Meaning of comparative & superlative/ pengertian comparative dan superlative

degree

Comparative

In grammar, the comparative is the form of an adjective or adverb which denotes

the degree or grade by which a person, thing, or other entity has a property or
quality greater or less in extent than that of another, and is used in this context with
a subordinating conjunction, such as than, as...as, etc. If three or more items are
being compared, the corresponding superlative needs to be used instead.

Superlative

In grammar, the superlative is the form of an adjective (or adverb) that indicates
that the person or thing (or action) modified has the quality of the adjective (or
adverb) to a degree greater than that of anything it is being compared to in a given
context. English superlatives are typically formed with the suffix -est (e.g.
healthiest, weakest) or the word most (most recent, most interesting)..

2. Function/ fungsi comparative dan superlative

Comparative

Comparative is used when comparing two things, or when comparing something(s)

with other things.

Superlative

Superlative is used when comparing more than two things, or when one in a group
has the greatest amount of a quality.

3. Formula

4. Rules use the formula

Comparetive Form

Comparative Form is used to compare two things or persons that are different.

Comparative Degree menggunakan rumus :

COMPARATIVE + THAN

Superlative Form

Superlative Form is used to compare three or more things or persons.

Superlative Degree menggunakan rumus :

THE + SUPERLATIVE + OF

5. Comparative Sentences/ kalimat comparative

1. My grades are lower than my sister's

2. Merry is more diligent than Ahmad.

3. My pen is cheaper than Isma pen.

4. Muh. Ikhsan Nur runs faster than Ismail Marsuki.

5. Muh. Rifqy spends more hours at campus than does Ahkam.

6. The results of the current experiment appear to be more consistent than

were the results of any previous tests.

7. My Brother more handsome than bachtiar.

8. My niece cuter than Via.

9. Joseph is taller than beni

10. I buy more cheese than Amir.

11. He buys less sugar than we do

12. A car is more expensive than a bicycle.

13. The film was more exciting than the book.

14. Mt. Everest is higher than Mt. Blanc.

15. I had a bigger meal than you.

6. Superlative Sentences/ kalimat superlative

1. Ahkam is the laziest in his class.

2. Muh. Rifqy is the most diligent in his class.

3. Imamsyah is the most handsome in his class.

4. Iswahyudi is the best football player in Makassar.

5. Opi is the cutest student in my school.

6. Bachtera is the tallest boy in my family.

7. I think computer is the most interesting device i've ever tried.

8. Igor can tell you the funniest joke you've ever heard.
9. The most important thing for student is to study hard.

10. Jonathan is the most careful person i've ever met.

11. Dina's home is the farthest from all of us.

12. Mexico is the most polluted city in the world.

13. Aditya are the most boring person i've ever knew.

14. Irfan is the most angry when he know that we insult the teachers.

15. Mala always get the best score in math subject.

This month in the Teacher's Corner, we develop a solid understanding of

comparative and superlative adjectives that will help EFL learners perform tasks
involving these critical thinking skills while using English.

We compare, contrast, and rank things in everyday life whether we are talking
about our favorite things, shopping, or analyzing academic material. A solid
understanding of comparative and superlative adjectives will help EFL learners
perform tasks involving these critical thinking skills while using English. This
months Teachers Corner explores ways to help learners discover general rules
related to these grammatical forms and also shares ideas for encouraging learners
to use comparative and superlative adjectives during communicative activities.
Before we dive into this months activities, lets briefly review (and compare!) these
two forms.

Comparative Adjectives

When comparing a characteristic of two things, the information can be expressed in

three ways:

Inferiority: A displays the characteristic X to a lesser degree than B

Superiority: A displays the characteristic X to a greater degree than B

Equality: A and B display the characteristic X in the same manner or quantity

This month we will examine the first two comparison categories. According to
corpus-based studies (e.g., Knoch, 2004), superiority comparisons are used more
frequently in English than inferiority comparisons.
Inferiority comparisons, the less common structure, take the following form:

A is less adjective than B

Example: The black suitcase is less heavy than the red suitcase.

Superiority comparisons take one of these two forms:

A is adjective + -er than B

Example: The red suitcase is lighter than the black suitcase.

A is more adjective than B

Example: My Physics class is more difficult than my Art class.

General rules of thumb for deciding which of the two forms to use in a superiority
comparison depend on factors such as the number of syllables in the adjective and
the adjectives spelling. Please see the first Teachers Corner activity for more
information on these rules and a task in which learners use language examples to
inductively determine the guidelines. While such rules of thumb are helpful,
teachers should also let learners know that they may encounter native speakers
who use the forms interchangeably (for instance, Tom is sicker than Katie. or Tom is
more sick than Katie., although the first sentence is prescriptively correct).
Teachers must also make students aware of irregular forms that are exceptions to
the rules. These irregular forms must be memorized. Common examples include:
good -> better, bad -> worse, and far -> farther.

Superlative Adjectives

Unlike comparatives, which provide only relative information about the two things
being compared, superlatives compare one thing in relation to all other items in a
group. The focus item in a superlative comparison is either ranked at the absolute
top or bottom of a descriptive scale. Consider the following examples:

Comparative: The brown house is more expensive than the red house.
(We dont know how the brown house compares to any other house in terms of
cost.)

Superlative: The Carolina Reaper is the hottest chili pepper in the world.

(We know that compared to every other chili pepper, the Carolina Reaper ranks
highest on the heat scale.)

Superlative adjectives fall into two categories, inferiority and superiority, which take
the following forms:

Inferiority: used for the bottom of the scale in relation to the quality being
discussed

o A is the least adjective

Example: Sam is the least experienced candidate for the job.

Superiority: used for the top of the scale in relation to the quality being
discussed.

o A is the adjective + -est

Example: The cheetah is the fastest land animal.

o A is the most adjective

Example: In 2014, vanilla was the most popular ice cream flavor in the
United States.

The guidelines for determining which superlative adjective form to use in a

superiority comparison are similar to those for comparative adjectives; see the first
Teachers Corner activity for more details. As with comparative adjectives, teachers
should draw learners attention to common irregular superlative adjectives forms
that require memorization such as good -> best, bad -> worst, and far -> farthest.
Also, it can be helpful to highlight the use and placement of the definite article the
with superlative adjectives (the brightest star, the most challenging course, the
least expensive car).
Reference:

Knoch, U. (2004). A new look at teaching comparisons a corpus-based approach.

Journal of Language Learning, 2(2), 171-185.

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 tallest

old older oldest

long longerlongest

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 largest

wise wiser wisest

Mary's car is larger than Max's car.

Mary's house is the largest 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 biggerbiggest

thin thinner thinnest

fat fatter 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 most peaceful

pleasant more pleasant most pleasant

careful more careful most careful

thoughtful more thoughtful 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 happiest

angry angrier angriest

busy busier 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 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 most generous

important more important most important

intelligent more intelligent 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 best

bad worse worst

far farther farthest

little less least

many more most

Italian food is better than American food.

My dog is the best