Degrees of comparison of adverbs in English harrow. Adverbs in English (Adverbs): education, examples and exceptions, degrees of comparison

An adverb and an adjective have a lot in common. As close relatives, they are similar in many ways, but there are also differences. Formation of degrees of comparison of adjectives and adverbs in English- a vivid example of this.

What are the degrees of comparison?

An adverb and an adjective are closest “relatives”. They both help diversify speech, make it more interesting, richer and richer. The only difference is that the first is an adverb, emotionally colors the verb (brightly, draw beautifully), and the second is an adjective, describes the noun and thereby serves as the main source of its expressiveness (quiet, foggy morning).

They both love to compare. An adjective is an excellent helper when it is necessary to compare two objects (Comparative degree) or to indicate that some attribute is manifested in one object to the greatest or least degree (Superlative degree). The adverb is not far behind. It also likes to compare or emphasize superiority, but with the only difference - it is interested in the nature of the action:

Tom runs faster than Jack does - Tom runs faster than Jack (Comparative degree)

During the meeting Ann spoke loudest - During the meeting, Anna spoke the loudest (Superlative)

Monosyllabic adverbs

Comparative and superlative adverbs in English that consist of one syllable are formed using the suffixes -er and -est:

Late - later - latest (late - later - most late)

High - higher - highest (high - higher - above all)

Adverbs of two or more syllables ending in -ly

English adverbs that consist of two or more syllables and end with the suffix -ly, form degrees of comparison by adding to them the words more/less (more/less) and most/least (most/least):

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Properly - more properly - most properly (correctly - more correctly - most correctly)

Constantly - more constantly - most constantly (constantly - more constantly - most constantly)

Among the huge list of polysyllabic adverbs, a number of words stand out that form degrees of comparison in two ways: suffixally or using the words more/less (more/less) and most/least (most/least): early (earlier/more early), loudly (louder/ more loudly), quickly (quicker/more quickly), slowly (slower/more slowly).

Exceptions

Adjectives and adverbs are similar in one more way - in the list of exceptions, which form degrees of comparison in their own unique way. They are presented in the following table “Degrees of comparison of adverbs in English”:

Positive degree	Comparative degree	Superlative	Translation
			Good - better - best of all
			Bad - worse - worst of all
			Much - more - most
			Little - less - least
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An adverb is a part of speech that denotes a characteristic and most often answers the question “how?” For example: cold, dark, tasty, high, scary, etc.

In English, we use such words in sentences all the time. Therefore, it is necessary to understand this topic well.

Fortunately, this is not difficult to do. In this article we will look at all the main points that relate to adverbs in the English language.

From the article you will learn:

• 5 groups of adverbs in English and their place in a sentence

Formation of adverbs in English

Adverb (adverb) is a part of speech that denotes an action. Speaking in simple words, is a word that describes an action (verb). Adverbs answer the following questions:

• How?For example: jumped (how?) high
• Where?For example: I saw (where?) there
• When? For example: got up (when?) early
• To what extent? For example: I ate (to what extent?) a little

How are adverbs formed in English?

Adverbs in English are formed very simply. If in Russian we need to add the ending -o to an adjective to make it an adverb:

handsome - beautiful O
fast - fast O

In English, most adverbs are formed by adding the ending -ly.

lone-lone ly
lonely - lonely

slow-slow ly
slow - slowly

There are some nuances:

1. If the word ends in -y, then we change -y to -i and also add the ending -ly. In the end we get the ending -ily.

For example:

eas y-eas ily
easy - easy

happy y-happ ily
happy - happily

2. If the word ends with -le, then -le is simply replaced with -ly

For example:

simp le- simp ly
simple - simple

ab le-ab ly
skillful - skillfully

3. Exception words to the rules

Of course, there are exception words that are not formed according to the rules. Usually these are adverbs that answer the questions: “when?”, “where?”, “how much?”.

For example:

late - late
little - a little
well - good
far - far
fast - quickly

Be careful, and if you are in doubt about a word, you can always check yourself by opening a dictionary.

