Mighty comparative degree. Degrees of comparison of adjectives. Degrees of comparison of adjectives in English - superlative adjectives

Adjective [ˈadʒɪktɪv] or adjective in English is a part of speech that denotes a characteristic of an object/person/phenomenon. Perhaps, after the verb and noun, it is the most used of all tenses. According to their meaning, adjectives are divided into relative and qualitative. The latter differ in that they can vary in degree of comparison. Degrees of comparison of adjectives in English are formed according to certain rules, which will be discussed today.

There are three degrees of comparison of adjectives in English. All of them are similar to Russian degrees, and therefore this topic should not be taken seriously. Let's look at each degree separately, examining its features, education and methods of use.

Positive degree [ˈpɒzɪtɪv dɪˈɡriː] or positive degree is the easiest. The English language has simplified your task, and therefore there is no need to obtain this degree. You just need to take an English adjective in its simple dictionary form and use the word in a sentence. Since when we use an adjective in this form we are not comparing it with anything, the positive degree is often considered separately, outside the topic of comparison. In any case, you need to know about it. Examples of positive degrees:

But for comparison, comparative and superlative degrees are used. There are more nuances in these degrees that need to be examined in more detail.

Comparative degree of adjectives in English

Comparative degree or comparative degree is used to compare the characteristics / attributes of two or more objects and persons. Perhaps such an explanation did not clarify anything for you, but this topic is characteristic of both the English language and the Russian language, so if you compare this form with the Russian comparative degree everything will become much clearer:

We are sure that you no longer have any questions regarding what a comparative degree is. But how do you create this degree in English? For this, two comparative forms are used:

1. If a word consists of one or two syllables, it has a comparative ending –er:

However, when adding –er, you need to take into account certain nuances:

• If the adjective ends in –e, this letter is omitted:

• But the ending –y changes to –i:

Exceptions are words that have a vowel before –y:

1. If the adjective has three or more syllables, the degree is formed by adding the words more (more) and less (less):

Degrees of comparison of adjectives in English - superlative adjectives

Superlative degree or superlative form in English is used to show that some object or person, in comparison with others, is “the very best,” that is, superior to all others. The superlative form is also compared with Russian adjectives in the same degree. Eg:

There are also two options for forming this form of the adjective. Each of them is preceded by a definite, since superlative adjectives imply a specific, special object or person:

1. The ending –est is added to an adjective with one or two syllables:

Positive degree	Superlative
large (large)	the largest (largest)
great (great)	the greatest (greatest)
pretty (handsome)	the prettiest (the most beautiful)
dear (dear)	the dearest (the most expensive)
funny	the funniest (the funniest)
short	the shortest (the shortest)
long	the longest (longest)

Please note that the rules for appending endings also apply to this form.

1. If an adjective has 3 or more syllables, then the words (the) most (most) and (the) least (least) are added to it:

Despite the rules, some two-syllable adjectives in comparative and superlative forms, however, can be formed with both –er / –est and more – less / most – least. For example, these include words such as:

Adjective	comparative		Superlative
	-er	more/less	-est	most/least
clever	cleverer	more (less) clever	cleverest	the most (least) clever
simple (simple)	simpler	more (less) simple	simplest	the most (least) simple
stupid	stupider	more (less) stupid	stupidest	the most (least) stupid
quiet	quieter	more (less) quiet	quietest	the most (least) quiet
common	commoner	more (less) common	commonest	the most (least) common
polite (polite)	politer	more (less) polite	politest	the most (least) polite
narrow	narrower	more (less) narrow	narrowest	the most (least) narrow
angry (angry)	angrier	more (less) angry	angry	the most (least) angry
cruel (cruel)	crueler	more (less) cruel	cruelest	the most (least) cruel
sour	sourer	more (less) sour	sourest	the most (least) sour
gentle	gentler	more (less) gentle	gentlest	the most (least) gentle
friendly (friendly)	friendlier	more (less) friendly	friendliest	the most (least) friendly
pleasant (nice)	pleasanter	more (less) pleasant	pleasantest	the most (least) pleasant
able (capable)	abler	more (less) able	ablest	the most (least) able

Preference is now increasingly given to the forms more / less and most / least.

There are also three-syllable exception adjectives that form degrees with –er and –est. These include words that, with the help of prefixes, change the original meaning of a short adjective to the opposite. For example, adjectives: happy (happy) - unhappy (unhappy), tidy (tidy) - untidy (untidy), kind (kind) - unkind (unkind), lucky (lucky) - unlucky (unsuccessful), safe (reliable) - unsafe (unreliable):

Positive degree	comparative	Superlative
unhappy	unhappier	unhappiest
untidy	untidier	untidyest
unkind	unkinder	unkindest
unlucky	unluckier	unluckiest
unsafe	unsafe	unsafe

In addition, there are exception words, all 3 forms of which are significantly different from each other and do not obey standard formation, just like English irregular verbs. These words of the English language just need to be remembered. Study them in the table:

Positive degree	comparative	Superlative
good (good)	better	the best
bad	worse	the worst
little (small)	less	the least (least)
many/much	more	the most (largest)
far (distant about the place)	farther (further)	the farthest (the farthest)
far (distant about place or time)	further (further)	the furthest (the farthest)
old (old about people and things)	older	the oldest (the oldest)
old (eldest in the family)	elder	the eldest (oldest)
late (late about time)	later (later)	the latest (latest)
late (last in order)	the latter (second of two)	the last (last)
near (close in distance)	nearer (closer)	the nearest (nearest)
near (close in order or time)	nearer (closer)	the next (next)

Compound adjectives in English that contain the above exceptions can be constructed in both ways:

The first option, however, is more preferable.

