Comparison (grammar)
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Comparisonis a feature in themorphologyorsyntaxof somelanguageswherebyadjectivesandadverbsare rendered in aninflectedorperiphrasticway to indicate acomparativedegree, property, quality, or quantity of a corresponding word, phrase, or clause. Asuperlativeconstruction expresses the greatest quality, quantity, or degree relative toallother comparators.
The associatedgrammatical categoryisdegree of comparison.[1]The usual degrees of comparison are thepositive,which simply denotes a property (as with theEnglishwordsbigandfully); thecomparative,which indicatesgreaterdegree (asbiggerandmore fully); and thesuperlative,which indicatesgreatestdegree (asbiggestandmost fully).[2]Some languages have forms indicating a very large degree of a particular quality (calledelativein Semitic linguistics). Other languages (e.g. English) can express lesser degree, e.g.beautiful,less beautiful,least beautiful.
The comparative degrees are frequently associated with adjectives and adverbs because these words take the-ersuffix or modifying wordmoreorless.(e.g.,faster,moreintelligent,lesswasteful). Comparison can also, however, appear when no adjective or adverb is present, for instance with nouns (e.g.,more men than women). However, the usage of the wordthanbetween nouns simply denotes a comparison made and not degree of comparison comparing the intensity or the extent of the subjects. Onepreposition[dubious–discuss],near,also has comparative and superlative forms, as inFind the restaurant nearest your house.
Formation of comparatives and superlatives[edit]
Comparatives and superlatives may be formed inmorphologyby inflection, as with the English andGerman-erand-(e)stforms and Latin's-ior(superior,excelsior), orsyntactically,as with the Englishmore...andmost...and theFrenchplus...andle plus...forms. Common adjectives and adverbs often produce irregular forms, such asbetterandbest(fromgood) andlessandleast(fromlittle/few) in English, andmeilleur(frombon) andmieux(from the adverbbien) in French.
Comparative and superlative constructions[edit]
Most if not all languages have some means of forming the comparative, although these means can vary significantly from one language to the next.
Comparatives are often used with aconjunctionor other grammatical means to indicate to what the comparison is being made, as withthanin English,alsin German, etc. InRussianand Greek (Ancient,KoineandModern), this can be done by placing the compared noun in thegenitivecase. With superlatives, the population being considered may be explicitly indicated, as in "the best swimmer out of all the girls".
Languages also possess other structures for comparing adjectives and adverbs, such as "as... as" in English.
А few languages apply comparison to nouns and even verbs. One such language isBulgarian,where expressions like "по̀ човек (po chovek), най човек (nay chovek), по-малко човек (po malko chovek)" (literallymore person,most person,less personbut normallybetter kind of a person,best kind of person,not that good kind of a person) and "по̀ обичам (po obicham), най-малко обичам (nay malko obicham)" (I like more,I like the least) are quite usual.[note 1]
Usage when considering only two things[edit]
In many languages, including English, traditional grammar requires the comparative form to be used when exactly two things are being considered, even in constructions where the superlative would be used when considering a larger number. For instance, "May the better man win" would be considered correct if there are only two individuals competing. However, this rule is not always observed in informal usage; the form "May the best man win" will often be used in that situation, as is required if there were three or more competitors involved.[3]However, in some cases when two subjects with equal qualities are compared, usage of superlative degree is not possible. For example, "Ram is as good as Shyam" —positive degree; "Ram is not better than Shyam" —comparative degree. Since Ram and Shyam are equally good, neither is superior which negates the usage of the superlative.
Rhetorical use of unbalanced comparatives[edit]
In some contexts such as advertising or political speeches, absolute and relative comparatives are intentionally employed in ways that invite comparison, yet the basis of comparison is not explicit. This is a commonrhetoricaldevice used to create an implication of significance where one may not actually be present. Although common, such usage is sometimesconsidered ungrammatical.[3]
For example:
- Why pay more?
- We work harder.
- We sell for less!
- More doctors recommend it.
Usage in languages[edit]
Indo-European languages[edit]
English[edit]
English has two grammatical constructions for expressing comparison: a morphological one formed using the suffixes-er(the "comparative" ) and-est(the "superlative" ), with some irregular forms, and a syntactic one using the adverbs "more", "most", "less" and "least".
