A practical english grammar - Vyssaja skola 1978
The comparison of adjectives
Sound symbols
In describing the process of comparison we speak of the base form, the comparative form, and the superlative form. The comparative states that one thing has more of the quality named by the adjective than some other thing; the superlative states that the thing has the greatest degree of the quality among the things being considered.
John is a tall boy.
Henry is taller than John.
Henry is the tallest boy in the class.
Forms of the comparative and superlative. Most one-syllable adjectives, and most two-syllable adjectives ending in -y, -ow, -er, or consonant + -le, with loud stress on the first syllable and weak stress on the second, form their comparative and superlative by the addition of the suffixes -er and -est.
BASE COMPARATIVE SUPERLATIVE
loud louder loudest
thin thinner thinnest
heavy heavier heaviest
narrow narrower narrowest
tender tenderer tenderest
simple simpler simplest
Adjectives derived by prefixes from those that use -er and -est also use these suffixes, even though the addition of prefixes makes them longer than two syllables: unhappier, unhappiest.
Adjectives that use -er and -est are not ordinarily used with less and least; see page 138.
All adjectives other than those enumerated above form their comparative by using the intensifier more (before the adjective) and their superlative by using the intensifier most. The superlative is almost always accompanied by the, since by its nature it is a specifying modifier, and the definite article is required under those circumstances.
interesting more interesting most interesting
generous more generous most generous
extraordinary more extraordinary most extraordinary
In a very few cases, English usage permits a choice between the two devices: commoner or more common, commonest or most common. Ordinarily, when one form is prescribed by the rules, the other is forbidden.
Irregular forms. A few commonly used adjectives have irregular forms:
good better best
bad worse worst
far farther farthest
The adjective little is not compared at all in standard English, though “littler” and “littlest” are sometimes heard; instead, small, tiny, or some other word of similar meaning is substituted.
He is little, but his sister is even smaller.
Two spelling rules.
1) When suffixes beginning with a vowel (-er, -est, -ed, -ing, -y, etc.) are added to a word ending in a single consonant letter preceded by a single vowel letter, and stressed on the final syllable, the final consonant is doubled.
big bigger trim trimmed forget forgetting
fat fattest run running fun funny
2) When suffixes (except those beginning with i) are added to words ending in -y preceded by a consonant, the у is changed to i. Nouns ending in consonant у form their plurals in -ies. If the у follows a vowel, it remains unchanged (gay, gayer):
silly sillier duty dutiful
dry drier rally rallied
party parties (but: rally rallying)
Expressing equality and inequality.
1) When two objects are equal in the quality named by the adjective, the pattern as ... as is used. The base form of the adjective follows as:
Tom is as tall as Dick.
This peach is as sweet as that one.
2) When one of the things being compared has more of the quality named by the adjective than the other does, or when one thing has more of the quality under some conditions than others, the comparative and the word than are used. The second noun or words naming the second condition follow than. If the word after than is a pronoun, traditional grammar requires the use of I, he, she, we, they if the first noun is the subject of its verb, and me, him, her, us, them if it is an object.
Charles is taller than I.
(Informal: Charles is taller than me.)
They are richer than we.
(Informal: They are richer than us.)
We found Charles more charming than him.
Ordinary usage ignores this rule and uses the objective pronouns in all cases when they stand alone.
The verb may be repeated after than if the speaker desires, usually in the form of an echo. In this case, of course, the subject pronouns are always used.
Charles is taller than I am.
Since than is a conjunction and not a preposition, the words that follow actually stand for a whole sentence. The use of me (him, us, etc.) after than is exactly analogous to their use as substitute sentences in an exchange such as this:
Who did that? — Me. (Us. Him.)
With a verb, of course, one would say “I did it,” “He did it,” etc.
It seems quite clear that speakers of English, when they are not being interfered with by language purifiers, prefer not to use the subject pronouns unless they are actually functioning as the subject of a verb in the immediate environment. The result of the campaign that insists on the subject pronouns after than is that most speakers avoid patterns like “richer than we,” “taller than he” altogether and get around the difficulty by supplying an echo verb, which really is not necessary in order to make the sense clear: “richer than we are,” “taller than I am.”
The construction after than varies widely according to the conditions of the comparison.
Henry is taller than his father was at his age.
I am more alert in the morning than in the evening.
Dorothy seems more generous than she really is.
3) When one of the things (or situations) being compared has less of the quality named by the adjective than the other does, the words less and least are used. Less is used for the comparative, and corresponds to more; least is the superlative, corresponding to most.
beautiful less beautiful least beautiful
difficult less difficult least difficult
interesting less interesting least interesting
There are no suffixes corresponding to less and least for use with short adjectives. English usage avoids such combinations as “less big,” “least sweet,” “less happy,” etc., though they are not absolutely forbidden. One way to replace them is to use an adjective of opposite meaning and make it comparative or superlative. Instead of saying “less big,” we can say “smaller”; instead of “least sweet,” we can say “bitterest” or “sourest.” Another w,ay is to say “not as ... ” instead of less:
This house is not as big as that one.
The determiner A/AN in comparisons. The group more + adjective may be either preceded or followed by a/an.
This is a more complex idea than the others he has presented. This is more complex an idea than the others he has presented.
If the adjective is a comparative ending in -er, a/an must precede the adjective.
This is a better idea than the others he has presented.
In the comparison of equality, a/an is always next to the noun.
This is as interesting a book as any I have read.
Choice of comparative or superlative according to meaning. It has long been taught that, according to logic, the comparative form must be used when two things are being compared, and the superlative when three or more are being compared. This rule is often ignored in informal style, however:
Formal: Which is the taller, the Eiffel Tower or the Washington Monument?
Informal: Which is the tallest, the Eiffel Tower or the Washington Monument?
Both formal and informal: Which is the tallest, the Eiffel Tower, the Washington Monument, or the Empire State Building?
The pattern MORE AND MORE. The comparative is used in a special way to indicate that something is acquiring (or losing) a quality by degrees. The construction is usually used after linking verbs and consists of more and more (or less and less) with “long” adjectives, and ... -er and . . . -er for those that use the suffix.
Your English is getting better and better.
This material is more and more difficult.
Henry is less and less satisfied with his job.