Degrees of comparison

 

There are three degrees of comparison namely Positive, Comparative, Superlative. 
The Positive is used to describe one item, group or person.  
The Comparative is used to describe two items, groups or people.
The Superlative is used to describe three or more items, groups or people.

 

Sony is as happy as Sita.                                  - POSITIVE DEGREE
Niraj  is happier  than Vijay.                              - COMPARATIVE DEGREE
Tanmay is the happiest boy in the class        - SUPERLATIVE DEGREE

 

From the above examples it is clear that when the Degree of comparison changes from one to another, words (that tells about the quality) as well as the structure of the sentence changes.

Positive Degree            -        as (Adjective) as          -        as happy as
Comparative Degree    -        (Adjective) than           -        happier  than
Superlative Degree      -        the (Adjective)              -        the happiest

 

There are different ways to form Comparative and Superlative degrees of adjectives.

Positive	Comparative	Superlative
Bold	bolder	Boldest
Clever	Cleverer	Cleverest
Great	Greater	Greatest
able	Abler	ablest
brave	Braver	bravest
fine	Finer	Finest
Dry	Drier	Driest
Easy	easier	easiest
Happy	happier	Happiest
Gray	grayer	Grayest
Small	smaller	Smallest
Big	bigger	Biggest
Fat	Fatter	Fattest
Hot	Hotter	Hottest
Bad	Worse	worst
Far	farther	Farthest
Good	Better	Best
Late	later	Latest
Little	less	Least
Much	more	Most
many	more	Most
old	Older	Oldest
beautiful	more beautiful	most beautiful
courageous	more courageous	most courageous
difficult	more difficult	most difficult

Change the degree:

1. Lion is the strongest animal. (Superlative)
     Lion is stronger than any other animal. (Comparative)
     No other animal is as strong as lion. (Positive)

2. Pacific is the largest ocean in the world. (Superlative)
     Pacific is larger than any other ocean in the world. (Comparative)
     No other ocean in the world is as large as Pacific. (Positive)

3. Sachin is one of the best batsman. (Superlative)
     Sachin is better than many other batsman. (Comparative)
     Very few batsman are as good as Sachin is. (Positive)

4. Rohit is the best bowler. (Superlative)
     Rohit is better than any other bowler. (Comparative)
     No other bowler is as good as Rohit is. (Positive)

5. Seema is the strongest girl in the group. (Superlative)
     Seema is stronger than any other girl in the group. (Comparative)
     No one in the group is as strong as Seema. (Positive)  

 6. Being beautiful is most important thing in the world. (Superlative)
     Being beautiful is more important than any other thing in the world. (Comparative)
     Nothing in the world is as important as being beautiful. (Positive) 

 7. Divya is the most intelligent girl in the class. (Superlative)
     Divya is more intelligent than any other girl in the class. (Comparative)
     No other girl in the class is as intelligent as Divya. (Positive)  

 8. Mumbai is one of the mostthickly populated cities of India.(Superlative)
     Mumbai is more thickly populated  than most other cities of India. (Comparative).
     Very few cities of India are as thickly populated as Mumbai. (Positive)

 9. Cricket is one of the most important games of India. (Superlative)
     Cricket is more important than any other games of India. (Comparative)
     Very few games of India   as  important  as Cricket.  (Positive)

10.This sum is one of the most difficult sums. (Superlative)
     This sum is more difficult than many other sums. (Comparative)
     Very few sums are as difficult as this sum.  (Positive)

 11. Chanakya was one of the greatest scholars in the world. (Superlative)
       Chanakya was greater than many other scholars in the world. (Comparative)
       Very few scholars in the world were as great as Chanakya. (Positive)

 12. This is one of the best books I have read. (Superlative)
       This book is better than many other books I have read. (Comparative)
       Very few books I have read are as good as this one. (Positive)

 

If two people or two things are compared, then only two degrees are required Positive and Comparative. There is no need to change into Superlative degree.

Interchange the position of two people or two things. ( Using : as ............. as)

1.  Rahul is stronger than Sonu.
Ans. Sonu is not as strong as Rahul.

2. I know this sum as good as you.
Ans. You do not know this sum better than I do.

3. Action speak louder than words.
Ans. Words do not speak as loud as Action.

4. The pen is mightier than the sword.
Ans. The sword is not as mighty as the pen is.

5. New clothes are better than old clothes.
Ans. Old clothes are not as good as New clothes.

 6. The pen is mightier than the sword.
Ans. The sword is not as mighty as the pen is.

7. Germany does not have as many sunny days as India.
Ans. India has more sunny days than Germany.

 

 If the given sentence is in the positive degree, change to comparative and vice versa .
If the verb is in affirmative, change it to negative and vice versa.

 1. Anil is fatter now.
Ans. Anil was not as fat before as he is now.

2. Maths  is as difficult as Science.
Ans. Science is not more difficult than Maths .

 3. Shyam is smatter than Tejas.
Ans. Tejas is not as smart as Shyam.

 

** Comparison is in a group and we select one person as having the quality in the highest degree.  

 1. Ashok is the best student in our class.( Superlative)
    Ashok is better than any other student in our class (Comparative)
    No other student in the class is as good as Ashok. (Positive)

 2. Birbal was the cleverest man. (Superlative)
     Birbal was cleverer than any other man. (Comparative)
     No other man was as clever as Birbal. (Positive)

 3. Diamond is the hardest substance in the world. (Superlative)
    Diamond is harder than any other substance in the world. (Comparative)
    No other substance in the world is as hard as Diamond. (Positive)

 4. Being honest is the most important thing in the world. (Superlative)
     Being honest is more important than any other thing in the world.(Comparative)
     Nothing in the world is as important as being honest. (Positive)     