As a general rule, words of onesyllablerequire the suffix (except for a few words such asfun,real,right,wrong), while words of three or more syllables require "more" or "most". This leaves words of two syllables—these are idiomatic, some requiring the morphological construction, some requiring the syntactic and some able to use either (e.g.,politecan usepoliterormore polite), with different frequencies according to context.[4]
Morphological comparison
Thesuffixes-er(the "comparative" ) and-est(the "superlative" ) are ofGermanicorigin and arecognatewith theLatinsuffixes -iorand -issimusandAncient Greek-ῑ́ων:-īōnand -ῐστος:-istos.They are typically added to shorter words, words ofAnglo-Saxonorigin, and borrowed words fully assimilated into English vocabulary. Usually the words taking theseinflectionshave fewer than three syllables.
This system also contains a number of irregular forms, some of which, like "good", "better", and "best", containsuppletiveforms. These irregular forms include:
| Positive | Comparative | Superlative |
|---|---|---|
| good | better | best |
| well | ||
| bad | worse | worst |
| ill, badly | ||
| far | farther | farthest |
| further | furthest | |
| little | less(er) | least |
| many | more | most |
| much |
Syntactic comparison
In syntactic construction, inserting the words "more" or "most"[note 2]before an adjective or adverb modifies the resulting phrase to express a relative (specifically, greater) degree of that property. Similarly, inserting thediminutives"less" or "least" before an adjective or adverb expresses a lesser degree.
This system is most commonly used with words of French or Latin derivation; with adjectives and adverbs formed with suffixes other than-ly(e.g., "beautiful" ); and with longer, technical, or infrequent words. For example:
| Positive | Comparative | Superlative |
|---|---|---|
| beautiful | more beautiful | most beautiful |
| often | more often | most often |
| observant | less observant | least observant |
| coherently | less coherently | least coherently |
Absolute adjectives
| This sectionneeds additional citations forverification.(November 2015) |
Some adjectives' (theabsolute adjectives) meanings are not exhibitable in degrees, making comparative constructions of them inappropriate. Some qualities are eitherpresent orabsentsuch as beingcretaceousvs.igneous,so it appears illogical to call anything "very cretaceous", or to characterize something as "more igneous" than something else.
Some grammarians object to the use of the superlative or comparative with words such asfull,complete,unique,orempty,which by definition already denote a totality, an absence, or an absolute.[5]However, such words are routinely and frequently qualified in contemporary speech and writing. This type of usage conveys more of afigurativethan a literal meaning, because in a strictly literal sense, something cannot be more or less unique or empty to a greater or lesser degree.
Manyprescriptive grammarsandstyle guidesinclude adjectives for inherently superlative qualities to be non-gradable. Thus, they reject expressions such asmore perfect,most unique,andmost parallelas illogicalpleonasms:after all, if something is unique, it is one of a kind, so nothing can be "very unique", or "more unique" than something else.
Other style guides argue that terms likeperfectandparallelnever applyexactlyto things in real life, so they are commonly used to meannearly perfect,nearly parallel,and so on; in this sense,more perfect(i.e.,more nearly perfect, closer to perfect) andmore parallel(i.e.,more nearly parallel, closer to parallel) are meaningful.
Balto-Slavic languages[edit]
In mostBalto-Slavic languages(such as Czech, Polish, Lithuanian and Latvian), the comparative and superlative forms are also declinable adjectives.
InBulgarian,comparative and superlative forms are formed with the cliticsпо-(more) andнай-(most):
- голям(big)
- по-голям(bigger)
- най-голям(biggest)
InCzech,Polish,Slovak,Ukrainian,Serbo-CroatianandSlovene,the comparative is formed from the base form of an adjective with a suffix and superlative is formed with a circumfix (equivalent to adding a prefix to the comparative).
- mladý/młody/mladý/молодий/mlad/mlad(young)
- mladší/młodszy/mladší/молодший/mlađi/mlajši(younger)
- nejmladší/najmłodszy/najmladší/наймолодший/najmlađi/najmlajši(youngest)
InRussian,comparative and superlative forms are formed with a suffix or with the wordsболее(more) andсамый(most):
- добрый(kind)
- добрее/более добрый(kinder)
- добрейший/самый добрый(kindest)
Romance languages[edit]
In contrast to English, the relative and the superlative are joined into the same degree (the superlative), which can be of two kinds: comparative (e.g. "very beautiful" ) and absolute (e.g. "the most beautiful" ).
