Superlatives are the best. Degrees of comparison of English adjectives

(good, yellow, interesting).

Adjectives in English language They do not change either by gender, or by number, or by case. Adjectives in English can only be modified by degrees of comparison.

Adjectives can be simple or derived. Simple adjectives have neither prefixes nor suffixes. Derived adjectives contain suffixes or prefixes, or both at the same time.

Adjectives form, as in Russian, two degrees of comparison: comparative and superlative. The basic form of the adjective does not express comparison and is called the positive degree.

Adjective

An adjective is a part of speech that is used to denote a characteristic of an object.

• a clever boy
• an English book (English book)
• good butter (good butter)
• a cold winter

An adjective in English has three forms of degrees of comparison:

• positive degree
• comparative degree
• superlative degree.

Adjective degrees

Formation of degrees of comparison of adjectives

The basic form of an adjective is the positive degree. The comparative and superlative forms are usually formed from the positive degree in one of two ways:

The first way to form degrees of comparison of adjectives. If the form of an adjective in the positive degree consists of one syllable, the form of its comparative degree is formed using the suffix -er, and the superlative form - using the suffix -est, which are added to the base of the form of the positive degree.

The second way to form degrees of comparison of adjectives. From adjectives whose form in the positive degree consists of three or more syllables, the comparative degree is formed using the word more, and superlative- using the word most, which are placed before the form of the positive degree of the adjective.

From two-syllable adjectives, the comparative and superlative forms are also formed using the words more and most.

Sometimes there are forms of two-syllable adjectives, formed using the suffixes -er and -est. Most often these are adjectives whose positive form ends in -у, -er, -ow.

Some adjectives form special forms of degrees of comparison, and these adjectives must be immediately memorized in all forms.

The adjective old forms degrees of comparison in two ways. In most cases, the suffix -er or -est is added to the base of the positive degree form.

However, in cases where they talk about members of the same family - “elder brother”, “eldest of the brothers”, they use the form elder (senior) or eldest (eldest).

To correctly write forms of degrees of comparison of adjectives, you need to know that when adding the suffixes -er and -est, the final letters of the adjective in the form of a positive degree change as follows:

• y changes to i after a consonant and does not change after a vowel: dry dry (dry) - drier - driest But: gay (cheerful) - gayer - gayest
• e is omitted: nice (good) - nicer - nicest
• the consonant is doubled in one-syllable adjectives after a short vowel: big - bigger - biggest

Using an adjective

The adjective is usually used in a sentence as a definition of a noun and stands before the word being defined. An adjective can also be a nominal member of a compound nominal predicate(predicative) and in this case stand after the linking verb to be.
Not a clever boy. He's a smart boy. (Clever - definition.) .Not is clever. He is smart. (Clever is a nominal member of a compound nominal predicate.)

Not all adjectives are used in these two functions. Adjectives alive (alive), afraid (scared), asleep (sleeping), awake (awake), ill (sick) and some others are used only as a nominal member of a compound nominal predicate.

To denote a lower or lowest degree of quality of one item compared to another, the adjective is usually preceded by the word less (less, less) or least (least of all).

Additional material.

Degrees of comparison of adjectives and adverbs.

In English, just like in Russian, adjectives and adverbs have three degrees of comparison:

1. positive
2. comparative
3. excellent.

In English there are two ways of constructing degrees of comparison.

1. For short (one syllable) words:

Notes:

The definite article is often used with a superlative adjective; When constructing degrees of comparison of adjectives in writing:

1. the final consonant with the preceding short vowel is doubled: big (bigger ((the) biggest
2. if there is a consonant before the final -y, then -y goes into -i:
   easy (easy ((the) easiest; early (earlier ((the) earliest
3. when adding -er u -est, the final -e is omitted: (see large above). Spelling features do not affect pronunciation.