 5. Seema is the thinnest girl in the class. (Superlative)
     Seema is thinner than any other girl in the class. (Comparative)
     No other girl in the class is as thin as Seema.(Positive)  

6. Mango is the sweetest fruit. (Superlative)
    Mango is sweeter than any other fruit. (Comparative) 
    No other fruit is as sweet as Mango.(Positive) 

7. Taj Mahal is the most beautiful monument in the world. ( Superlative) 
    Taj Mahal is more beautiful than any other monument in the world.(Comparative) 
    No other monument in the world was as beautiful as Taj Mahal.(Positive) 

8. The biggest challenge knocking on the doors of humankind is fear and intolerance. ( Superlative) 
    Fear and intolerance are bigger than any other challenge knocking on the doors of humankind. (Comparative) 

    No other challenge knocking on the doors of humankind is as big as fear and intolerance. (Positive) 

** Comparison is in a group but there are a few who are the best and we select one of them.

1. Mumbai is one of the most thickly populated cities of India.(Superlative)
    Mumbai is   more thickly populated than most other cities of India.(Comparative)
    Very few cities of India are as populated as Mumbai.( Positive)

2. Amit is one of the most intelligent boys of his age. (Superlative)
    Amit is more intelligent than many other boys of his age (Comparative)
    Very few boys of his age are as intelligent as Amit. (Positive)

3. Kapil Dev was one of the greatest caption in the world. (Superlative)
    Kapil Dev was greater than most other caption in the world. (Comparative)
    Very few caption in the world were as great as Kapil Dev. (Positive)

4. This is one of the best books I have read. (Superlative)
    This book is better than many other books I have read. (Comparative)
    Very few books I have read are as good as this one. (Positive)

5. Sahil was one of the most intelligent student of our class.( Superlative)
    Sahil was more intelligent than many other students. (Comparative) 
    Very few students were as intelligent as Sahil. (Positive)

6. The Ramayana is one of the most widely-read books. ( Superlative) 
The Ramayana is more widely read than most other books. (Comparative)  
Few other books are as widely read as the Ramayana.  (Positive)

7. She is the most important person of our town.  ( Superlative)  
She is more important than any other  person of our town.  (Comparative)
No other person of our town is as important as she is.  (Positive)

8. Suraj is the tallest boy of our class. ( Superlative)
Suraj is taller than any other  boy of our class. (Comparative)
  No other  boy of our class is as tall as Suraj. (Positive)

9. They decided to settle on the smallest island. ( Superlative)
They decided to settle on the island which was smaller than any other island. (Comparative)
No other island was as small as the island on which they decided to settle. (Positive)

10. She was the prettiest of all women. ( Superlative)
 She was prettier than all the other women.(Comparative)
No other woman was as pretty as she was, (Positive)

11. Anil won the most national awards of all the cricketers. ( Superlative)
Anil won more national awards than any other cricketers. (Comparative)
No other cricketers won as many national  awards as Anil.  (Positive)

12. The turtle is the most important animal for marine ecology. ( Superlative)
The turtle is more important for marine ecology than any other animal.(Comparative)
No other animal is as important for marine ecology as the turtle.(Positive)

13. Kapil was one of the most courageous student of our school. ( Superlative)
Kapil was more courageous than many other students. (Comparative) 
Very few students of our school  were as courageous as Kapil. (Positive)

14. The Nobel Prize is one of the greatest honours in the world. ( Superlative)
The Nobel Prize is greater than most other honours in the world. (Comparative)
 Few honours in the world are as great as the Nobel Prize. (Positive)

15. Tejas is the strongest player of our team. ( Superlative)
Tejas is stronger than any other player of our team. (Comparative)
No other  player of our team is as strong as Tejas. (Positive) 

16. Mumbai is the most expensive place to live in Maharashtra. ( Superlative)
Mumbai is more expensive than any other place to live in Maharashtra. (Comparative)
No other place in Maharashtra is as expensive to live in as Mumbai. (Positive)

17. India is the largest democracy in the world. ( Superlative)
India is larger than any other democracy in the world. (Comparative)
No other democracy in the world is as large as India. (Positive)

18. Anaconda is the largest snake in the world. ( Superlative)
Anaconda is larger than all other snake in the world. (Comparative Degree)
No other snake in the world is as large as Anaconda. (Positive)

19. Silence is the strongest weapon to win an argument. ( Superlative)
Silence is stronger than any other weapon to win an argument. (Comparative)
No other weapon is as strong as silence to win an argument. (Positive)

20. The pen can be the mightiest tool for fighting against social evils. ( Superlative)
The pen can be the mightier than any other tool for fighting against social evils. (Comparative)
No other tool can be as mighty as the pen for fighting against social evils. (Positive ) 

21. This is the best book. ( Superlative)
 This book is better than any other one. (Comparative)
 No other  book is as good as good as this one. (Positive)

22. Birbal was the wisest courtier in Akbar’s court. ( Superlative)
Birbal was wiser than any other  courtier in Akbar’s court. (Comparative)
No other courtier was as wise as Birbal in Akbar’s court (Positive)

23. Butter is the softest substance. ( Superlative)
Butter is softer than any other substance. (Comparative)
No other substance is as soft as butter. (Positive)

24. Jupiter is the biggest of all planets.  ( Superlative)
Jupiter is bigger than any other planet. (Comparative)
No other planet is as big as Jupiter. (Positive)

25. Gold is the costliest of all metals. (Superlative)
No other metal is costlier than gold. (Comparative)
No other metal is as costly as gold. (Positive) 

26. Napolean was one of the greatest warriors. ( Superlative)
Napolean was greater than many other warriors. (Comparative)
Very few warriors were as great as Napolean. (Positive)