Among the norms inherent in adjectives, the greatest difficulties are usually caused by the formation of some forms of comparative and superlative degrees of qualitative adjectives and the use of these forms in speech.
When forming the comparative degree form, the following principles should be taken into account.
1. Comparative forms are most often formed using the suffixes -ee/-e:
beautiful - more beautiful / more beautiful; strong - stronger/stronger.
Note, what shapes more, less, further, longer, earlier do not have variants with the suffix -ee (variants earlier, less unacceptable in literary speech!).
2. If the base of the adjective ends in g, k, x, then when forming the comparative degree, the suffix -e is used (with alternating consonants):
light - lighter, tight - tighter, dry - drier.
The same suffix with alternating consonants is used when forming the comparative degree of individual adjectives with a base on d, t, st, sk, zk:
rich - richer, young - younger, simple - simpler, close - closer, smooth - smoother, liquid - thinner, short - shorter, low - lower, rare - thinner, narrower - narrower.
Use of forms like simpler, younger is a blunder. At the same time, in common speech the suffix -e can receive a more regular expression than in a literary language (for example, weaker, weaker), but in literary speech they are unacceptable!
3. The suffix -she is used to form the comparative degree of only a few adjectives:
early - earlier, old - older, thin - thinner, bitter - bitter, distant - further, long - longer.
4. A number of adjectives form the comparative degree from another root:
good is better, bad is worse(inadmissible: worse!), small, small - smaller.
5. The meaning of comparison can be expressed both using special suffixes and in a descriptive way - using the words more/less (comparative degree) and the words most/most (superlative degree):
better, more difficult; the best, the most difficult.
Completely unacceptable use two ways of expressing comparison at the same time: the words more/less or most/most in combination with an adjective in the comparative or superlative degree! This error is very common in speech:
Today she was sadder than yesterday; He is the greatest physicist in the world.
The following sentences are grammatically correct:
Today she was sadder than yesterday; Today she was sadder than yesterday; He is the greatest physicist in the world; He is the greatest physicist in the world.
Exception make up the forms: the best, the worst.
Similar requirements apply to the use of comparative and superlative qualitative adverbs:
It's more difficult for her than for you; It's harder for her than for you.
It should be taken into account that not all qualitative adjectives are capable of forming degrees of comparison using the appropriate suffixes. Words do not form the following forms:
immortal, brilliant, close, fighting, sick(about a human), stormy, upper, eternal, possible, strong-willed, outstanding, heroic, deaf(about a human), naked, proud, long-standing, distant, businesslike, cruel, familiar, oblique, short, crooked(about a human), dead(not alive) peaceful, powerful, unknown, lower, common, excellent, advanced, positive, last, constant, similar, right(fair, containing truth), empty(about container: not filled with anything), developed, early, ragged, timid, blind, controversial, urgent, predatory, gloomy, colorful, young and etc.
Some of these adjectives cannot be used comparatively due to the specificity of their meaning (for example, one cannot be more or less immortal, more or less naked). Others could theoretically form a comparative degree, but due to their formal characteristics they do not have such a form or have a rarely used form. In the latter case, in informal speech in some combinations you can use a descriptive way of expressing the degree of comparison:
more strong-willed, more businesslike, more cruel.
Please note that when using comparative and superlative forms in speech, several conditions must be taken into account.
1. The comparative adjective is used in combination with the genitive case of the name ( He is more beautiful than his sister) or in association with a union how (Melons are sweeter than watermelons). These forms indicate the object of comparison. Without a dependent name indicating the object of comparison, adjectives in the comparative degree can be used:
when a characteristic of one object is compared with the same characteristic of another object, known from the context:
I am familiar with all the collections of his poems. The latest collection is clearly weaker;
when a feature of an object is compared with the same feature in relation to a previous or subsequent state:
The memory of the sun in the heart weakens, the grass turns yellow(A. Akhmatova).
2. A similar dependence can be traced when using adjectives in the superlative degree: it is necessary to indicate the range of objects, persons, from which the one endowed with the same quality to the greatest extent stands out:
He was the hardest worker in our family; He was the best among us.
In addition, the use of superlatives is not recommended if the comparison of objects or persons is impossible or incorrect.
Thus, the following sentence is incorrect: A. Blok is the most talented poet of Russia. Each of the great Russian poets (A.S. Pushkin, M.Yu. Lermontov, etc.) is unique in its own way, and distribution by place is unacceptable here, as is done, for example, in sports. If necessary, you can use constructions like: A. Blok is one of the most talented poets in Russia.
It should be noted that in some cases such uses are intentional and associated with certain, for example, political goals. As an example, we can cite the statement of I.V. Stalin about the poet V.V. Mayakovsky: “Mayakovsky was and remains the best, most talented poet of our Soviet era".
How to correctly:
smoother or sleeker, more beautiful or more beautiful?
One of the difficulties is the formation of forms of degrees of comparison of adjectives. Only qualitative adjectives have degrees of comparison. There are two degrees of comparison – comparative and superlative. Each has two forms - simple and complex.
comparative adjectives can be simple or complex.
