Practical English and Effective Speech - Lesson Ten - Grammar - Comparison of Adjectives

Sep 28, 2026

Lesson Ten of “Practical English and Effective Speech” focuses on grammar through the topic of adjective comparison. It explains positive, comparative, and superlative forms, including how short adjectives use -er/-est, long adjectives use more/most, and certain adjectives change completely. It also covers adjectives that generally cannot be compared and shows how “perfect” may be used with careful meaning. Common errors are addressed, such as using superlatives with only two items, double comparisons, and incomplete comparison.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages40

Reading Time1 h 41 min

AccessFree to download

Lesson Ten

Grammar

Comparison of Adjectives

Errors in Adjective Comparison

A NEw SELF-TEACHING CoURSE IN PRACTICAL ENGLISHand Effective Speech COMPRISING VoCABULARY DEVELOPMENT,GRAMMAR,PRONUNCIATION.ENUNCIATION, AND THE FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF EFFECTIVE ORAL EXPRESsION BY EsTELLE B.HUNTER,PH.B. LESSON TEN THE BETTER-SPEECH INSTITUTE OF AMERI CA 307 North Michigan Avenue,Chicago,U.S.A. CONTENTS Page GRAMMAR ……………………………………………… Comparison of Adjectives Errors in Adjective Comparison Comparison of Adverbs Double Negatives · ………………………10 ENUNCIATION ……………………………………………………………………………… Enunciation Exercise 10-A Enunciation Exercise 10-B Enunciation Exercise 10-C ……………………………12 PRONUNCIATION ..· …………………………… Pronunciation Exercise 10-A Pronunciation Exercise 10-B Pronunciation Exercise 10-C ……………………………………16 VoCABULARY DEVELOPMENT……………………… EFFECTIVE ExPRESSION . ………………… …………………………………19 ……………………………23 ExERCISES FOR LESSON TEN…………… ……………………………28 ANSWERS To ExERCISES. …………… CHICAGO # PRACTICAL ENGLISHAND EFFECTIVE SPEECH LESSON TENGRAMMAR THERE is an old saying that comparisons are odious,but inthe field of grammar this is not true.Comparison,by meansof adjectives and adverbs,is a vital part of all our speechand writing.Errors in comparison are among the crudest in thelanguage;therefore it is important that we study the subject inenough detail to master the important points. Let us consider the comparative forms for adjectives and foradverbs separately. # COMPARISON OF ADJECTIVES Adjectives are said to be inflected,or changed in form,to showcomparison—that is,different degrees of quality or quantity.The simple form of the adjective is called the positive form,whichis used in giving a simple description,as in the sentence,"Helenis tall.”If we wish to compare the height of Ruth with that ofHelen,we use another form of the adjective—the comparativeform—and we say,"Ruth is taller than Helen."If we wish tocompare Clarence's height with that of Ruth and that of Helen,weuse still another form of the adjective—the superlative form—andwe say,"Clarence is tallest of all."Perhaps you can rememberthese facts more easily if the sentences are presented in the followingform: 1.Helen is tall.(Positive) 2.Ruth is taller than Helen.(Comparative) 3.Clarence is tallest of all.(Superlative) Remember that the positive form is simply descriptive,thatthe comparative form compares two things only,and that thesuperlative form compares three or more things. The usual method of inflecting short adjectives is to form thecomparative by adding er to the positive,and to form the superla-tive by adding est to the positive,thus: Comparative Superlative Positive sweetest sweeter sweet prettiest prettier pretty slowest slow slower Many adjectives of two or more syllables would be cumber-some,however,if er and est were added.We form the compara-tive and superlative of such adjectives by using more and mostwith the positive forms.It would sound awkward,for example,to say "beautifuller"and“beautifullest”;therefore we comparethe adjective beautiful by using the forms more beautiful and mostbeautiful. A few adjectives change completely when compared.Someof these are shown below: # PositiveComparativeSuperlativegoodbetterbestbadworseworstlittlelessleast There are some adjectives which in their strict sense cannot becompared.Among these are exact,correct,complete,immortal,eternal,omnipotent,infinite,perfect,dead,and empty.Each ofthese words expresses a quality that is absolute or complete.Therefore in general we should not use more or most with any ofthem.We do,however,compare many things which carefulanalysis would show to be beyond comparison.Let us considerthe adjective perfect,for illustration.None of us would hesitateto say,"This apple is more perfect than that,"because usage makesit sound correct.But we must be careful not to make ourselvesridiculous.In the case of the apple,of course we do not mean literally that it is“perfect

FAQs

What are the three degrees of adjective comparison and when are they used?

The positive form gives a simple description, the comparative compares two things, and the superlative compares three or more things.

How are comparative and superlative forms commonly formed for short adjectives?

Short adjectives typically form the comparative by adding -er and the superlative by adding -est to the positive form.

What is an error example involving adjective comparison?

Using a superlative for only two items is wrong; for example, “He is the tallest of the twins” should be “He is the taller of the twins.”

Sep 28, 2026

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