2. For long (two or more syllables) words:

It doesn't make sense to lengthen the word any further, so in English we add another short word in front:

• beautiful beautiful
• more beautiful
• easily easy
• more easily easier
• most easily

To pass values least and least of all (least) the words less and least are used respectively:

• less beautiful
• least beautiful least beautiful

Note:

Sometimes monosyllabic words form degrees of comparison using more / less or most / least , and conversely, words consisting of more than one syllable have -er / -est at the end; it depends only on the sound - if some form is perceived better by ear than another, it is put into the sentence: crisp - more crisp - (the) most crisp sounds better than crisp - crisper (the) crispest.

The forms of degrees of comparison of some adjectives and adverbs in English are not formed according to the rule:

Note: The word little can be either an adjective or an adverb; V in this case it is used only as an adverb little; if you need to construct degrees of comparison from the adjective small, we use the word small (see above).

Note: the forms elder / eldest are used more often when the speaker is talking about members of his family:

• My father is older than my mother. My father is older than my mother.
• This is my eldest son. This is my eldest son.

In most other cases, degrees of comparison of adjectives are formed using method 1:

old old er old est

.

The word most with the indefinite article (a most) is not a degree of comparison, but means very: a most beautiful girl is a very beautiful girl.

The word most can appear before a plural noun or pronoun (often with the preposition of) and has the meaning many/most:

Most people like this. Many people like it. Most of them will not be able to come. Most of them won't be able to come.

The definite article is preserved before the superlative form even if there is no noun: Not is the best. He is the best.

To denote the comparative degree of an adjective, the word than is used; however, in order to avoid repetition of the same noun, the word one is often used as a substitute for this noun or possessive pronoun in absolute form:

• My car is bigger than their one / theirs. My car is bigger than theirs.
• These cigars are stronger than those ones. These cigars are stronger than those.

In the second part of comparative constructions, you can use pronouns both in the objective case (colloquial version) and the accusative case (literary version, usually with an auxiliary verb):

• She reads more than him / he does. She reads more than him.
• You are taller than me / I am. You are taller than me.
• Didn't come earlier than them / they did. He arrived earlier than them but
• I know him better than her. I know him better than her.
• I know him better than she does. I know him better than she does.

When comparing the same quality, the combination as ... as (same (same) ... as (s) / as (same) ... as (s) is used: She is as beautiful as my mother(She is as beautiful as my mother.

When comparing quality in negative form the combination not so ... as is more often used (not such ... as: I am not so beautiful as her / she is.(I'm not as beautiful as her.

When comparing with a multiple effect, the combination as ... as with numerals is used; the second as may be omitted if another comparison object is not mentioned in the situation:

• My sister is twice as beautiful (as yours).(My sister is twice as beautiful (as yours).
• His car is about three times as big (as my car).(His car is three times larger (mine).

The word half in such cases means half as much:

This liquid is half as strong (as that one).(This liquid is twice as weak (that one). I have half as much money (as you have).(I have half as much money (than you).

Sometimes a comparison can be strengthened with the help of additional words; most often, much is used for this: much more/ less beautiful much more / less beautiful;

The Russian version of what..., the... is translated into English language the+ comparative degree of an adjective... the + comparative degree of an adjective:

• The faster you come the more you will get. The faster you arrive, the more you will get.
• The sooner you do it the better. The sooner you do this, the better.

In English, the adjective does not change according to gender, case and number. But it is not without degrees of comparison. He has three of them: positive, comparative and superlative.

Part of speech

Before moving on to the question of “Degrees of comparison of adjectives in English,” it is necessary to understand what an adjective is. This is a part of speech that answers the questions “Which?”, “Which?”, “Whose?” and denotes a sign, property of an object, phenomenon or person. English adjectives, unlike their Russian counterparts, are not declined, that is, they do not change according to cases, genders and numbers. If we need to describe or evaluate an object, then we simply “take” the adjective and put it in front of the noun:

A wonderful day - a wonderful day.

3 degrees of comparison of adjectives

All adjectives in English are divided into two types: quality And relative . There is one significant difference between them - we can compare words of one type, but not another. For example, the lexical unit “glass - glassy” is a relative adjective, and in relation to it it is impossible to say “glasser - more glassy”. As for qualitative ones, they can be presented in three degrees of comparison: positive (cold) - comparative (colder) - excellent (coldest).