In other cases, compound adjectives use the second method of forming the comparative and superlative degrees:

Using the degree of comparison of adjectives in English

We talked about the rules for forming degrees, all that remains is to understand how to use these adjectives in sentences.

• When using English comparative adjectives in a sentence, use the conjunction than to introduce the comparison. Examples:

Animals are more honest than humans; you can always understand their intentions.	Animals are more honest than people. You can always understand their intentions.
Cars are faster than bicycles.	Cars are faster than bicycles.
Nothing can be worse than betrayal.	Nothing could be worse than betrayal.
It's better to try and fail than to fail to try.	It's better to try and fail than not to try at all.
There is no other name than yours in my head.	There are no other names in my head except yours.
Elizabeth made it a thousand times better than John but I decided not to hurt him and said nothing.	Elizabeth did it a thousand times better than John, but I decided not to upset him and didn’t tell him anything.
The black costume suits you better than the blue one.	A black suit suits you better than a blue one.
George won the fight because he was more prepared than his rival.	George won the fight because he was more prepared than his opponent.

You can add the adverb rather to the sentence, or rather to the word more. Rather more is usually used for comparison in the sense of “better... rather than...” or “better... than...”:

Sometimes the subject being compared may be omitted if the context implies it, or if the speaker knows that the interlocutor will understand it. Example sentences:

If you want to emphasize that the first person/object is much (much) better, more beautiful, etc., the sentence should contain the word much, which is placed before the degree:

Study the following table with examples:

The comparative degree is also used in three constructions:

1. The comparative degree, the comparative degree. In simple language, this construction is similar to the sentences “than..., so...”. Table with examples for clarity:

The more, the better.	The bigger, the better.
The less you know, the better you sleep.	The less you know the better you sleep.
The older you become, the more responsibilities you should take.	The older you get, the more responsibilities you need to take on.
The faster you run, the harder it is to catch.	The faster you run, the harder it is to catch you.
The more you procrastinate, the less time you have.	The more you procrastinate, the less time you have left.
The more dialects you know, the better you can communicate with people.	The more dialects you know, the better you can communicate with people.
The more you work, the more you get, remember this.	Remember, the more you work, the more you get.
The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don’t know.	The more I know, the more I realize that I know nothing.

1. More positive degree than positive degree. An analogue is the phrase “rather than... than.” This design is possible when we compare the characteristics of the same object/person.

1. You can also use “more than” in a row without adding words between them. This construction means “more than.” These two words can be followed by an adjective and/or a noun, both of which are acceptable:

• For superlatives, no additional conjunctions are needed. Such adjectives are used in a sentence as a standard instead of the positive degree:

As in the Russian language, in such sentences the option is not “most”, but “one of the most”:

Two degrees of comparison can fit in one sentence:

Today we looked at the features of degrees of comparison of adjectives in English. Once you remember the rules for their formation, you will be able to use these degrees in speech without any difficulty. In order to consolidate the material, return to the article, review the tables with examples and make up your own sentences. And most importantly, have fun studying English, because if you are interested in the process, English grammar will be much faster and easier for you.

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> Degrees of comparison of adjectives

A grammatical feature of qualitative adjectives is the presence of degrees of comparison.

Degree of comparison is a grammatical category of adjectives that expresses differences in the degree of manifestation of quality. For example: strong - stronger, stronger, less strong, strongest, most powerful, least strong, strongest, strongest of all, strongest of all.

There are 3 degrees of comparison of qualitative adjectives:

1) positive degree (positive),

2) comparative degree (comparative),

3) superlative degree (superlative).

Positive degree of comparison shows that a given feature of an object is not compared with a similar feature in another subject. The initial (initial) form of the adjective is considered as a positive degree, for example: fast, hospitable, carefree; stuffy, sad, light, petty, small, proud, decisive, brave, skillful, skillful, wonderful, charming, appropriate, instant.

comparative shows that a given feature of an object is manifested to a greater or lesser extent compared to a similar feature in another subject, for example: bolder, more daring, less daring; higher, higher, less tall.

The comparative degree serves as a means of comparison in quality:

Homogeneous items: This morning is cloudier than yesterday; the children's faces become happier when they see their mother;

- dissimilar objects with the same properties: melon is sweeter than watermelon; the son is taller than the father; sister younger than brother;

- the same subject: Before the session, students become more responsible and conscientious.

comparative is formed:

1) synthetically; suffixes are means of expressing the degree of comparison -ee- (-ey-), -e, -she-;

2) in an analytical way; means of expressing the degree of comparison are additional words more- less;

3) in a suppletive way; a means of expressing the degree of comparison is the change of bases: good - better, best; bad - worse, worse; small- less.

The comparative degree of an adjective has two forms: simple (synthetic) and compound (analytic).

