The
Writing Center
Degrees of Comparison
Adjectives are words that describe or give information about nouns.
Adverbs give information about adjectives, other adverbs, and verbs.
Adjectives can express modification in degrees.
Use the comparative form to compare two things. Use the superlative form to compare three or more things. You can use the word
THAN when comparing two things. Use the word THE with the superlative form.
Special Concerns
1.
Don’t use comparative or superlative forms with words that already express an extreme. For example,
the word UNIQUE means “one of a kind.” A person or thing cannot be “MORE unique”.
2. Some words that don’t express an extreme also do not work well with comparatives and superlatives.
Here are some examples from The Oxford Dictionary of American Usage and Style by Bryan Garner.
absolute
adequate
chief
complete
devoid
entire
fatal
final
ideal
impossible
inevitable
irrevocable
main
manifest
minor
paramount
perpetual
preferable
principal
stationary
sufficient
unanimous
unavoidable
unbroken
unique
universal
whole
3. Don’t use the words “more” or “most” with adjectives that already end in –er or –est. For example,
don’t say “more heavier” or “most heaviest.”
4. Use a premodifier to increase or decrease the intensity of an adjective, comparative or superlative. For
example:
a. Martha is a lot happier since she won the lottery
b. I can run a little faster today than yesterday.
c. This is the very best I can do.
d. This restaurant is somewhat less expensive than the last one.
5. Some nouns, like WATER, cannot be counted. We’ll call them “non-count nouns.” Some nouns, like
ICE CUBES, can be counted. We’ll call them “count nouns.” Use the right modifier for the right kind
of noun.
Non-Count Nouns
Count Nouns
Less
water
Fewer
Ice Cubes
Much
money
Many
Dollars
From Cole, Tom. The Article Book. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 2000. Image from http://coollib.net/b/229382/read Some information from http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/adjectives.htm