5 groups of adverbs in English and their place in a sentence

Depending on the meaning of the adverb, they can be divided into 5 large groups. Let's look at each of them.

1. Adverbs of place - indicate the place of action

List of such adverbs:

Their place in the sentence: The usual place for such adverbs is at the end or at the beginning of a sentence.

2. Adverbs of time - indicate the time of action

List of adverbs of time:

now - now
late - late
recently - recently
then - then, then
today - today
yesterday - yesterday
tomorrow - tomorrow
before - before
lately - recently, recently
yet - yet, already
already - already
still - still

Their place in the sentence: Usually such adverbs are placed at the beginning or end of a sentence. Some can also be placed before the main action.

Yesterday we went to the cinema.
Yesterday we went to the cinema.

She is sleeping now.
She's sleeping now.

3. Adverbs of frequency - indicate the frequency of an action

For example:

usually - usually
always - always
never - never
rarely - rarely
once - once
ever - ever
twice - twice
sometimes - sometimes

Their place in the sentence: Such adverbs are usually placed before the main action, but after auxiliary verbs (are, is, am, has, have).

They sometimes drive a car.
They sometimes drive a car.

He is always joking.
He's always joking.

4. Adverbs of manner- indicate the specifics of the action

For example:

well - good
fast - quickly
slowly - slowly
quietly - quietly
simply - Just
wisely - wisely
badly - bad
carefully - carefully
easily - easily

Their place in the sentence: Such adverbs are placed before the main action, after the auxiliary verb, or at the end of the sentence.

He slowly opened a door.
He slowly opened the door.

Children stroked a dog carefully.
The children stroked the dog carefully.

5. Adverbs of degree and measure- indicate to what extent the action was performed or how pronounced the sign is.

For example:

little - a little
very - very
too - too
much - a lot
just - only
so - very
hardly - hardly, barely
scarcely - barely
nearly - almost, about
almost - almost, almost
enough - enough

Their place in the sentence: Such adverbs can come before an action, another adverb or an adjective, but after an auxiliary verb.

For example:

He drives a car too fast.
He drives the car too fast.

She is very pretty.
She's very sweet.

Now that we have become acquainted with all groups of adverbs, let's look at how their degrees of comparison are formed.

Degree of comparison of adverbs in English

Depending on what we are comparing, we can distinguish 2 degrees of comparison:

1. Comparative - we compare objects based on common characteristics.
For example: He jumps higher than his sister.

2. Excellent - we compare objects in order to identify the object with the most pronounced feature.
For example: He jumps the highest.

Let's look at these two cases in detail.

Comparative degree of adverbs in English

We need it to compare something or someone with each other. For example: He runs faster than me.

Depending on the adverb, there are 2 comparative forms, which are formed differently.

1. Simple comparative form

To such adverbs we add the ending - er:

adverb + ending -er

fast - faster
quickly - faster

late - later
late - later

He works harder than you.
He works harder than you.

She got up later than children.
She woke up later than the children.

2. Complex comparative form- formed with adverbs that consist of three or more syllables. And adverbs formed with the ending -ly.

Before such adverbs we put the word more:

more + adverb

wisely - more wisely
wisely - more wisely/wiser

easily - more easily
easy - easier

You should be more carefully.
You should be more careful.

She speaks English more slowly than her brother.
She speaks English more slowly than her brother.

Superlative adverbs in English

We need it to show that the item has the best characteristics. For example: This box is the easiest to lift.

There are also 2 forms here:

1. Simple superlative form- formed with adverbs that consist of one/two syllables.

To such adverbs we add the ending - est:

adverb + ending -est

Fast - fastest
quickly - most quickly

late-latest
late - most late

Thanks for your soonest answer.
Thank you for your speedy response.

2. Complex superlative form- formed with adverbs that consist of three or more syllables. And adverbs that are formed with the ending -ly.

Before such adverbs we put the word most:

most+ adverb

wisely - most wisely
wisely - most wisely

easily - most easily
easy - most easy

They tried to drive mostslowly.
They tried to drive as slowly as possible.