Simple form of comparative degree

1) -ee(s): round- round-ee (round-ee); beautiful - beautiful-her (beautiful-her); long - long (long); extended - extended (extended);

2) -e, If:

a) the stem of the adjective ends in g, k, x, d, t,cm followed by alternation of the consonant stem: hot- hot; dear - dear; quiet- quiet; young-oh - younger; rich - rich; pure - purer;

b) the adjective has a suffix -k- (-ok-, -ek-) followed by truncation of the suffix and alternation of the consonant base: low - lower; narrow - narrow; high - higher; close - close;

3) -she if the adjective stem ends in g, k followed by truncation of these consonants: distant - farther; long - longer; thin-y - thin-she.

Forms of degrees of comparison on -ee(s), -e, -she By-, which brings the added value of mitigating the degree of dominance of quality; compare: more - more; more interesting - more interesting; more fun- more fun; closer- more crowded; heavier - heavier; tastier- tastier.

A number of adjectives have variant comparative forms: big - more, more; distant - further, further; long- longer, longer; late- later, later; early - earlier, earlier; small - less, smaller.

Not all qualitative adjectives form a simple comparative form.

These include:

1) adjectives with suffix -sk- (-esk-): comic, tragic, friendly, fraternal, sanctimonious;

2) some adjectives with suffix -n-: blood, tame, sick, early, extra;

3) adjectives with suffix -ov- (-ev-): gratuitous, business, ordinary, combat, mass;

4) many verbal adjectives with the suffix - l-: lethargic, rotten, tired, hoarse, hoarse;

5) some adjectives with a suffix -k-: unsteady, impudent, brittle, sticky, squishy, ​​timid, avid, tenacious, chilly;

6) some non-derivative adjectives: old, proud.

Complex comparative form is formed in all adjectives that name a characteristic that can manifest itself to a greater or lesser extent. It is formed by adding additional words to the positive degree more, less; For example: more important, less affectionate.

Superlative shows that a given feature of an object is manifested to the greatest or least extent compared to a similar feature in another subject, for example: Supreme; deepest; the brightest; the narrowest; least sweet; most interesting; smarter than everyone else.

Superlatives also have synthetic and analytical form.

Simple superlative form is formed from the base of the positive degree of the adjective by adding suffixes:

1) -eysh-: white - white-eysh-y; rich-y - rich-eysh-y; brave - bravest; wonderful - wonderful;

2)-aysh- to adjectives with stems g, k, x and followed by alternating consonants: high - high - aish, deep - deep - aish, quiet - tish - aish.

There are some features in the formation of superlatives:

Adjective heavy forms superlatives with alternating w//g And k//h: heavy - heaviest;

Adjectives close, low form a superlative by adding a suffix with truncation of the productive stem and subsequent alternation of consonants h// and: close - closest, low - lowest.

In modern Russian, the simple superlative form has two meanings:

1. Top quality value which is inherent in a person or subject and for which this subject stands out from a number of similar ones. In the form of the superlative degree there is an indication of the circle of persons or objects from which they stand out with the highest degree of quality. This indication usually occurs in:

In the form of R.p. plural with prepositions from, among: the greatest of scientists; the most delicious of fruits; strongest among peers;

In the form of R.p. without prepositions: the most beautiful city in Europe; the most famous museum in the world; the country's widest river;

IN form T.v. plural with a pretext between: the greatest among generals;

- in the form of P.p. with prepositions in, on: the highest mountain in the world; the deepest lake on earth; the most beautiful place on the board; the largest lake in Siberia.

The use of superlatives is possible without any restrictions: sweetest person; main character; strongest athlete.

2. The value of the maximum degree of quality is beyond comparison with other items, For example: Above the forest stood the gentle glow of the mountain range. Herbs are the surest remedy for colds.

Superlative forms in -eysh-, -aysh- can be combined with attachment nai-, which introduces an additional intensifying value, cf., for example: the most difficult - the most difficult; the strictest - the strictest; the most interesting - the most interesting; deepest- deepest; complete - most complete.

Adjectives big, high, low, good, bad form the following superlative forms: greater, higher, lower, better, worse.

Not all qualitative adjectives form the simple superlative form.

These include:

1) adjectives with suffix -sk-, -esk-: brotherly friendly, enemy, demonic, hellish, ugly;

2) some adjectives with a suffix -n-: native, efficient, bloody, quarrelsome, excessive;

The most charming, the most sensitive, the sweetest, the thickest, the least broad, the least funny. This method is productive even for those adjectives that do not have a simple superlative form, for example: the most friendly, the most combative, the most flexible, the most practical, the least friendly, the least flashy;

2) by adding words everyone Total to the simple form of the comparative degree of the adjective, for example: most important, dearest of all.

One should distinguish from forms of degrees of comparison words of subjective quality assessment, which combine the designation of a feature with the expression of the speaker’s assessment of it. Words of subjective quality assessment express an emotional assessment of the designated attribute or indicate its real greater or lesser degree.

The words of subjective quality assessment are expressed in the following forms:

1) in adjectives with suffixes -enk- (-onk-), -yoshenek- (-oshenek-), -yohonek- (-ohonek-), -yusenk-, For example: black, yellow, dry, white, happy, alone, tiny, thin;

2) in adjectives with suffixes -ushch- (-yusch-), -enn-: furious, huge, thin, fat, wide, tall;

3) in adjectives with prefixes arch-, pre-, times-, super-, ultra-: cheerful, arch-important, super-powerful, super-strong, super-cute, super-loud, ultra-modern;

4) in adjectives formed by pure or prefixal repetition: black-black, old-old; soft-soft; interesting-pretty interesting; tall-extreme.

