Usamos o comparativo para comparar uma pessoa ou coisa com uma outra;
usamos o superlativo para comparar uma pessoa ou coisa com mais de uma outra.
Há três coisas que devemos lembrar quando falamos de comparativos e superlativos:
1 Adjetivos de uma sílaba;
2 adjetivos de duas sílabas
3 adjetivos de três ou mais sílabas.
usamos o superlativo para comparar uma pessoa ou coisa com mais de uma outra.
Há três coisas que devemos lembrar quando falamos de comparativos e superlativos:
1 Adjetivos de uma sílaba;
2 adjetivos de duas sílabas
3 adjetivos de três ou mais sílabas.
Comparativos
Uma sílaba: Adicionamos er para formar o compartivo da maioria dos adjetivos com uma sílaba:
Curitiba is smaller than Sao Paulo.
Curitiba é menor que São Paulo.
clean - cleaner
cold - colder
tall - taller
Note: Adjetivos como hot, big, fat, sad, wet (isto é, se os verbos forem formados por consoante, vogal, consoante - ou se terminarem com esta sequência), dobramos a consoante final:
hotter, bigger, fatter, sadder, wetter.
Duas sílabas com 'y' (heavy): Se o adjetivo tiver duas sílabas e terminar em 'y', trocamos o 'y' por 'i' e acrescentamos er:
Is an elephant heavier than a horse?
Um elefante é mais pesado que um cavalo?
busy - busier
pretty - prettier
noizy - noisier
Note: Se o adjetivo tiver duas sílabas e não terminar com 'y', seguiremos a regra das três sílabas, como segue abaixo:
Três ou mais sílabas: Usamos more antes de adjetivos com três sílabas ou mais:
This car is more comfortable than that one.
Este carro é mais confortável que alquele.
expensive - more expensive
beautiful - more beautiful
handsome - more handsome
upset - more upset (duas sílabas não terminando com 'y')
boring - more boring (duas sílabas não terimando com 'y')
Note: Com alguns adjetivos de duas sílabas como (clever, common, narrow, pleasant, quiet, simple, stupid) podemos usar as duas formas:
cleverer ou more clever
commoner ou more common etc
Superlativos
Uma sílaba: Formamos o superlativo acrescentando est no adjetivo:
I have the smallest car.
Eu tenho o menor carro (de todos).
clean - cleanest
cold - coldest
tall - tallest
Duas sílabas com 'y' (heavy): Se o adjetivo tiver duas sílabas e terminar em 'y', trocamos o 'y' por 'i' e acrescentamos est:
He is the heaviest
Ele é o mais pesado (de todos)
busy - busiest
pretty - prettiest
noizy - noisiest
Três ou mias sílabas: usamos most antes de adjetivos com três ou mais sílabas:
Who has the most comfortable car?
Quem tem o carro mais confortável? (de todos)
expensive - most expensive
beautivul - the most beautiful
handsome – the most handsome
Irregular comparatives:
bad worse the worst
far farther the farthest
good better the best
Little less the least
Much, many more the most
Compare:
He has the most money = Ele é quem tem mais dinheiro.
She has the least money = Ela é quem tem menos dinheiro.
I hope that helps!
He has the most money = Ele é quem tem mais dinheiro.
She has the least money = Ela é quem tem menos dinheiro.
I hope that helps!
Forming Comparative and Superlative Adjectives
One-syllable adjectives.
Form the comparative and superlative forms of a one-syllable adjective by adding –er for the comparative form and –est for the superlative.
One-Syllable Adjective | Comparative Form | Superlative Form |
tall | taller | The tallest |
old | older | The oldest |
long | Longer | The longest |
Mary is taller than Max.
Mary is the tallest of all the students.
Max is older than John.
Of the three students, Max is the oldest.
My hair is longer than your hair.
Max's story is the longest story I've ever heard.
If the one-syllable adjective ends with an e, just add –r for the comparative form and –st for the superlative form.
One-Syllable Adjective with Final -e | Comparative Form | Superlative Form |
large | larger | The largest |
wise | wiser | The wisest |
Mary's car is larger than Max's car.
Mary's house is the tallest of all the houses on the block.
Max is wiser than his brother.
Max is the wisest person I know.
If the one-syllable adjective ends with a single consonant with a vowel before it, double the consonant and add –er for the comparative form; and double the consonant and add –est for the superlative form.
One-Syllable Adjective Ending with a Single Consonant with a Single Vowel before It | Comparative Form | Superlative Form |
big | bigger | The biggest |
thin | thinner | The thinnest |
fat | fatter | The fattest |
My dog is bigger than your dog.
My dog is the biggest of all the dogs in the neighborhood.