Rules for the formation of degrees and examples

Positive and comparative

Positive degree - this is the initial form of a qualitative adjective, which is enshrined in the dictionary: big - large, sad - sad, tender - tender. It describes a sign or property of an object.

When the need arises to compare the characteristics of two or more objects, the comparative degree comes into play. How is it formed? The comparative degree of adjectives in English can be formed in two ways:

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• If a word consists of one or two syllables, then the ending is added to it -er :

clean - cleaner (clean - cleaner), great - greater (great - greater), sharp - sharper (sharp - sharper).

• more (more) or less (less) :

delicate - more delicate (gentle - more gentle), terrible - more terrible (terrible - more terrible), difficult - less difficult (difficult - less complex).

Superlative

Superlative does not tolerate any comparison. She surpasses everyone and does not hide it, because she is the most, the most of the many. In both comparative and superlative forms, before you start forming new forms of adjectives, you need to ask yourself how many syllables there are in a word. Depending on the subsequent answer, two methods of education are distinguished:

• If a word consists of one or two syllables, then the definite article is added to it the and ending -est :

clean - the cleanest (clean - the cleanest), great - the greatest (great - the greatest), sharp - the sharpest (sharp - the sharpest).

• If a word consists of three syllables or more, then an additional word appears before it most (most) or least (least) with the definite article the:

delicate - the most delicate (gentle - the most gentle), terrible - the most terrible (terrible - the most terrible), difficult - the least difficult (difficult - the least difficult).

If an adjective consisting of one or two syllables ends with a silent vowel -e, then when adding the endings -er or -est it is omitted: cute - cuter - cutest (lovely - more charming - most charming). If a short adjective ends in -y, then when you add -er or -est, this letter changes to -i: hungry - hungrier - hungriest (hungry - hungrier - the hungriest). If a short adjective ends with a vowel and a consonant, then adding the ending -er or -est doubles the final consonant: fat - fatter - fattest (thick - thicker - the fattest).

Exceptions

In English there is a list of adjectives that are exceptions to general rule formation of degrees of comparison. There are not many of them, so it won’t be difficult to learn them by heart:

good - better - (the) best (good - better - best);
bad - worse - (the) worst (bad - worse - worst);
little - less - (the) least (small - less - smallest);
many (much) - more - (the) most (many - more - greatest);
far - farther/further - (the) farthest/furthest (far - more distant / more distant - the farthest / furthest);
old - older/elder - (the) oldest/eldest (old - older/older - the oldest/oldest).

In the list of exceptions, you need to pay attention to the meaning of the following words: farther - farthest (used to describe distance), further - furthest (used in a broader sense, additional, further in order,) older - oldest (used to describe age), elder - eldest (used to describe seniority in a family).

What have we learned?

In the 6th grade, the lesson is studying the topic “Comparative and superlative adjectives in English,” which we discussed in this article. There is no declension of adjectives in English. They change only when degrees of comparison are formed. There are three of them in the language: positive, comparative and superlative.

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Qualitative adjectives have an inconsistent morphological sign of degrees of comparison.

School grammar indicates (see, for example, complex 2) that there are two degrees of comparison - comparative and superlative. It is more correct to distinguish three degrees of comparison - positive, comparative and superlative. The positive degree of comparison is the initial form of the adjective, in relation to which we recognize other forms as expressing greater/lesser or greatest/smallest degrees of the attribute.

The comparative degree of the adjective indicates that the attribute is manifested to a greater / lesser extent in this object compared to another object (Petya is taller than Vasya; This river is deeper than the other) or the same object in other circumstances (Petya is taller than he was last year; The river is deeper in this place than in that one).

The comparative degree can be simple or compound.

The simple comparative degree denotes a greater degree of manifestation of a characteristic and is formed as follows:

basis of the positive degree + formative suffixes -ee(s), -e, -she/-zhe (fast-ee, higher-e, earlier-she, deeper).

If at the end of a stem of a positive degree there is an element k/ok, this segment is often truncated: deep-y - deep-zhe.