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Degrees of comparison of adjectives have almost all qualitative adjectives. As you can guess from the name, qualitative adjectives- these are adjectives that indicate some quality of a noun: good, dark, prominent, talented. Such adjectives have comparative and superlative degree of comparison.

Comparative degree of comparison.

The comparative degree of an adjective expresses the manifestation of some quality of a noun to a greater or lesser extent than that of another noun: This car color is better than the previous one. Your drawing is more beautiful than mine. This plate is deeper than that one. Comparative degree of adjectives in Russian can be simple or complex.

Simple degree of comparison of adjectives is formed using the following suffixes:

- e: short - shorter, large - longer, steep - steeper;

- her(s): stately - more stately, warm - warmer;

- she: young - younger, old - older.

When forming the comparative degree, adjectives sometimes change their root: small - smaller, bad - worse, good - better. Adjectives that have the simple comparative form do not change endings and are not inflected.

Complex degree of comparison of adjectives formed by particles more or less, which are added to the form of the positive (initial) degree of comparison: more difficult descent, less accessible mode of transport. Like the full form of the initial (positive) degree of an adjective, the complex degree of comparison is declined by case, gender and number.

Superlative degree of adjectives.

Superlative adjective assigns to a noun the least or greatest degree of some quality: It was the coldest winter in the last 10 years. As well as comparative superlative degree of adjectives in Russian can be simple or complex.

Simple superlative adjectives formed by adding suffixes to the stem -aysh-, -eysh-: great - greatest, sweet - sweetest, weak - weakest, small - smallest. The exception is words good And bad- they are replaced by adjectives in the superlative degree best And worst.

When forming a complex superlative form, particles are used least/most And most: most/least accessible, most accessible. Both types of superlative adjectives vary by case, number and gender.

Norms for using degree of comparison of adjectives.

1. The roughest error when using degrees of comparison is the simultaneous use of both degrees of comparison with one noun: more talented, less kind. This mistake should not be made under any circumstances! The only exceptions are two forms of adjectives: the worst And the best.
2. Not all qualitative adjectives can form both forms of degrees of comparison, or rather, the suffixal method is not available when using such adjectives: fighting, sick, brilliant, immortal, stormy, eternal, superior, strong-willed, possible, outstanding, deaf, heroic, proud, naked, distant, old, businesslike, familiar, cruel, short, oblique, crooked, peaceful, dead, mighty, lower, unknown, excellent, general, advanced, last, positive, constant, right, similar, empty, early, developed, torn, blind, timid, controversial, urgent, predatory, colorful, young, etc. Also, some of these adjectives cannot even form a comparative degree of comparison - for example, one cannot be more naked or less naked, more immortal or less.
3. There are cases when theoretically education and use of superlatives perhaps, but logically not. For example, the sentence would be incorrect “Aivazovsky is a most talented Russian artist" The number of Russian artists is incredibly large, so to say that some of them most talented will be biased and incorrect. To emphasize the significance in this case, you can use the phrase "one of the most talented". Despite this, often for propaganda purposes or to express one’s own opinion, such moments are acceptable. For example, you could say: "I believe that Tchaikovsky is Russia's greatest composer of all time." Thus, this will be an expression of a specific subjective opinion, which does not violate the lexical norms and logical connections of speech.

Qualitative adjectives have degrees of comparison: positive(original form), comparative(com parativ) And excellent(superlative). Grammatical category degrees of comparison acts as a grammaticalized core of the functional-semantic category of gradualism, the meaning of which is realized by multi-level linguistic means. The meaning of degrees of comparison is that the comparative degree conveys intensity of a feature in comparison with the same feature in another object .

Scientific discussion

From Aristotle to the present day, words conveying gradual meaning (measure, degree, magnitude of a characteristic, process, phenomenon, object), have been the object of study by many researchers 3 . M. V. Lomonosov in his “Russian Grammar” considered the degrees of comparison of the category subjective assessment. Russian grammarians of the 19th century. These aspects brought us closer together. Two categories of quality levels have been established - non-relative(old, old, old) And relative(the oldest of..., one is older than the other) .

Without calling the presented phenomena by a term gradualism, which modern scientists use, linguists have described a number of linguistic phenomena that correspond to the very essence of gradualism. All theories and descriptions of various quality levels with historical point of view represented an important perspective in the study of gradualism. Since the 15th century. In the Russian language there are all kinds of forms with graduated meanings.

Characteristics, procedurality, objectivity in a certain way (to a greater or lesser extent) correlate with the concepts degree, measure. Most words in the modern Russian language express changeable and measurable ( qualitative) sign: degrees of comparison (adjectives); formations with augmentative and diminutive suffixes (nouns); ways of verbal action with the meaning of measure; gradual oppositions in the lexical system of language; gradational syntactic constructions; the use of gradation as a stylistic method. As graduated And graduated units, words are considered that, due to their semantic and grammatical features, are capable of expressing one or another degree (measure) of manifestation of a characteristic: “In everyday language, “compare” means expressing one’s attitude, “evaluating”, “measuring”, guided by our feelings and our passions."