French:The superlative is created from the comparative by inserting the definitive article (la, le, or les), or the possessive article (mon,ton,son,etc.), before "plus" or "moins" and the adjective determining the noun. For instance:Elle est la plus belle femme→ (she is the most beautiful woman);Cette ville est la moins chère de France→ (this town is the least expensive in France);C'est sa plus belle robe→ (It is her most beautiful dress). It can also be created with the suffix "-issime" but only with certain words, for example: "C'est un homme richissime" → (That is the most rich man). Its use is often rare and ironic.
Spanish:Thecomparative superlative,like in French, has the definite article (such as "las" or "el" ), or the possessive article ( "tus," "nuestra," "su," etc.), followed by the comparative ( "más" or "menos" ), so that "el meñique eseldedomás pequeño"or" el meñique eselmás pequeñode los dedos "is" the pinky isthe smallestfinger. "Irregular comparatives are" mejor "for" bueno "and" peor "for" malo, "which can be used as comparative superlatives also by adding the definite article or possessive article, so that"nuestro peorerror fue casarnos "is"our worstmistake was to get married. "
Theabsolute superlativeis normally formed by modifying the adjective by adding-ísimo,-ísima,-ísimosor-ísimas,depending on the gender or number. Thus, "¡Los chihuahuas son perros pequeñísimos!" is "Chihuahuas are such tiny dogs!" Some irregular superlatives are "máximo" for "grande," "pésimo" for "malo," "ínfimo" for "bajo," "óptimo" for "bueno," "acérrimo" for "acre," "paupérrimo" for "pobre," "celebérrimo" for "célebre."
There is a difference between comparative superlative and absolute superlative:Ella es la más bella→ (she is the most beautiful);Ella es bellísima→ (she is extremely beautiful).
PortugueseandItaliandistinguish comparative superlative(superlativo relativo)and absolute superlative(superlativo absoluto/assoluto). For the comparative superlative they use the words "mais" and "più" between the article and the adjective, like "most" in English. For the absolute superlative they either use "muito" / "molto" and the adjective or modify the adjective by taking away the final vowel and addingissimo(singular masculine),issima(singular feminine),íssimos/issimi(plural masculine), oríssimas/issime(plural feminine). For example:
- Aquele avião é velocíssimo/Quell'aeroplano è velocissimo→ That airplane is very fast
There are some irregular forms for some words ending in "-re" and "-le" (deriving from Latin words ending in "-er" and "-ilis" ) that have a superlative form similar to the Latin one. In the first case words lose the ending "-re" and they gain the endingserrimo(singular masculine),errima(singular feminine),érrimos/errimi(plural masculine), orérrimas/errime(plural feminine); in the second case words lose the "-l" / "-le" ending and gainílimo/illimo(singular masculine),ílima/illima(singular feminine),ílimos/illimi(plural masculine), orílimas/illime(plural feminine), the irregular form for words ending in "-l" / "-le" is somehow rare and, in Italian but not in Portuguese, it exists only in the archaic or literary language. For example:
- "Acre" (acerin Latin) which means acrid, becomes "acérrimo" / "acerrimo" ( "acerrimus" in Latin). "Magro" ( "thin" in Portuguese) becomes "magérrimo."
- Italiansimile(similisin Latin) which means "similar," becomes (in ancient Italian) "simillimo" ( "simillimus" in Latin).
- Portuguesedifícil( "hard/difficult" ) andfácil(facile).
Romanian,similar to Portuguese and Italian, distinguishes comparative and absolute superlatives. The comparative uses the word "mai" before the adjective, which operates like "more" or "-er" in English. For example:luminos→ bright,mai luminos→ brighter. To weaken the adjective, the word "puțin" (little) is added between "mai" and the adjective, for examplemai puțin luminos→ less bright. For absolute superlatives, the gender-dependent determinant "cel" precedes "mai," inflected as "cel" for masculine and neuter singular, "cei" for masculine plural, "cea" for feminine singular, and "cele" for feminine and neuter plural. For example:cea mai luminoasă stea→ the brightest star;cele mai frumoase fete→ the most beautiful girls;cel mai mic morcov→ the smallest carrot.