Some adjectives have suppletive forms, that is, formed from another base: bad - worse, good - better.

When forming a simple comparative degree, the prefix po- (newer) can be added. A simple comparative degree with a prefix is ​​used if the adjective occupies the position of an inconsistent definition (Give me a newer newspaper) and does not require introducing into the sentence what this attribute is being compared with. If there is in a sentence both what is being compared and what is being compared with, the prefix po- introduces a conversational connotation (These boots are newer than those).

The morphological features of the simple comparative degree are uncharacteristic of an adjective. This

1) immutability,

2) the ability to control a noun,

3) use primarily as a predicate (He is taller than his father). The position of definition can only be occupied by a simple comparative degree in a separate position (Much taller than other students, he seemed almost an adult) or in a non-separated position with the prefix po- in the position after the noun (Buy me fresher newspapers).

The compound comparative degree denotes both a greater and lesser degree of manifestation of a characteristic and is formed as follows:

element more/less + positive degree (more/less high).

The difference between a compound comparative degree and a simple one is as follows:

1) the compound comparative degree is broader in meaning, since it denotes not only a greater, but also a lesser degree of manifestation of a characteristic;

2) the compound comparative degree changes in the same way as the positive degree of comparison (original form), i.e., according to gender, number and cases, and can also appear in a short form (more beautiful);

3) the compound comparative degree can be either predicate or non-separate and separate definition(A less interesting article was submitted to this journal. This article is less interesting than the previous one.)

The superlative degree of comparison indicates the greatest/smallest degree of manifestation of the characteristic ( highest mountain) or to a very large/small degree of manifestation of the trait (the kindest person).

The superlative degree of comparison, like the comparative, can be simple or compound.

The simple superlative degree of comparison of an adjective denotes the greatest degree of manifestation of a characteristic and is formed as follows:

basis of the positive degree + formative suffixes -eysh- / -aysh- (after k, g, x, causing alternation): good-eysh-y, high-aysh-y

When forming a simple superlative degree of comparison, the prefix nai-: the kindest can be used.

The morphological features of the simple superlative degree of comparison of adjectives are the same as those of the positive degree, i.e. variability by gender, number, case, use in syntactic function definitions and predicates. Unlike the positive degree, the simple superlative degree of comparison of an adjective does not have a short form.

The compound superlative degree of comparison of adjectives denotes both the greatest and the least degree of manifestation of a characteristic and is formed in three ways:

1) element the most + positive degree (the smartest);

2) element most/least + positive degree (most/least smart);

3) simple comparative degree + element of everything / everyone (He was smarter than everyone else).

The forms of the compound superlative degree, formed by the first and second methods, have morphological features characteristic of the positive degree, i.e. they change according to gender, number and cases, can have a short form (the most convenient), act both as a definition and as a nominal part predicate. Forms of the compound superlative degree, formed in the third way, are unchangeable and act primarily as the nominal part of the predicate.

Not all qualitative adjectives have forms of degrees of comparison, and the absence of simple forms of degrees of comparison is observed more often than the absence of compound forms.

The absence of simple comparative and superlative degrees may be due to

1) with the formal structure of the adjective: if the adjective contains a suffix that coincides with the suffixes of relative adjectives, it may not have a simple comparative degree (emaciated - *more emaciated, *emaciated, advanced - *more advanced);

2) with lexical meaning adjective: the meaning of the degree of manifestation of a characteristic can already be expressed at the base of the adjective - in its root (barefoot - * barefoot) or in the suffix (fat-enn-y - * fatter, evil-yush-y - * feisty, whitish - *whiter, bluer - *bluer).

Compound forms of degrees of comparison are not formed only in words with a semantic limitation, i.e. in the second case. So, there are no forms *more feisty, *less whitish, but there are forms less emaciated, more advanced.

Completeness/brevity of adjectives

Qualitative adjectives have a full and a short form

The short form is formed by adding positive degree endings to the stem: Ø for male, -а for feminine, -о/-е for middle, -ы/-идла plural(deep-Ø, deep-a, deep-o, deep-i).