Graduality– functional-semantic category with meaning measures, degrees of manifestation a sign, process, phenomenon, state expressed by multi-level linguistic means. Comparative degree ( comparative) denotes a variable characteristic that can appear in an object to a greater or lesser extent than in another object. Wed: This question more difficultprevious one. – This question more difficult,than the previous one. Excellent degree ( superlative) denotes such a variable characteristic that manifests itself in an object to the greatest or smallest extent than in another object: This the most difficultquestion of the topic being studied. - This the most difficultquestion of the topic being studied.

The forms of comparative and superlative degrees can be simple(synthetic) and complex(analytical).

Simple form comparative degree has indicators - suffixes -ee(s), -e: high – highere(alternating s//sh at the root of the word + truncation of the stem - suffix -ok-), strong – strongher (strong-to her) and so on. From adjectives good, bad, small Supplemental comparative forms are formed: good is better, bad is worse etc. The simple superlative degree is formed by adding suffixes -eysh-, - aish-: highaishyay, strongeishth etc. For example: Leo Tolstoy is a geniuseishth fromwriters of the 20th century.

Complex form comparative degrees are formed by additional words more/less+ positive degree: more (less)tall (kind).

Complex form excellent degrees are formed in several ways:

• a) using an additional (auxiliary) word (particles) most: most complex, highest and so on.;
• b) using additional (auxiliary) words most, least: least complex etc.;
• c) the combination “simple form of comparative degree + pronoun in the genitive case Total(or everyone)": the hardest thing (of everyone) and etc.;
• d) the combination “reinforcing particle All + simple form of comparative degree": The pain in my heart became Allhote(M. Sholokhov).

In a sentence, a simple form usually performs a function predicate, and a composite can be like predicate, so and definition. Wed: She was more beautifulwhat he imagined her to be(L. Tolstoy).

The complex form of comparative and superlative degrees is formed from almost all qualitative adjectives. The simple form has limitations.

Forms of the simple comparative degree are not formed from adjectives:

• – with absolute qualitative value: bald, blind, lame, dumb, barefoot, deaf and so on.;
• – with a base on [ w"], [and]: beggar, stalwart and etc.;
• – with suffix -sk-: friendskoh, enemyskth etc.;
• – from some verbal adjectives with a suffix -k-: padToyay, moveToyay, shatToth etc.;
• – with suffix -ov-/-ev-: badovoh, boevOuch and so on.;
• – with suffix -l-: unyloh, mouthlth etc.;
• – from individual adjectives that stand apart for historical reasons, for example proud, young and etc.

Simple superlative forms are not formed from adjectives:

• – with suffix -sk-: friendskoh, tragicskoh, enemyskth etc.;
• – with suffix -k-: bastardTooh, thunderToyay, ringingToth and so on.;
• – with suffix -ov-/-ev-: rowovoh, stroevoh, boevOuch and etc.;
• - from adjectives proud, young etc.

Excellent degree has two types of meaning:

• 1) manifestation of a sign in highest degree compared to other items ( superlative): oldest ofworkers and so on.;
• 2) expression extreme degree manifestations of a characteristic regardless of other objects (regardless of the large measure of the characteristic - elative): Got into stupidestposition, this raresthappening etc.

IN grammatical relatively complex shapes comparative And excellent degrees are no different from positive(original) degree. Simple comparative forms are unchangeable, cf.: House(s) (pine tree(s), building(s)) higher,how...

Syntactic(syntagmatic) conditions The use of morphological formations of different types in the Russian language is characterized by the following features.

1. Expressing the relative degree of presence of the characteristic, adjective in comparative or excellent degree is used as a gradual syntactic member – predicate or definitions. Wed:

So, reasoning, Selifan finally wandered into the most distant abstraction. Maybe it prompted him to do this another, more significant reason more serious, closer to the heart... But the reader will learn about all this gradually and in due time, if only he has the patience to read the proposed story, which is very long, which will then expand wider and more spacious as it approaches the end, which crowns the matter (N. Gogol).

These are complex, analytical formations. The role of the exponent is the word more(comparative degree) and words most or most(superlative). Superlative exponent most stylistically neutral, and the word most is bookish in nature. Wed:

Most typical cases; most simple question. - Disdaining the prudent comfort of castling, he sought to create the most unexpected, the most bizarre relationships between figures (V. Nabokov).

2. Adjectives in comparative degrees acting as definitions can express the result of a subjective assessment.

The shade of the meaning of a subjective assessment can be conveyed by lexical means, for example: elderly person (as opposed to old). Combined with the word more The adjective is used in both full and short form: this question is more important: important(composite form); this question is more important: more important(simple form). Short form more important conveys a state of mind in time: Currently this question more important.

Typical for the Russian language is the simple (synthetic) form of the comparative degree in -ee, -ey, -e. It is homonymous to the comparative form of the adverb. Wed: he behaves modestly(adv.); his demands are more modest(adj.).

Excellent The degree of the adjective, acting as a nominal predicate, has three forms similar to the forms of the comparative degree: this question is the most (important): most (important): most important of all (everything). If the superlative expresses quality inanimate or animate object, then preference is given to the forms “most + full form of the adjective”:

This suitcase the heaviest; His job the best.– Vronsky is one of the sons of Count Kirill Ivanovich Vronsky and one of the best samples of gilded youth (L. Tolstoy).