Max is thinner than John.
Of all the students in the class, Max is the thinnest.
My mother is fatter than your mother.
Mary is the fattest person I've ever seen.
Two-syllable adjectives.
With most two-syllable adjectives, you form the comparative with more and the superlative with most.
Two-Syllable Adjective | Comparative Form | Superlative Form |
peaceful | more peaceful | The most peaceful |
pleasant | more pleasant | The most pleasant |
careful | more careful | The most careful |
thoughtful | more thoughtful | The most thoughtful |
This morning is more peaceful than yesterday morning.
Max's house in the mountains is the most peaceful in the world.
Max is more careful than Mike.
Of all the taxi drivers, Jack is the most careful.
Jill is more thoughtful than your sister.
Mary is the most thoughtful person I've ever met.
If the two-syllable adjectives ends with –y, change the y to i and add –er for the comparative form. For the superlative form change the y to i and add –est.
Two-Syllable Adjective Ending with -y | Comparative Form | Superlative Form |
happy | happier | The happiest |
angry | angrier | The angriest |
busy | busier | The busiest |
John is happier today than he was yesterday.
John is the happiest boy in the world.
Max is angrier than Mary.
Of all of John's victims, Max is the angriest.
Mary is busier than Max.
Mary is the busiest person I've ever met.
Two-syllable adjectives ending in –er, -le, or –ow take –er and –est to form the comparative and superlative forms.
Two-Syllable Adjective Ending with -er, -le, or -ow | Comparative Form | Superlative Form |
narrow | narrower | narrowest |
gentle | gentler | The gentlest |
The roads in this town are narrower than the roads in the city.
This road is the narrowest of all the roads in California.
Big dogs are gentler than small dogs.
Of all the dogs in the world, English Mastiffs are the gentlest.
Adjectives with three or more syllables.
For adjectives with three syllables or more, you form the comparative with more and the superlative with most.
Adjective with Three or More Syllables | Comparative Form | Superlative Form |
generous | more generous | The most generous |
important | more important | The most important |
intelligent | more intelligent | The most intelligent |
John is more generous than Jack.
John is the most generous of all the people I know.
Health is more important than money.
Of all the people I know, Max is the most important.
Women are more intelligent than men.
Mary is the most intelligent person I've ever met.
Exceptions.
Irregular adjectives.
Irregular Adjective | Comparative Form | Superlative Form |
good | Better the | best |
bad | Worse the | worst |
far | Farther the | farthest |
little | Less the | least |
many | More the | most |
Italian food is better than American food.
My dog is the best dog in the world.
My mother's cooking is worse than your mother's cooking.
Of all the students in the class, Max is the worst.
Two-syllable adjectives that follow two rules. These adjectives can be used with -er and -est and with more and most.
Two-Syllable Adjective | Comparative Form | Superlative Form |
clever | cleverer | The cleverest |
clever | more clever | The most clever |
gentle | gentler | The gentlest |
gentle | more gentle | The most gentle |
friendly | friendlier | The friendliest |
friendly | more friendly | The most friendly |
quiet | quieter | The quietest |
quiet | more quiet | The most quiet |
simple | simpler | The simplest |
simple | more simple | The most simple |
Big dogs are gentler than small dogs.
Of all the dogs in the world, English Mastiffs are the gentlest.
Big dogs are more gentle than small dogs.
Of all the dogs in the world
Comparatives adjectives
Adjectives of just one syllable form the comparative by adding "-er" Brigth.. brighter Clear…clearer Fast…. Faster If a one syllable adjective ends in "e", simply add "r": Nice……nicer Fine…….finer Ripe……riper For some adjectives, it is necessary to double the last letter before adding "-er". (For spelling: doubling letters, see next week's grammar question). Big…. Bigger Slim…slimmer Flat…..flatter All adjectives of three or more syllables form the comparative with "more ". Beautiful….more beautiful Comfortable…more comfortable Typical….. more typical Adjectives of two syllables are more complicated. To see which is the usual form you should see your dictionary. Most adjectives of two syllables form the comparative with "more": Famous....more famous Thankful... more thankful Boring….more boring Faithless… more faithless However, some adjectives of two syllables form the comparative with "-er": Those that end in "y", change the "y" to "i" and add "-er": Happy...happier Funny...funnier Easy....easier Those ending in a vowel-sound that is not stressed: Yellow…..yellower Simple….simpler Tender….tender In addition, there are some (common) irregular comparativeadjectives: Good….better Bad…worse Far…farthet ou further Little (quantity) … less Much…more Old… older ou elder Fonte: For more information on comparative adjectives see the following web sites: For a quiz on comparative adjectives, see: (Acesso em 10/11/2010) |