A short form is not formed from qualitative adjectives, which

1) have the suffixes characteristic of relative adjectives -sk-, -ov-/-ev-, -n-: brown, coffee, brotherly;

2) indicate the colors of animals: brown, black;

3) have suffixes of subjective assessment: tall, blue.

The short form has grammatical differences from the full form: it does not change by case, in a sentence it acts primarily as a nominal part of the predicate (cases like the red maiden, the white combustible stone are phraseologically archaic); the short form acts as a definition only in a separate syntactic position (Angry at the whole world, he almost stopped leaving the house).

In the position of the predicate, the meaning of the full and short forms usually coincides, but for some adjectives the following semantic differences are possible between them:

1) the short form denotes excessive manifestation of a characteristic with a negative assessment, cf.: short skirt - short skirt;

2) the short form denotes a temporary sign, the full form - permanent, cf.: the child is sick - the child is sick.

There are such qualitative adjectives that have only a short form: glad, much, must.

Transition of adjectives from category to category

It is possible for an adjective to have several meanings belonging to different categories. In school grammar this is called “the transition of an adjective from category to category.” Thus, a relative adjective can develop a meaning characteristic of qualitative ones (for example: iron part (relative) - iron will (quality) - metaphorical transfer). Possessives may have meanings characteristic of relative and qualitative ones (for example: fox hole (possessive) - fox hat (relative) - fox habits (qualitative). Qualitative adjectives, used terminologically, function as relative (voiceless consonants). When In this case, the adjective retains the type of its declension, but is often changed morphological characteristics: qualitative ones lose degrees of comparison and a short form (for example, it is impossible to say * This consonant is deaf), while relative ones, on the contrary, can acquire these signs (With each word his voice became more and more honey-like, and his habits more and more foxy.).

Qualitative adjectives have degrees of comparison: positive(original form), comparative(com parativ) And excellent(superlative). Grammatical category degrees of comparison acts as a grammaticalized core of the functional-semantic category of gradualism, the meaning of which is realized by multi-level linguistic means. The meaning of degrees of comparison is that the comparative degree conveys intensity of a feature in comparison with the same feature in another object .

Scientific discussion

From Aristotle to the present day, words conveying gradual meaning (measure, degree, magnitude of a characteristic, process, phenomenon, object), have been the object of study by many researchers 3 . M. V. Lomonosov in his “Russian Grammar” considered the degrees of comparison of the category subjective assessment. Russian grammarians of the 19th century. These aspects brought us closer together. Two categories of quality levels have been established - non-relative(old, old, old) And relative(the oldest of..., one is older than the other) .

Without calling the presented phenomena by a term gradualism, which modern scientists use, linguists have described a number of linguistic phenomena that correspond to the very essence of gradualism. All theories and descriptions of various quality levels with historical point of view represented an important perspective in the study of gradualism. Since the 15th century. In the Russian language there are all kinds of forms with graduated meanings.

Characteristics, procedurality, objectivity in a certain way (to a greater or lesser extent) correlate with the concepts degree, measure. Most words in the modern Russian language express changeable and measurable ( qualitative) sign: degrees of comparison (adjectives); formations with augmentative and diminutive suffixes (nouns); ways of verbal action with the meaning of measure; gradual oppositions in lexical system language; gradational syntactic constructions; the use of gradation as a stylistic method. As graduated And graduated units, words are considered that, due to their semantic and grammatical features, are capable of expressing one or another degree (measure) of manifestation of a characteristic: “In everyday language, “compare” means expressing one’s attitude, “evaluating”, “measuring”, guided by our feelings and our passions."

Graduality– functional-semantic category with meaning measures, degrees of manifestation a sign, process, phenomenon, state expressed by multi-level linguistic means. Comparative degree ( comparative) denotes a variable characteristic that can appear in an object to a greater or lesser extent than in another object. Wed: This question more difficultprevious one. – This question more difficult,than the previous one. Excellent degree ( superlative) denotes such a variable characteristic that manifests itself in an object to the greatest or smallest extent than in another object: This the most difficultquestion of the topic being studied. - This the most difficultquestion of the topic being studied.