• 3. Comparative degree in function predicate-predicate used in special comparative constructions in which the object of comparison is expressed in one way or another. It is formed in two ways:
• 1) connecting a simple comparative form with a genitive comparison: Wilson is more important than other birds(V. Mayakovsky);
• 2) by connecting a compound comparative form consisting of the word more and the short form of the positive degree, and the conjunction than: Wilson is more important than the other bird.

The first method should be considered the most common, because the use of “forms of the comparative degree is not limited to simple morphological rules. The types of formation and functioning of degrees of comparison in the Russian language should be studied and assimilated in close connection with the syntactic and semantic conditions of their use.”

All qualitative-evaluative and most qualitative adjectives form degrees of comparison, expressing different degrees of quality. But in a number of cases they do not have degrees of comparison due to their semantics: adjectives like mute, barefoot and so on. denote absolute quality and logically do not allow comparatives or superlatives. It is important to note that comparative and superlative degrees indicate different meanings as opposed to meaning positive degrees:

"She's at two meetings at once..."

(V. Mayakovsky)

Forms of comparative degree with prefix more (smarter, more fun, cheaper etc.), acting as a predicate, acquire the shade of a “softened” comparative degree: He's younger than me; He will be smarter than all of us. -

And the man - he was quick-witted,

He went after the bear,

He planted a spear in it

What higher navel, lower liver

• (meaning “slightly higher/lower”).
• (A. Pushkin)

Forms of adjectives on -ee, -e, -she with attachment By- indicate the predominance of some quality in one of the objects being compared: (book) more interesting; (boy) smarter and so on.

In combination with the genitive case of attributive pronouns Total or everyone(which, in essence, became formants, indicators of the superlative degree) The comparative degree takes on the meaning of the superlative. Such stable combinations carry the meaning of the highest degree of quality by comparative contrast anything other items in the aggregate and not from the same category. This is a complex form of elative, which does not combine with forms on -eysh-, -aysh-. For example:

What struck him most was that from Monday he would be Luzhin (V. Nabokov); And the geese screamed, / Disappearing in the sky, / What is most precious / The native side... (M. Isakovsky).

All three degrees represent a gradational series: rough: rougher: rudest; rough: more rough: the roughest and so on.

In russian language comparative degree is often used to mean excellent. This usage is distinguished by genitive case of the second element at a comparative degree. It can also be used with superlatives: best of all, richest of all. In some cases you may notice a “limited” meaning of the superlative – better (...) all others except one (two...).

Based on Otto Jespersen’s system of degrees of comparison, which excludes from consideration the superlative degree as a type of comparative, we will highlight the stages of gradation:

• 1.Superiority (>) more dangerous (better) than...
• 2. Equality(=) with as dangerous (good) as...
• 3. Lower degree(less dangerous (good) than... etc.

It's obvious that first and third steps are closely related because

in both cases it is expressed inequality. There are two ways of expression with opposite meanings, which make it possible to reverse the relations of the first and third steps: worse than = less good than. Based on this, the following can be established equality: older than = less young than. Wed:

Levin himself did not remember his mother, and his only his sister was older than him, so that in the Shcherbatskys’ house he saw for the first time that very environment of the old noble, educated and honest family, which he was deprived of by the death of his father and mother (L. Tolstoy).

Comparison Levin's sister is older than him doesn't mean that Sister is old and the comparative degree can therefore mean lesser degree than the positive in the expression Sister is old. Similar sentence Sister is older than Levin says nothing about Levin's old age; By old age Levina will be implied if we add the adverb more: The sister is even older than Levin. We see that such a use of the word more is not self-evident.

When negating a step superiority (1) Sister is not as old as Levin we get the value either equality(2), or lower degree(3). When negating a step equality(2) we get the value lower degree (3): less old than; younger than. Wed: And as old as V. An objection to this statement would be the following: Oh no, not as old as B, but much older.

There are designs proportional compliance, in which the determining element represents a period of time, but does not have an explicit expression. In such sentences the following meanings and features of their expression are revealed:

a) repetition of the comparative degree form:

It was becoming getting darker and darker (= the longer it has continued, the darker became). He was becoming more and more impatient; Heartache was getting hotter(M. Sholokhov);

b) formant All together with the comparative degree it forms the superlative degree: He said everything is more and more illegible.

V.V. Vinogradov pointed out that adjectives in - the greatest/- the greatest can have three meanings in modern Russian:

1) regardless of large measure (maximum degree) of the characteristic (elative meaning):

He is the smartest person; The weather is wonderful. – He began to tear out leaves and flowers in his hearts and sneezed from the smallest dust (V. Nabokov).

Some forms of the superlative degree break away from the paradigm and appear in the meaning of the elative, i.e. in the sense of an absolutely greater degree of quality: greatest scientist(does not mean the greatest) ,

• 2) excellent degrees: the most faithful of friends, the greatest poet,
• 3) comparative degrees (a meaning almost lost in modern Russian, but which has left traces in phraseology): upon closer inspection.

The most common is the use of forms on -the greatest/-the greatest in an elative sense. Such forms in free combinations have an evaluative character. Wed:

I found myself in a stupid situation; This is a rare case, etc. - This the smartest, most decent and most talented man (N. Gogol); But nothing of the sort happened, he listened calmly, and when his father, who was trying to pick up the most curious, most attractive(= “evaluative character”) details, said, among other things, that as an adult he would be called by his last name, the son blushed, blinked, leaned back on the pillow, opening his mouth and shaking his head... (V. Nabokov).