Simple comparative degree formed using suffixes -e, -ee, -she, -ey.
-ee/-e: fast – faster /faster/
beautiful - more beautiful /beautiful/
careful - more careful / careful /
E: deep - deeper
Sharp - sharper
Smooth - smoother
Early - earlier
Thin - thinner
Words with suffix -to her have a conversational tone ( stupid, late ). Some forms are formed suppletively: good is better, bad is worse .
Use of suffix -e associated with various alternations, for example:
alternation g/f: smooth - smoother (wrong *smoother)
d/f: hard - harder (wrong *harder)
t/h: rich - richer and etc.
Complex comparative degree formed from a combination of words more or less with the original form of the adjective, for example: simpler, higher, less successful .
Simple superlative form formed using suffixes -eysh-, -aysh- and less often -sh- : closest, strongest, best, highest . Some forms are formed suppletively: good is the best, bad is the worst .
Complex superlative form formed from a combination of words most, most, least with the original form of the adjective ( the smartest, the nicest, the kindest ) or words everyone or Total with simple comparative degree ( best, above all ). A serious mistake is the combination of the word most with a simple superlative form: the best, the smartest.
The most common mistake when forming comparative degrees is an attempt to form simple and compound forms of the comparative degree at once, for example: * more higher,* better, *less brighter and so on.
A violation of the norms of the modern Russian language are combinations *the highest, *the smartest.
The complex comparative form is used instead of the simple form for nouns in oblique cases: busymore important work. You can't say: work is more important, only a conversational form is possible - more important work. For example: in more difficult cases , with less successful result , from someone more knowledgeable faces and so on.
Only a few adjectives in modern Russian form the comparative degree using the suffix -she, which is correct, for example: thin - thinner, long - longer, good - better . Forms * cheaper, *more beautiful, *heavier, *weaker, *longer are a gross violation of the norm.
In pairs more - more , less - less , earlier - earlier , further - further both forms are within the literary norm: here the forms are -she belong to the neutral style of the literary language, and their paired formations are -her Compared to them, they are stylistically “elevated” and relate to the bookish style of speech.
For adjectives that have in the initial form -sk-, -n-, -ov-, -ev-, -ast-, -ist, -at-, -liv-, -k-, the simple superlative form is not formed: whitish, sick, fighting, stormy, fibrous, big-headed, loud, long, friendly, cool, brittle, massive, young, dear, talkative, early, dry, narrow, skillful, frequent and etc.
Superlative forms with most are formed mainly from book vocabulary, forms on -greatest – from colloquial and neutral, especially wide stylistic composition of vocabulary, from which forms with most .
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.
The article will help you understand what the comparative degree of adjectives is. It describes how to form its two forms - simple and compound.
What is the comparative degree of adjectives?
Comparative degree of adjectives in Russian– a grammatical category denoting a feature that can manifest itself to a greater or lesser extent. Depending on the context of use, the feature called an adjective can manifest itself differently in the same object or differently in different objects. The comparative degree is inherent only in qualitative adjectives and is studied in grade 5 .
Examples of adjectives in the comparative degree: bolder, greener, hotter, more timid, more talkative, less bright, less funny.
How are the comparative degrees of adjectives formed?
When forming the comparative degree of adjectives, it is important to take into account that in the Russian language this morphological category is represented by two forms - simple(synthetic, consisting of one word) and composite(analytical, consisting of two words).
Formation of simple comparative degree of adjectives
The simple comparative degree of adjectives is formed in various ways:
- The most common option is formation using suffixes -ee, -ee (long - longer, beautiful - more beautiful, sharp - sharper).
- If the adjective stem ends in consonants: g, k, x, d, t, st, when forming a simple form, these consonants alternate, and the suffix is added to the base itself -e (bright - brighter, quiet - quieter, expensive - more expensive).
- For adjectives with bases on suffixes -k-, -ok- (-ek-), -r- the final suffix is cut off and the suffix is added to the stem -e (low - lower, high - higher, narrow - narrower, long - longer).
- A limited number of adjectives are formed by adding a suffix to the stem -she (old - older, early - earlier).
- In some cases, the simple form is formed by adding a prefix to the adjective stem By- and suffixes -she, -e(examples: smaller, younger, louder).
- A number of adjectives form a simple form of the comparative degree of adjectives from other stems: good is better, bad is worse.
Exceptions. Adjectives that do not form a short form do not have a simple comparative degree:
- With base on suffixes: -sk-, -ov-, -l-, -n- (enemy, advanced, emaciated, controversial);
- Individual non-derivative adjectives (right, proud, timid);
- Adjectives denoting the color of an animal (black, brown).
Formation of the compound comparative degree of adjectives
The compound form of the comparative degree of adjectives is formed by adding modal (auxiliary) words to the initial form of the adjective more, less (colder, prouder, less salty, heavier).
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Important! When forming a compound comparative degree, it is allowed to add modal words only to the initial form. Forms cleaner, less lighter are considered a serious mistake.