3. Exception words

There are words whose degree of comparison is not formed according to the rules:

well - better - best
good - better - best

badly - worse - worst
bad - worse - worst

many/much - more - most
much - more - greatest

little - less - least
little - less - least

far - farther/further - farthest/furthest
far - further - the farthest

He drives better than his friend.
He drives better than his friend.

So, we've covered everything about adverbs. Now let's put this knowledge into practice.

Reinforcement task

Translate the following sentences into English. Leave your answers in the comments below the article.

1. She always helps us.
2. He quickly fixed the car.
3. I will come later than you.
4. She cooks better than her friend.
5. She solves such problems easily.

Adverbs, as well as their corresponding adjectives in English, form degrees of comparison (the Degrees of Comparison). Let's look at a few examples in the following table:

Jack can run fast. Sam can run faster than Jack. And Peter can run the fastest in their class.	Jack can run fast. Sam can run faster Jack. And Peter can run fastest.
My brother drives his car quite carefully. My father drives his car more carefully than my brother does. My mother drives her car the most carefully in our family.	My brother drives his car pretty carefully. My father drives his car more careful than my brother. My mom drives her car more careful than everyone else in our family.
Ann plays tennis quite well. Ann's sister tennis plays better than she does. And Ann's brother plays tennis the best in their town.	Ann plays tennis pretty Fine. Sister Ann plays tennis better than her. And Ann's brother plays tennis the best in their family.

If you are not yet familiar with, we strongly recommend that you first familiarize yourself with that topic and only then move on to this rule, since the algorithm for forming degrees of comparison for adverbs largely coincides with the rules for forming degrees of comparison for adjectives, but takes into account the specifics of adverbs, namely:

A. All adverbs formed from an adjective by adding a suffix -ly(except adverb and adjective earl y (early/early ) ), as well as adverbs often (often) And rarely (rarely) form comparative and superlative degrees analytically, that is, by adding words mo re For the Comparative Degree And the most For the Superlative Degree:

slowly / slowly The tortoise moves slowly. / The turtle moves slowly.	more slowly / slower The sloth moves even more slowly than the tortoise. / The sloth moves even slower than the turtle.	the most slowly / slowest But the snail moves the most slowly of all animals. / But the snail moves slower than all animals.
quietly / quietly I speak quietly. / I speak quietly.	more quietly / quieter My mother speaks more quietly than me. / My mother speaks more quietly than me.	the most quietly / quietest of all And my little sister speaks the most quietly in our family. / And my younger sister speaks the quietest of all in our family.
heavily / strongly, heavily It is raining heavily today. / It's raining heavily today.	more heavily / stronger, heavier It rained more heavily yesterday. / Yesterday it rained more heavily.	the most heavily / strongest, heaviest It rained the most heavily last week. / It rained the heaviest last week.
nervously / nervously Jack behaved nervously during the flight. / Jack acted nervously during the flight.	more nervously / more nervously Jack's wife behaved even more nervously than he did. / Jack's wife was even more nervous than he was.	the most nervously / most nervously But Jack’s behavior sond the most nervously during the flight. / But Jack’s son was the most nervous of all during the flight.
often / often I often visit my granny. / I often visit my grandmother.	more often / more often My sister visits our granny more often than I do. / My sister visits her grandmother more often than I do.	the most often / most often Our mother visits the granny the most often of our family. / Our mother visits our grandmother more often than anyone else in our family.
rarely / rarely We rarely mow the lawn in front of our house. / We rarely mow the lawn in front of our house.	more rarely / less often Our neighbors mow the lawn even more slowly than we do. / Our neighbors mow their lawns even less often than we do.	the most rarely / least often My grandparents mow the lawn in front of their house the most rarely. / My grandparents mow the lawn the least often.

