English Grammar : Adverb - Degrees of Comparison
 
ADVERBS : Ccomparative and superlative forms

Adverbs comparative and superlative forms

What are Adverbs degrees of comparison?

"Adverbs have three degrees of comparison - positive, comparative and superlative."

Like Adjectives, some Adverbs also have comparative and superlative forms.

» Comparative adverbs : express a higher / lower degree of how an action is performed. (usually in comparison to another person or thing.)

» Superlative adverbs : used to identify the highest / lowest degree of how an action is performed.

Uses of Adverb with Degrees of Comparison:
(a) Adverbs of one syllable form

Adverbs of one syllable form comparatives by adding –er and superlatives by adding –est. If the adverb ends in e, remove it before adding the ending.

    • Positive – no change (big, strong, long, etc.)

    • Comparative – words end in "er" (bigger, stronger, longer etc.)

    • Superlative – words end in "est" (biggest, strongest, longest etc.)

Positive Comparative Superlative
big bigger biggest
strong stronger strongest
long longer longest
hard harder hardest
high higher highest
low lower lowest
deep deeper deepest
near nearer nearest
fast faster fastest
late leter latest
soon sooner soonest
early earlier earliest
Note: Early is a word of two syllables but it forms its degrees of comparative by using –i instead of –y and adding in comparative degree and –est in superlative degree.
Examples:
  • • This route is long. [Positive.]
  • • This route is longer than that route. [Comparative.]
  • • This is the longest route. [Superlative.]
  • More examples:
  • • They arrived late. [Positive.]
  • • He is working harder now. [Comparative.]
  • • Aarav easily runs the fastest. [Superlative.]
(b) Adverbs of two or more syllable form

With adverbs ending in -ly, Adverbs of two or more syllables from comparatives by using 'more' and superlative by using 'most' before the adverb.

    • Positive – no change (brightly, promptly etc.)

    • Comparative – use "more" (more brightly, more promptly etc.)

    • Superlative – use "most" (most brightly, most promptly etc.)

Positive Comparative Superlative
angrily more angrily most angrily
brightly more brightly most brightly
foolishly more foolishly most foolishly
frequently more frequently most frequently
slowly more slowly most slowly
clearly more clearly most clearly
carefully more carefully most carefully
happily more happily most happily
wisely more wisely most wisely
quickly more quickly most quickly
quietly more quietly most quietly
beautifully more beautifully most beautifully
harshly more harshly most harshly
gladly more gladly most gladly
sweetly more sweetly most sweetly
sincerely more sincerely most sincerely
seriously more seriously most seriously
helpfully more helpfully most helpfully
faithfully more faithfully most faithfully
sorrowfully more sorrowfully most sorrowfully
perfectly more perfectly most perfectly
promptly more promptly most promptly
Examples:
  • • Raj came promptly. [Positive.]
  • • Rohan came more promptly than Raj. [Comparative.]
  • • Aarav came most promptly of all. [Superlative.]
  • More examples:
  • • Sima finished the homework quickly. [Positive.]
  • • He began to speak more quickly. [Comparative.]
  • • Pooja smiles the most sweetly. [Superlative.]
(c) Adverbs having irregular form
Positive Comparative Superlative
well, good better best
ill, badly worse worst
little less least
late later last
much more most
far farther(further) farthest(furthest)
Examples:
  • • My mom is a good cook. [Positive.]
  • • My mom is a better cook than your mom. [Comparative.]
  • • My mom is the best cook. [Superlative.]
  • More examples:
  • • Payal speaks English well. [Positive.]
  • • The Eagle can see better than you think. [Comparative.]
  • • His knees hurt worst. [Superlative.]
(d) Adverbs having negative meaning

For negative meaning of Adverb, 'less' is used before comparatives and 'least' before superlatives adverb.

Positive Comparative Superlative
clearly less clearly least clearly
wisely less wisely least wisely
forcefully less forcefully least forcefully
painfully less painfully least painfully
hopefully less hopefully least hopefully
slowly less slowly least slowly
Examples:
  • • Maya cook slowly. [Positive.]
  • • Pooja cook less lowly than Maya. [Comparative.]
  • • Riya cook least slowly than Maya & Pooja. [Superlative.]
  • More examples:
  • • We began our journey hopefully. [Positive.]
  • • Planes go less slowly than trains. [Comparative.]
  • • The last topic was the least clearly stated. [Superlative.]
Related Topics :
Types of Noun in English Language
Types of Pronoun in English Language
Types of Verb in English Language
Types of Adverb in English Language
Types of Adjective in English Language
Kinds of Preposition in English Language
Types of Conjunction in English Language
Uses of Interjection words in English Language

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