The forms of comparative and superlative degrees can be simple(synthetic) and complex(analytical).

Simple form comparative degree has indicators - suffixes -ee(s), -e: high – highere(alternating s//sh at the root of the word + truncation of the stem - suffix -ok-), strong – strongher (strong-to her) and so on. From adjectives good, bad, small Supplemental comparative forms are formed: good is better, bad is worse etc. The simple superlative degree is formed by adding suffixes -eysh-, - aish-: highaishyay, strongeishth etc. For example: Leo Tolstoy is a geniuseishth fromwriters of the 20th century.

Complex form comparative degrees are formed by additional words more/less+ positive degree: more (less)tall (kind).

Complex form excellent degrees are formed in several ways:

• a) using an additional (auxiliary) word (particles) most: most complex, highest and so on.;
• b) using additional (auxiliary) words most, least: least complex etc.;
• c) combination " simple form comparative + genitive pronoun Total(or everyone)": the hardest thing (of everyone) and etc.;
• d) the combination “reinforcing particle All + simple form of comparative degree": The pain in my heart became Allhote(M. Sholokhov).

In a sentence, a simple form usually performs a function predicate, and a composite can be like predicate, so and definition. Wed: She was more beautifulwhat he imagined her to be(L. Tolstoy).

The complex form of comparative and superlative degrees is formed from almost all qualitative adjectives. The simple form has limitations.

Forms of the simple comparative degree are not formed from adjectives:

• – with absolute qualitative value: bald, blind, lame, dumb, barefoot, deaf and so on.;
• – with a base on [ w"], [and]: beggar, stalwart and etc.;
• – with suffix -sk-: friendskoh, enemyskth etc.;
• – from some verbal adjectives with a suffix -k-: padToyay, moveToyay, shatToth etc.;
• – with suffix -ov-/-ev-: badovoh, boevOuch and so on.;
• – with suffix -l-: unyloh, mouthlth etc.;
• – from individual adjectives that stand apart for historical reasons, for example proud, young and etc.

Simple superlative forms are not formed from adjectives:

• – with suffix -sk-: friendskoh, tragicskoh, enemyskth etc.;
• – with suffix -k-: bastardTooh, thunderToyay, ringingToth and so on.;
• – with suffix -ov-/-ev-: rowovoh, stroevoh, boevOuch and etc.;
• - from adjectives proud, young etc.

Excellent degree has two types of meaning:

• 1) manifestation of a sign in highest degree compared to other items ( superlative): oldest ofworkers and so on.;
• 2) expression extreme degree manifestations of a characteristic regardless of other objects (regardless of the large measure of the characteristic - elative): Got into stupidestposition, this raresthappening etc.

IN grammatical relatively complex shapes comparative And excellent degrees are no different from positive(original) degree. Simple comparative forms are unchangeable, cf.: House(s) (pine tree(s), building(s)) higher,how...

Syntactic(syntagmatic) conditions The use of morphological formations of different types in the Russian language is characterized by the following features.

1. Expressing the relative degree of presence of the characteristic, adjective in comparative or excellent degree is used as a gradual syntactic member – predicate or definitions. Wed:

So, reasoning, Selifan finally wandered into the most distant abstraction. Maybe it prompted him to do this another, more significant reason more serious, closer to the heart... But the reader will learn about all this gradually and in due time, if only he has the patience to read the proposed story, which is very long, which will then expand wider and more spacious as it approaches the end, which crowns the matter (N. Gogol).

These are complex, analytical formations. The role of the exponent is the word more(comparative degree) and words most or most(superlative). Superlative exponent most stylistically neutral, and the word most is bookish in nature. Wed:

Most typical cases; most simple question. - Disdaining the prudent comfort of castling, he sought to create the most unexpected, the most bizarre relationships between figures (V. Nabokov).

2. Adjectives in comparative degrees acting as definitions can express the result of a subjective assessment.

The shade of the meaning of a subjective assessment can be conveyed by lexical means, for example: elderly person (as opposed to old). Combined with the word more The adjective is used in both full and short form: this question is more important: important(composite form); this question is more important: more important(simple form). Short form more important conveys a state of mind in time: Currently this question more important.