Gradual-evaluative value of the superlative degree of the form on -the greatest/-the greatest realized in combination with the preposition from:the most brilliant of (musicians), oldest of (workers)) and so on. For example:

And as in my cart... with clothes and linen there was also a bed, then in my misfortune I honored myself happiest of mortals (A. Pushkin).

Elative meaning is very close to the category of subjective evaluation. Elative forms express gradual meaning and serve to express the extreme degree of quality without indicating the relationship to other objects: Tiny specks of dust fluttered in the air; I found a rare specimen.

Consequently, the formal means of expressing the meanings of measure and degree (graduality) in the field of qualitative adjectives (and qualitative adverbs) is morphological level concerning the properties of morphemes and cases of analytical formation. As a grammaticalized core gradualism the corresponding category appears degrees of comparison – comparative, superlativeAndelative

• Cm.: Kolesnikova S. M. Semantics of gradualism and ways of expressing it in modern Russian. M., 1998; Hers. Functional-semantic category of gradualism in modern Russian language. M., 2010. pp. 78-86.
• See additional: Falev I. A. On the question of degrees of comparison in the modern Russian language // Language and thinking. Vol. 9. M.; L. 1940; Nikulin A. S. Degrees of comparison in modern Russian. M.; L., 1937; Knyazev Yu. P. On the semantics of degrees of comparison of adjectives // Scientific notes of the Tartu State University. un-ta. T. 524: Problems of intrastructural functional description of language. Tartu, 1980; Kolesnikova S. M. Degrees of comparison of adjectives and the intensity of the attribute they express // Russian language at school. 1998. No. 5.
• Wed: Galich G. G. Gradual characteristics of qualitative adjectives, verbs and nouns of the modern German language: abstract. dis.... cand. Philol. Sci. L., 1981; Kharitonchik Z. A. Turansky I. I. Semantic category of intensity in modern English. M., 1990; Novikov L. A. Antonymy in Russian. M., 1973; Arutyunova N. D. Language and the human world. M., 1999; Apresyan Yu. D. Lexical semantics. Synonymous means of language. M., 1974; Wolf E. M. Functional semantics of evaluation. M., 1985; Ubin I. I. Lexical means of expressing intensity (based on the Russian and English languages): abstract. dis.... cand. Philol. Sci. M., 1974; Turansky I. I. Semantic category of intensity in English. M., 1990; Vorotnikov Yu. L. Degrees of quality in modern Russian language. M., 1999; Norman V. Yu. Gradation in the Russian language // Qnantitat und Graduierungals kognitiv-semantische Kategorien. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz verlg, 2001. pp. 381-403. Sapir E. Graduation: semantic research // New in foreign linguistics. M., 1986. P. 43; Halina N.V. The category of gradualism in words and texts. Barnaul, 1993; Krzhizhkova E. Quantitative determination of adjectives in the Russian language (lexico-syntactic + analysis) // Syntax and norm. M., 1974. S. 122-144; Bolinger D. Degree words. Paris: Mouton, 1972; Studia gramatyezne bulgarsko-polskie. T. 3: Ilosc, gradaeja, osoba. Wroclaw, 1989; Kolesnikova S. M. Graduality: linguistic description (based on the Russian language) // Akademiai Kiado. Budapest, 2011; Repasi D., Szekely G. On gradualism in a comparative aspect // Bulletin of MGOU. Ser. "Russian Philology". Vol. 5. M., 2010. P. 110-117; Kolesnikova S. M. Functional-semantic category of gradualism in the modern Russian language // Modern Nyelvoktatas: A Magyar Alkalmazott Nyelveszek es Nyelvtanarok Egyesfiletenek folyoirata. XVI. 2010. S. 116-118; Sjostrom S. Spatial relations: Towards a theory of spatial verbs, prepositions, a pronominal adverbs in Swedish. Goteborg: Dept. of linguistics, 1990.
• Kartsevsky S. O. Comparison // Questions of linguistics. 1976. No. 1. P. 112.
• Isachenko A.V. The grammatical structure of the Russian language in comparison with Slovak. Bratislava, 1965. P. 201.
• Cm.: Jespersen O. Philosophy of grammar: trans. from English M., 1958.

Adjectives and adverbs in many languages ​​of the world have degrees of comparison. In English these are Positive Degree, Comparative Degree and Superlative degree, in Polish - rywny, wyższy, najwyższy, in French - le positif, le comparatif, le superlatif. The Russian language is no exception; it has positive, comparative and superlative adjectives. How are they different and what are their forms?

Degrees of comparison: types, table

Adjectives and adverbs derived from them have the ability to form degrees of comparison.

There are three of them:

• Positive.
• Comparative.
• Excellent.

Each of them expresses a different level of possession of an object or a specific specific quality.

For example: resourceful boy ( positive), however he can be more resourceful ( comparative), and in a certain life situation, even become the most resourceful ( excellent).

From which adjectives can we form degrees of comparison?

As you know, all adjectives in the Russian language are divided into several categories.

• Qualitative - means characteristics that an object or living creature can possess in different degrees: sweet, sweeter, sweetest.
• Relative - they call the signs of an object or living creature according to their relation to circumstances, actions or other persons, things: a telephone call, a wooden building.
• Possessive - indicate that something belongs to someone: Pushkin’s stanza, father’s parting words.

