Degree of comparison
Read these sentences:
Ravi is a tall boy.
Ravi is taller than Anil.
Ravi is the tallest boy in the class.
In sentence 1 the adjective tall merely tells us that Ravi is tall.
In sentence 2 the adjective taller tells us Ravi’s height compared with that of Anil’s.
In sentence 3 the adjective tallest tells us that of all these boys Ravi has the highest degree of tallness.
We thus see that adjectives change in form they are called degrees of comparison.
The positive degree of an adjective is used to denote the existence of some quality.
The comparative degree of an adjective denotes a higher quality than the positive and is used when 2 things are compared. ‘Than’ is used when comparing.
The superlative degree denotes the highest degree of the quality and is used when more than 2 things are compared. ‘The’ is always used before the word in the superlative form- the tallest, the smallest, the best, the most brilliant.
Examples
Positive
(i) Iron is a useful metal.
(ii) Lead is a heavy metal.
(iii) Ravi is smart.
(iv) The knife is sharp.
(v) The pen is mighty.
(vi) She is old.
(vii) Dhoni is a good batsman.
(viii) Maharashtra is a large state.
Comparative
Comparative degree mostly has adjectives ending in ‘er’ or some adjectives take the word ‘more’ before them. E.g. taller, harder, more beautiful, more intelligent.
Examples:
(i) Shamli is taller than Sonali.
(ii) Anurag is braver than Prayas.
(iii) Iron is harder than wood.
(iv) Rutuja is fairer than Swapnil.
(v) Ayan is more intelligent than Rehan.
(vi) Tokyo is more expensive than Delhi.
(vii) This room is more spacious than that.
(vii) He found Sherlock Holmes more interesting than James Bond.
(viii) Neha’s hair is silkier than that of Priya.
Important Point about Comparative Degree
Adjectives ending in ‘or’ such as superior, inferior, prior, junior, senior, etc take ‘to’ in place of ‘than’ along with them.
Examples:
(i) Mr Sharma is junior to (not ‘than’) Mr Mishra.
(ii) This jewellery is superior to that one.
Superlative
(i) Reshma is the wisest of all girls in her colony.
(ii) This is the funniest of all books that I have read so far.
(iii) Rishi is the strongest boy in our class.
(iv) The snake is the most dangerous animal.
(v) The Taj Mahal is the most famous epitome of love.
(vi) Chiraag is the most handsome boy in his family.
(vii) Room no 15 in the hotel was the most convenient one for the businessmen.
(viii) You are the best friend of mine.
(ix) Mount Everest is the highest peak of the Himalayas.
(x) Siberia is the coldest place on earth.
Superlative Degree to Positive and Comparative
In positive degree, we use, ‘No other’ and in comparative ‘all other’ or ‘any other’ because the degree of the quality in the object being talked about is ‘superior’ to that in any other object.
Examples:
1.
(i) Superlative Degree: Hardik is the strongest player of our team.
(ii) Positive Degree: No other player of our team is as strong as Hardik.
(iii) Comparative Degree: Hardik is stronger than any other player of our team.
2.
(i) Superlative Degree: Swara is the cleverest girl in my class.
(ii) Positive Degree: No other girl in my class is as clever as Swara.
(iii)Comparative Degree: Swara is cleverer than any other girl in my class.
3.
(i) Superlative Degree: Mumbai is the most expensive place to live in Maharashtra.
(ii) Positive Degree: No other place in Maharashtra is as expensive to live in as Mumbai.
(iii) Comparative Degree: Mumbai is more expensive than any other place to live in Maharashtra.
4.
(i) Superlative Degree: Suraj is the most intelligent of all boys.
(ii)Positive Degree: No other boy is as intelligent as Suraj.
(iii)Comparative Degree: Suraj is more intelligent than all other boys.
Positive Degree to Comparative Degree
Both positive and comparative degree are used to compare only two objects (i.e. two persons, ideas, or things). Therefore, they cannot be transformed into superlative degree.
(i) Positive Degree: A glass of water is as good as a glass of juice.
Comparative Degree: A glass of juice is not better than a glass of water.
(ii) Positive Degree: Question A is as simple as question B.
Comparative Degree: Question B is not simpler than question A.
(iii) Positive Degree: President Rule is not as good as democracy.
Comparative Degree: Democracy is better than President rule.
(iii) Positive Degree: Rose is as beautiful as tulip.
Comparative Degree: Tulip is not more beautiful than rose.
(iv) Positive Degree: Non-metals are not as hard as metals.
Comparative Degree: Metals are harder than non-metals.
Comparative Degree to Positive Degree
i) Comparative Degree: Chocolates are tastier than cookies.
Positive Degree: Cookies are not so tasty as chocolates.
(ii) Comparative Degree: Arushi’s house is bigger than her office.
Positive Degree: Arushi’s office is not so big as her house.
(iii) Comparative Degree: Mobile phones are more convenient than tablets.
Positive Degree: Tablets are not as convenient as mobile phones.
(iv)Comparative Degree: Drinking is not more dangerous than smoking.
Positive Degree: Smoking is as dangerous as drinking.
Change the degree of comparison without changing the meaning.
The first one is done for you.
Question 1.
Peter is cleverer than any other boy in the class.
Peter is the cleverest boy in the class.
No other boy in the class is as clever as peter.
Question 2.
Malacca is the oldest town in Malaysia.
Question 3.
Jupiter is the biggest of all planets.
Question 4.
Very few boys are as industrious as John.
John is more industrious than most boys.
John is one of the most industrious boys.
Question 5.
India is the largest democracy in the world.
Question 6.
Shakespeare was greater than any other playwright.
Question 7.
Ashoka was one of the greatest Indian kings.
Question 8.
Greenland is the largest island in the world.
Question 9.
Lead is heavier than any other metal.
Question 10.
The Pyramids of Egypt are the greatest architecture.
Answer:
The architecture of no other pyramid is as great as that of the pyramids of Egypt.
The architecture of pyramids of Egypt is greater than that of any other pyramid.
Question 11.
The Bhagwad Gita is the holiest epic of the Hindus.
Question 12.
Mobile phones are better than pagers.
Question 13.
No other river in India is as long as the Ganga.
Question 14.
Bangladesh is not as big as India.
Question 15.
Aryan is as clever as Mahesh.
Question 16.
Asia is larger than all other continents in the world.
Question 17.
Silence is stronger than any other weapon to win an argument.
Question 18.
To practise is better than to preach.
See the following questions:
Question 19
Bombay is one of the biggest cities in India.
Answer:
Few Indian cities are as big as Bombay. (Positive Degree)
Bombay is bigger than most other Indian cities. (Comparative Degree)
Question 20
Bombay is the biggest city in India.
Answer:
No other city in India is as big as Bombay. (Positive Degree)
Bombay is bigger than any other city in India.
Question 21.
Very few animals are as useful as the cow. (Positive Degree)
Answer:
The cow is more useful than most other animals. (Comparative Degree)
The cow is one of the most useful animals. (Superlative Degree)
Comparatives: a common error
In comparative sentences be careful to compare the same part of two things. That of, these of and those of are necessary words that are often omitted.
• Incorrect: His teaching was like Jesus Christ.
• Correct: His teaching was like that of Jesus Christ.
• Incorrect: The size of the shoe must be the same as this shoe.
• Correct: The size of the shoe must be the same as that of this shoe.
• Incorrect: My books are better than my friend.
• Correct: My books are better than those of my friend.