Read the following dialogues.
Then compare your pencil,
lunchbox, etc. with your friend’s
things.
Mr. x : I am as old as you.
Mr. Y : Let’s check our birth
dates- Mine is 2 March 1992.
What’s yours ?
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Mr. X : Mine is also 2-3-1992
Mr. Y : Yes, You are right. You
are as old as I.
Mr. X : Are you taller than I?
Mr. Y : No! We are equally tall.
Mr. X : Your bag is not so big as
my bag.
Mr. Y : Let me see. Oh! Your
bagDipak V Parikh
2
-is bigger than my bag. (Mine)
but the prices are equal.
Mr. X : Your hand-writing is as
good as mine.
Mr. Y : No, your hand writing is
also as good as mine.
Mr. X : We have many
similarities friend.
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3
Degrees of Comparison
The degrees of comparison in
English grammar are made with
the adjective and adverb words
to show how big or small, high or
low, more or less, many or few,
etc. of the qualities, numbers
and position of the nouns
(persons, things, and places)Dipak V Parikh
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-in comparison to others
mentioned in the other part of
sentence/expression.
Is it bigger than a
mouse?
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Kinds of Degrees of Comparison
(A) Positive Degree: (a) Degree-of equality (b) Degree of –
-inequality
(B) Comparative Degree (a)
Progressive Degree (b) Parallel-Degree
(C) Superlative Degree
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(A) Positive Degree: One noun,
person, thing or place and one
quality……above average.
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(1) Eifel tower is a tall man made
structure. (One noun with one
quality ‘tall’ adjective in positive
form.(2) Ram is a tall man.
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Degrees of Comparison:
The adjective or adverb is in
positive form showing that two
persons or things are the same
two nouns having the same
quality. The common conjunction
used is “as ..adjective.. as”
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(a) Degree of Equality:
(1)Ram is
as strong
as Rohan.
‘strong’ adjective in positive form
showing equality.
(2) Baroda is as big as
Rajkot.
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(3) Rani is as tall as shyamli.
(4) She sings as well as I.
(5) Your house is as big as my
house.
(6) This box is as heavy as that
box.
(7) Ketan was as hard working
as Saad.
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(b) Degrees of Inequality:
The adjective or adverb is in
positive form showing that two
persons or things are not the
same two nouns not having the
same quality.
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(1)Peter is not as (so) fast as
Paul.
(2) Bombay is not so hot as
Delhi.
(3) Wealth is not so precious as
health.
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(4) Abu is not so pleasant as
Simla.
(5) To act is not so easy as to
advise.
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Comparative Degree:
•Two persons, things or places
are being compared with one
adjective or adverb to show that
one has more quality or quantity
of the adjective or adverb than
the other.
• The adjective or adverb takesDipak V Parikh
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-‘r’ or ‘er’ to its positive form and
is said to be in the comparative
form.
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Degree of Comparison
1.Adjectives of one syllable
• Adjectives of one syllable add er and -est.
• Adjectives ending on 'e' just
add -r and -st.
• Some adjectives double the
final consonant.
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Adjective
small
warm
old
nice
big
Comparative Superlativ
smaller
warmer
older
nicer
bigger
Dipak V Parikh
smallest
warmest
oldest
nicest
biggest
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Degree of Comparison
2.Adjectives of two syllables
• Some adjectives of two
syllables add -er and -est.
• For adjectives ending in 'y‘ –
cut y then add -ier and -iest.
• Adjectives ending in -ful, less, -ing, -ed use more and
most.
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•Some other adjectives of two
syllables use more and most
(modern, famous, normal,
correct, ...).
Adjective Comparative Superlative
narrow
happy
useful
boring
modern
narrower
narrowest
happier
happiest
more useful most useful
more boring most boring
more modern
most
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Degree of Comparison
Adjectives of three or
more syllables
• Adjectives of three or more
syllables use more and
most.
3.
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Adjectiv Comparati
Superlative
e
ve
more
most
beautiful beautiful
beautiful
dangero
more
most
us
dangerous dangerous
exciting
more
most
exciting
exciting
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Degree of Comparison
Irregular adjectives
• You will have to memorize
these.