B. There are adverbs that coincide in form with the corresponding adjectives. Among them, worthy of special mention are: fast (fast ), hard (persistent, hard) , late (late) . Due to the fact that they consist of one pronounceable syllable, their degrees of comparison are formed synthetically, that is, by adding suffixes, in particular –er For the Comparative Degree And –est For the Superlative Degree:

fast / quickly The green car went fast.	faster / faster The orange car went faster than the green car did.	the fastest / fastest But the red car went the fastest and won the race.
hard / stubbornly, hard I have to work hard. / I have to work hard.	harder / harder, harder Sam hast o work harder than me to earn enough money for his big family. / Sam has to work harder than I do to earn enough money for his large family.	the hardest/hardest of all, the hardest of all Marc has to work the hardest in our factory. / Mark has to work harder than anyone in our factory.
late / late Tom arrived late at the party. / Tom arrived at the party late.	later / later Sue and Mary arrived even later than Tom did. / Sue and Mary arrived even later than Tom.	the latest / later than everyone else But Andrew arrived at the party the latest of all the guests. / But Andrew arrived at the party later than all the guests.

The adverb should be mentioned separately here hardly, which only at first glance seems to be a direct derivative of an adverb from an adjective hard. In fact, it is used in the sense "barely, hardly, hardly" and due to this meaning it has no degrees of comparison.

C. A number of adverbs form degrees of comparison, which you must try to remember, because they are received suppletive way, that is, by involving additional words that are externally different from the original ones. These are particularly adverbs well (good) And badly (bad), corresponding to adjectives good (good) And bad (bad) and forming degrees of comparison similar to the degrees of comparison of the corresponding adjectives:

well / good Peter plays tennis well. / Peter plays tennis well.	better / better John plays tennis better that Peter does. / John plays tennis better than Peter.	the best / best of all But Sarah plays tennis the best in our class. / But Sarah plays tennis better than anyone in our class.
badly/badly My brother paints badly. / My brother draws poorly.	worse / worse I paint worse than my brother does. / I draw worse than my brother.	the worst / worst of all But I think my friend Daniel paints the worst of all the people I know. / But I think my friend Daniel draws worse than anyone I know.

Separately, it is worth noting the adjective and adverb far (far) , which has two forms of degrees of comparison, interchangeable when it comes to distance:

However, only the form further there is a meaning “one more, further, additional” .

Quantitative pronouns, which can also act as adverbs, belong to the same group. much (a lot, much) And little (little):

much / a lot, strongly Jill likes oranges very much. / Jill loves oranges very much.

more / more, stronger Jill likes oranges more than apples. / Jill likes oranges more than apples.

the most / most of all, strongest

Hello my wonderful readers.

Believe it or not, from my experience I can say that none of my students have problems when we teach the topic “degrees of comparison in English”. Do you know why? Because it's the most simple theme from grammar. But still, here you can find your difficulties. So let's take them apart.

In fact, this rule is practically no different from its counterpart with adjectives. However, you can see examples in the table below.

Rule	Word	Comparative	Excellent	Examples
Adverbs that have the same form as adjectives	noisy - noisy	noisier - noisier	the noisiest - the most noisy	The party went today noisier than yesterday.- Today's party was noisier than yesterday's .
If the word ends with " y" - the ending changes to " ier»	early - early	earlier - earlier	(the) earliest - the earliest	They returned home earlier than we expected. - They returned home earlier than we expected.
Two-syllable words or compound adverbs	often- often patiently- patiently	more often- more often more patiently- more patient	(the) most often- most often (the) most painfully- most patiently	He called her more often than usually.- He called her even more often than usual.

But every rule has its exceptions. The table below is a great help to understand each feature. 7th grade students quickly remember all the exceptions, can you?

Word	Comparative	Excellent	Examples
Well- Fine	Better	Best	He runs better today.- He's running better today.
Badly- Badly	Worse	Worst	The day couldn’t become even worse. - The day couldn't get any worse.
Much- a lot ( with uncountable nouns)	More	Most	I wish I have done more on my exam.- I wish I had done more in the exam.
Many- a lot ( with countable nouns)	More	Most	More people tend to live in the country these days.- More people are now planning to leave the country.
Little	Less	Least	The least you can do- is to call her. - The least you can do is call her.
Far (to describe distance)	Farther	Farthest	His rancho lies farther from the seaside than mine.- His ranch is located further from the coast than mine.
Far (meaning “more, additionally”)	Further	Furthest	For further information go to the head office.- For further information please visit the head office.