Indo-Aryan languages[edit]
Hindi-Urdu(Hindustani)ː When comparing two quantities makes use of theinstrumental case-markerse(से سے) and the noun or pronoun takes theoblique case.Words likeaur(और اور) "more, even more",zyādā(ज़्यादा زیادہ) "more" andkam(कम کم) "less" are added for relative comparisons. When equivalence is to be shown, the personal pronouns take the oblique case and add thegenitive case-markerkā (का کا) while the nouns just take in theoblique caseform and optionally add the genitive case-marker. The wordzyādā(ज़्यादा زیادہ) "more" is optional, whilekam(कम کم) "less" is required, so that in the absence of either "more" will be inferred.[6]
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Superlativesare made through comparisons withsab( "all" ) with theinstrumental postpositionseas the suffix. Comparisons using "least" are rare; it is more common to use an antonym.[7]
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In Sanskritised and Persianisedregistersof Hindustani, comparative and superlative adjectival forms using suffixes derived from those languages can be found.[7]
| English | Sanskrit | Persian | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Comparative | -er | -tar | |
| adhiktar (more) |
bêhtar (better) | ||
| Superlative | -est | -tam | -tarīn |
| adhiktam (most) |
bêhtarīn (best) | ||
Celtic languages[edit]
Scottish Gaelic:When comparing one entity to another in the present or the future tense, the adjective is changed by adding aneto the end andibefore the final consonant(s) if the final vowel is broad. Then, the adjective is preceded by "nas" to say "more," andasto say "most." (The wordnais used to meanthan.) Adjectives that begin withfare lenited. andasuse different syntax constructions. For example:
Tha mi nas àirde na mo pheathraichean.→ I am taller than my sisters.
Is mi as àirde.→ I am the tallest.
As in English, some forms are irregular, i.e. nas fheàrr (better), nas miosa (worse), etc.
In other tenses,nasis replaced byna buandasbya bu,both of whichlenitethe adjective if possible. If the adjective begins with a vowel or anffollowed by a vowel, the wordbuis reduced tob'.For example:
- Bha mi na b' àirde na mo pheathraichean.→ I was taller than my sisters.
- B' e mi a b' àirde.→ I was the tallest.
Welshis similar to English in many respects. The ending-afis added onto regular adjectives in a similar manner to the English-est,and with (most) long wordsmwyafprecedes it, as in the Englishmost.Also, many of the most common adjectives are irregular. Unlike English, however, when comparing just two things, the superlativemustbe used, e.g. of two people -John ydy'r talaf(John is the tallest).
In Welsh, the equative is denoted by inflection in more formal registers, with-edbeing affixed to the adjective, usually preceded, but not obligatorily, bycyn(meaning 'as'). For example:Mae Siôn cyn daled â fi(Siôn is as tall as me). Irregular adjectives have specific equative forms, such asda(‘good’):cystal= 'as good as'.
Semitic languages[edit]
Akkadian[edit]
(The first sign "e" is rubbed off; only a space-(depression) locates it.)-(high resolution expandible photo)
InAkkadiancuneiform,on a 12-paragraphclay tabletcontemporary with theAmarna letters(which span roughly 20 years circa 1350 BC), two striking examples of the superlative extend the common grammatical use. The first is the numeral "10," as well as "7 and 7." The second is a verb-spacement adjustment.
The term"7 and 7"means 'over and over'. The phrase itself is a superlative, but an addition to some of the Amarna letters adds "more" at the end of the phrase (EA 283,Oh to see the King-(pharaoh)): "... I fall at the feet of the king, my lord. I fall at the feet of the king, my lord, 7 and 7 timesmore,.... ".[8]: 323–324 The word 'more' is Akkadianmila,and by Moran is 'more' or 'overflowing'. The meaning in its letter context is "...over and over again, overflowing," (as 'gushingly', or 'obsequiously', as an underling of the king).
The numeral 10 is used forten times greaterin EA 19,Love and Gold,one of KingTushratta's eleven letters to the Pharaoh-(Amenhotep IV-Akhenaton). The following quote using 10, also closes out the small paragraph by the second example of the superlative, where the verb that ends the last sentence is spread across the letter in s-p-a-c-i-n-g, to accentuate the last sentence, and the verb itself (i.e. the relational kingly topic of the paragraph):
- ".... Now, in keeping with our constant and mutual love, you have made it10times greater than the love shown my father. May the gods grant it, and mayTeššup,my lord, andAmanmakeflourishfor evermore, just as it is now, this mutual love of ours.[8]: 42–46
The actual last paragraph line contains three words: 'may it be', 'flourish', and 'us'. The verb flourish (from napāhu?,to light up, to rise), uses: -e-le-né-ep-pi-, and the spaces. The other two words on the line, are made from two characters, and then one:"...may it be, flourish-our (relations)."