4.
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Adjective Comparative Superlative
good
(well)
bad
little
much,
many
far
late
old
better
worse
less
more
farther,
further
later
older, elder
Dipak V Parikh
best
worst
least
most
farthest
last, latest
older, oldest
24
•The conjunction ‘than’ is used to
connect the two clauses.
A horse can run
Faster
than a dog.
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Comparative degree is of two
types: (a) Progressive Degree
(b) Parallel Degree.
(a)Progressive Degree:
* Two adjectives or adverbs are
being compared to show that
one continues to increase (or
decrease) when the other
increases. (or decreases)
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•The adjective or adverb is in its
comparative form with the
definite article ‘the’ before it.
•Example:
• The steeper the hill the more
difficult it is to push the rock.
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(b) Parallel Degree:
•The quality or quantity of the
adjective or adverb continues to
increase (or decrease) as the
time passes.
• The adjective or adverb in its
comparative form is repeated
using the conjunction.
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Example:
(1)The days are getting hotter
and hotter.
(2) It is getting hotter and hotter
day by day.
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(3) A raccoon is smaller than an
elephant but bigger than a
mouse.
A raccoon is smaller than an
elephant but bigger than a
mouse.
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(4) Ray swam faster than James
did.
(5)The dog on the left is bigger
than the other dog.
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(6) Ray swam faster than any
other team member.
(7) Ray swam faster than any
one else on the team.
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Be sure to include other or else
when comparing one member
with all the others in a group. We
use it in this example because
Ray can’t swim faster than
himself.
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Superlative Degree
We use the Superlative degree
when we compare more than
two persons or things with one
another.
It is the highest degree of the
quality.
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Example:
Peter is the smartest boy in
class.
Alice is the sweetest girl in the
neighborhood.
The blue whale is the largest of
all animals.
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SUPERLATIVE DEGREE
Comparing one noun – person,
thing or place – with several
others of its kind to show that
this particular noun has the
highest degree of the quality or
quantity of the adjective or
adverb being used to compare.
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The adjective or adverb takes
the ‘superlative form’, ending
with ‘st’ or ‘est’, with the definite
article ‘the’ before it.
The preposition ‘of’ is used when
the comparison is.
among items, and ‘in’ is used to
specify the place, position or
area
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Superlative Degree: example 1
• The elephant is the largest of
all land animals.
• The giraffe is the tallest of all
animals.
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Superlative Degree: example 2
Susan is the most intelligent
girl in the class.
Susan
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Degrees of Comparison:
worksheet 1
• Gopal is
in our team.
fast
the fastest
the faster
footballer
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Degrees of Comparison:
worksheet 2
• Tom is a
stronger
the strongest
strong
Dipak V Parikh
boy.
41
Degrees of Comparison:
worksheet 3
• This man is
man is
.
sad
happy
angry
Dipak V Parikh
, but that
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Degrees of Comparison:
worksheet 4
• Karan is
Sue.
more active
activer
active
Dipak V Parikh
than
43
Degrees of Comparison:
worksheet 5
• The white flower is as
as the red flower.
the most beautiful
more beautiful
beautiful
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Degrees of Comparison:
worksheet 6
the weights,
it is to lift them.
The heavy
the difficult
The heavier
the more difficult
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Degrees of Comparison:
worksheet 7
• The sea is getting
.
rough and rough
rougher and rougher
the rougher and the rougher
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Degrees of Comparison:
worksheet 8
• Mt. Everest is
mountain in the world.
higher than
high
the highest
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Practice: Change the form of
degree in the following
sentences according to
instructions.
1. Baroda is as big as Kanpur.
(Turn in to comparative
degree)
2. The earthquake of Pakistan
was worse than that of
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Gujarat. (use ‘not so bad as’)
(3) Our principal is older than
any other teacher. (Start with ‘No
other teacher’)
4. English is easier than Sanskrit
to learn. (Begin with –Sanskrit is
not )
5. No other singer sings so wellDipak V Parikh
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-as Lata. (Begin with: Lata sings
better…..)
6. The Himalayas is…………in
all the mountains of India. (use
the proper form of ‘high’)
Dipak V Parikh
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