Well, have you figured out the exceptions? I'm sure so. But if there is something you still don’t understand, write in the comments - I’ll be happy to explain. And in other ready-made articles you will find

In English, adverbs, like adjectives, form degrees of comparison.

Degrees of comparison English adverbs only two: comparative and excellent.

Note: The positive degree is the initial form of an adverb. Example:

🔊I play volleyball well. – I play volleyball Fine.

When is the comparative degree of an adverb used, and when is the superlative degree used?

• The comparative degree is used when comparing objects and subjects:

🔊Tom came home later than Jane. — Tom came home later than Jane.

• Superlative notes highest degree quality of action of one or another object in a group of similar ones:

🔊 My brother came to school the latest today. — Today my brother came to school later than everyone else.

Degrees of comparison in English are predominantly adverbs of manner. Their formation follows the same principle as the degrees of comparison of English adjectives. You can find out more about the types of English adverbs.

In addition to the above, I note that they do not have degrees of comparison, for example, adverbs of place ( 🔊 inside, 🔊 everywhere), time ( 🔊 always, 🔊 usually), and some adverbs of manner ( 🔊 somehow, 🔊 optimally).

Methods for forming degrees of comparison in English adverbs

1. To monosyllabic adverbs that have the same form as adjectives, add –er comparatively and –est in excellent. Let's look at examples:

🔊 hard- hard , 🔊 late- late , 🔊fast- fast , 🔊 low- low, 🔊 high- high, 🔊deep- deep, 🔊 long- for a long time , 🔊 near- close , 🔊soon- soon, 🔊straight- directly.

BUT! 🔊 early should also be included in this list.

Table No. 1. Monosyllabic adverbs

Positive	Comparative	Excellent
🔊 late	🔊 lat er	🔊 the lat est
🔊 hard	🔊 hard er	🔊 the hard est
🔊 near	🔊 near er	🔊 the near est
🔊deep	🔊deep er	🔊 the deep est
🔊early	🔊earl ier	🔊 the earl iest

a) 🔊I usually go to bed late.
Usually I late I go to bed.
b) 🔊 I will answer to this question later.
I'll answer this question Later.
c) 🔊 Julia was embarrassed that she had come to the party the latest.
Julia was embarrassed that she came to the party later than everyone else.

1. To polysyllabic adverbs and to adverbs formed using a suffix –ly, are added 🔊 more in comparative and 🔊 most superlative:

Table No. 2. Adverbs with the suffix -ly.

Positive	Comparative	Excellent
🔊loudly	🔊 more loudly	🔊 the most loudly
🔊 sincerely	🔊 more sincerely	🔊 the most sincerely
🔊 luckily	🔊 less luckily	🔊 the least luckily
🔊accurately	🔊 more accurately	🔊 the most accurately

Sentences using comparative degrees of adverbs with a suffix -ly.

1. There are adverbs that form a comparative degree with -er/more and superlatives with the -est / the most. These are adverbs 🔊quickly- fast , 🔊 often- often , 🔊slowly- slowly, etc.

Table No. 3. Adverbs forming comparative degrees in two ways.

Positive	Comparative	Excellent
🔊 often	🔊 often er 🔊 more often	🔊 the often est 🔊 the most often
🔊slowly	🔊 slow er 🔊 more slowly	🔊 the slow est 🔊 the most slowly
🔊quickly	🔊quick er 🔊 more quickly	🔊 the quick est 🔊 the most quickly

A couple of examples with adverbs of this type.

a) 🔊 She goes to the disco oftener/more often than me.
She goes to discos more often than me.
b) 🔊 He runs the quickest/the most quickly in his class.
He's running fastest in your class.

1. Exceptional adverbs have special ways of forming degrees of comparison (see table below).