Finno-Ugric languages[edit]
Estonian[edit]
In Estonian, the superlative form can usually be formed in two ways. One is a periphrastic construction withkõigefollowed by the comparative form. This form exists for all adjectives. For example: the comparative form ofsinine'blue' issinisemand therefore the periphrastic superlative form iskõige sinisem.There is also a synthetic ( "short" ) superlative form, which is formed by adding-mto the end of the plural partitive case. Forsininethe plural partitive form issiniseidand sosiniseimis the short superlative. The short superlative does not exist for all adjectives and, in contrast to thekõige-form, has a lot of exceptions.
Finnish[edit]
In Finnish, the comparative of the adjective is formed by adding the suffix-mpito the inflecting stem of the adjective. Hencesuuri(big) yieldssuurempi.The superlative being itself an adjective, it must be inflected to agree with the noun it modifies, noting that the inflecting stem of the-mpiending is-mma/-mmä(depending on the vowel harmony of the adjective). Hencepieni talo(small house) yieldspienemmän talon edessä(in front of the smaller house). There is a small set of exceptions, the most noteworthy being the comparative of the adjectivehyvä,good, that becomesparempi.
The comparative of the adverb is marked by the-mminending:
Finnish English nopea, nopeasti,nopeammin 'quick, quickly, more quickly/faster' kaunis, kauniisti,kauniimmin 'beautiful, beautifully, more beautifully' hidas, hitaasti,hitaammin 'slow, slowly, more slowly' helppo, helposti,helpommin 'easy, easily, more easily'
The adverbial formhyvinof the adjectivehyvä,good, becomesparemmin,meaningin a better way.
The complement of the comparative can be indicated in two ways:
- if it is a nominal group, it can be put in thepartitivecase in front of the adjective or adverb in the comparative.Tämä talo on tuotaisompi.This house is bigger than that one.Tämä lähtevä juna kulkee seuraavaajunaanopeammin.This departing train travels faster than the next one.
- in all cases, the complement can be introduced by the wordkuin(as) following the comparative.Tämä talo on isompikuin tuo.This house is bigger than that one.Tämä lähtevä juna kulkee nopeamminkuin seuraava.This departing train travels faster than the next one.Se on tapahtunut nopeamminkuin osaamme ennakoida.It all happened faster than we could anticipate.
See also[edit]
- Augmentative
- Comparative illusion
- Equative case
- Fewer vs. less
- Figure of speech
- Greatness
- Intensifier
- Metaphor
- Simile
Notes and references[edit]
Notes[edit]
- ^Comparatives in Bulgarian are formed with the particles по and най, separated from the following adjective or adverb by a hyphen. If they are applied to a noun or a verb, they are written as separate words with a grave accent over поpo.Comparatives inMacedonianare formed identically but written as one word.
- ^"More" and "most" are themselves the irregular comparatives of "many" and "much".
References[edit]
- ^Huddleston, Rodney; Pullum, Geoffrey (2002),The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language,pp. 1099–1170
- ^Tom McArthur, ed. (1992)The Oxford Companion to the English Language,Oxford University Press.ISBN0-19-214183-X
- ^abTrenga, Bonnie (12 August 2008)."Comparatives Versus Superlatives".Grammar Girl.Quick and Dirty Tips.
- ^Kytö, Merja; Romaine, Suzanne (21 June 2013)."Competing forms of adjective comparison in modern English: What could be more quicker and easier and more effective?".
- ^Quirk, Randolph; Greenbaum, Sidney; Leech, Geoffrey; Svartvik, Jan (1985),A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language,Longman, pp. 404, 593
- ^Trends in Hindi Linguisticsː Differential comparatives in Hindi-Urdu (September 2018) https:// researchgate.net/publication/327595669_Differential_comparatives_in_Hindi-Urdu
- ^abShapiro (2003:265)
- ^abMoran, William L.(1992) [1987],The Amarna Letters(2nd ed.), Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press,ISBN0-80186-715-0
Works cited[edit]
- Shapiro, Michael C. (2003)."Hindi".In Cardona, George; Jain, Dhanesh (eds.).The Indo-Aryan Languages.Routledge. pp. 250–285.ISBN978-0-415-77294-5.
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