe that I used infinitives in place of nouns in the last example, this is because they function as nouns, hence they are nominal elements making them qualified to replace nouns in this context.
Forming Comparative Clauses
Comparative clauses are subordinate clauses that are used to show comparison between elements. They are formed by a combination of, "Than", and "an independent clause".
Observe the following:
- Than I can explain
- Than we thought he was
- Than the cops planned for
- Than the hospital could cater for
- Than was necessary
These are all dependent clauses and need to be attached to an independent clause, or a full sentence to express a complete sense.
Observe the following:
- The topic is more interesting than I can explain.
- The mascot was more interesting than we thought.
- The situation was more complicated than the cops planned for.
- They brought in more patients than the hospital could cater for.
- The developer added way too many elements to the website than was necessary.
So comparative adjectives are simply adjectives that show comparison between two nouns. They compare the qualities or attributes of the nouns in terms of which noun's qualities or attributes surpasses the other. The two categories in comparative adjectives are short adjectives which add, "-er", to words and long adjectives which add "more or less", to a word to form comparative adjectives. There are also exceptions to the rules and irregularities. Understanding comparative adjectives will help learners of the English language become better at drawing comparisons between nouns.