Only from the first category can the comparative and superlative degrees of adjectives be formed (charming - more charming, the most charming), since it is impossible to say: “a more wooden building” or “the most Pushkin stanza.”

Adverbs that come from the qualitative category of adjectives can also form degrees of comparison: cheerful - cheerfully (more cheerfully).

Comparative degree of adjectives in Russian

Before moving on to consider the comparative degree, it is worth mentioning a little about the positive degree. This is the name given to the initial degree of comparison (boring). In fact, it is considered only formally as a degree of comparison. But the next one is the comparative degree of the adjective (more boring, more boring). It serves to show that a certain object or person has a given quality in greater/lesser quantity than someone/something else. For example: “This tea is stronger (stronger) than the one we drank yesterday.”

Information about comparative forms

In the above example, you can see that the comparative degree in Russian can be formed in the following ways: using suffixes or by adding an additional word (in this example it is “more”). It turns out that we can distinguish 2 forms of the comparative degree of adjectives in the Russian language: simple and compound, or as it is sometimes called - complex.

Methods for forming a simple shape

There are several ways to form it.

• Using the suffixes -ee, -ey, -e, -she, added to the base: cheerful - more cheerful. However, it is worth remembering that if suffixes of the comparative degree of adjectives -e, -she are used, then alternation of consonants in the root of the word may occur, and the suffixes -k, -ok, -ek may be eliminated altogether. For example: narrow - narrower, ringing - louder.
• Sometimes a simple form can be formed by adding the same -ee, -ey, -e, -she, as well as the prefix po-. For example: soon - quickly, quickly - quickly. Adjectives formed in this way are usually the province of colloquial speech.
• Sometimes the comparative degree of adjectives in Russian is formed using a different word stem: bad - worse.

It is worth remembering that not every qualitative adjective can form a simple form. It so happened historically that it is simply impossible to form it from some words. For example, from adjectives such as “grand” or “businesslike”. After all, you can’t say: “grower” or “more businesslike.”

Unlike the positive, the simple comparative degree has no ending and does not change. For example, the adjective “light” changes according to gender and number: “light”, “light”, “light”, etc. In addition, it is declined according to cases. But the comparative degree of the adjective - “lighter” - is unchanged.

In this form, words, as a rule, perform the syntactic role of a predicate: “Words of love are sweeter than honey,” and in some cases they serve as definitions: “Make sweeter jam.”

Complex shape

Unlike the simple one, it is formed not with the help of suffixes or prefixes, but by adding the words “more” or “less” to the adjective in the positive degree. For example: “Rembrandt was a more brilliant artist than most of his contemporaries, but he was truly appreciated years after his death.”

Adjectives in complex form are declined by case, change by number and, accordingly, by gender, while “more” and “less” remain unchanged. For example: more powerful (powerful, powerful, powerful).

Both in simple and compound form, comparative adjectives in a sentence serve as predicates or modifiers: “Their relationship was closer and more elevated than that of anyone around them.”

Having considered the information about the comparative degree, it is now worth moving on to studying the superlative degree. And it will help you not to forget how the comparative degree of adjectives is formed - the table.

It briefly outlines all the information about simple and complex forms and their formation.

Brief information about superlatives

It serves to demonstrate that a certain object or living being is absolutely superior to any other in a certain quality, which is represented in it to the highest degree.

For example: “The third little pig’s house was the strongest and the wolf could not destroy it.”

A little about superlatives

Knowledge of how simple and complex comparative degrees of adjectives are formed will help you understand this topic. In the case of the superlative degree, both of its forms have similar names: simple and compound (complex) and are formed according to the corresponding principle.

They are formed according to the same principle:

• The simple one is formed by adding the suffixes -eysh, -aysh to the stem: caring - caring. Similar to the comparative, the superlative may also lose the stem suffix -k: low, lowest. A word formed using a simple superlative form is declined according to cases and changes according to numbers and genders. While the comparative degree of an adjective in a simple form is devoid of this property. For example: “light”. As mentioned above, in comparative form it is invariably “lighter”. But in the superlative degree - “brightest”, it can change: “brightest”, “brightest”.
• The compound form is formed by adding the words "most", "least" or "most" ("most", "most", "most") to the adjective in the positive degree. For example: the brightest, the least entertaining, the funniest. In some cases, the comparative degree of the adjective plus the word “all” may also participate in the formation. For example: “This girl completed the task faster than anyone in the class.” As with the comparative form, the superlative adjective changes according to the same categories. And the additional words: “most” or “least” remain unchanged: “The wolf ran the shortest route to Grandma’s house and got ahead of Little Red Riding Hood.” However, “most” also changes: “The wolf ran the shortest route to Grandma’s house and got ahead of Little Red Riding Hood.”

As for the syntactic role, adjectives in this degree, as a rule, act as predicates: “A most amazing journey.” Less often - definitions: “It was a story about an amazing journey.” And in complex form, they most often serve as definitions: “He was smarter than everyone else at school.”

Superlative and comparative degrees of adjectives: exercises to consolidate knowledge

To better remember all the material presented, you should practice by doing a few fairly simple exercises.

The topic of comparative degrees of adjectives itself is quite easy. However, in order to avoid mistakes, it is worth remembering the basic rules, especially since in most European languages ​​adjectives also have 3 degrees of comparison. Therefore, having figured out what they are in Russian, you can safely take on the study of the grammar of foreign languages.