Typical for the Russian language is the simple (synthetic) form of the comparative degree in -ee, -ey, -e. It is homonymous to the comparative form of the adverb. Wed: he behaves modestly(adv.); his demands are more modest(adj.).

Excellent The degree of the adjective, acting as a nominal predicate, has three forms similar to the forms of the comparative degree: this question is the most (important): most (important): most important of all (everything). If the superlative expresses quality inanimate or animate object, then preference is given to the forms “most + full form adjective":

This suitcase the heaviest; His job the best.– Vronsky is one of the sons of Count Kirill Ivanovich Vronsky and one of the best samples of gilded youth (L. Tolstoy).

• 3. Comparative degree in function predicate-predicate used in special comparative constructions in which the object of comparison is expressed in one way or another. It is formed in two ways:
• 1) connecting a simple comparative form with a genitive comparison: Wilson is more important than other birds(V. Mayakovsky);
• 2) by connecting a compound comparative form consisting of the word more and the short form of the positive degree, and the conjunction than: Wilson is more important than the other bird.

The first method should be considered the most common, because the use of “forms of the comparative degree is not limited to simple morphological rules. The types of formation and functioning of degrees of comparison in the Russian language should be studied and assimilated in close connection with the syntactic and semantic conditions of their use.”

All qualitative-evaluative and most qualitative adjectives form degrees of comparison expressing different degrees quality. But in a number of cases they do not have degrees of comparison due to their semantics: adjectives like mute, barefoot and so on. denote absolute quality and logically do not allow comparatives or superlatives. It is important to note that comparative and superlative degrees indicate different meanings as opposed to meaning positive degrees:

"She's at two meetings at once..."

(V. Mayakovsky)

Forms of comparative degree with prefix more (smarter, more fun, cheaper etc.), acting as a predicate, acquire the shade of a “softened” comparative degree: He's younger than me; He will be smarter than all of us. -

And the man - he was quick-witted,

He went after the bear,

He planted a spear in it

What higher navel, lower liver

• (meaning “slightly higher/lower”).
• (A. Pushkin)

Forms of adjectives on -ee, -e, -she with attachment By- indicate the predominance of some quality in one of the objects being compared: (book) more interesting; (boy) smarter and so on.

In combination with the genitive case of attributive pronouns Total or everyone(which, in essence, became formants, indicators of the superlative degree) The comparative degree takes on the meaning of the superlative. Such stable combinations carry the meaning of the highest degree of quality by comparative contrast anything other items in the aggregate and not from the same category. This is a complex form of elative, which does not combine with forms on -eysh-, -aysh-. For example:

What struck him most was that from Monday he would be Luzhin (V. Nabokov); And the geese screamed, / Disappearing in the sky, / What is most precious / The native side... (M. Isakovsky).

All three degrees represent a gradational series: rough: rougher: rudest; rough: more rough: the roughest and so on.

In russian language comparative degree is often used to mean excellent. This usage is distinguished by genitive case of the second element at a comparative degree. It can also be used with superlatives: best of all, richest of all. In some cases you may notice a “limited” meaning of the superlative – better (...) all others except one (two...).

Based on Otto Jespersen’s system of degrees of comparison, which excludes from consideration the superlative degree as a type of comparative, we will highlight the stages of gradation:

• 1.Superiority (>) more dangerous (better) than...
• 2. Equality(=) with as dangerous (good) as...
• 3. Lower degree(less dangerous (good) than... etc.

It's obvious that first and third steps are closely related because

in both cases it is expressed inequality. There are two ways of expressing opposite meaning, which make it possible to change the relations of the first and third stages to the reverse: worse than = less good than. Based on this, the following can be established equality: older than = less young than. Wed:

Levin himself did not remember his mother, and his only his sister was older than him, so that in the Shcherbatskys’ house he saw for the first time that very environment of the old noble, educated and honest family, which he was deprived of by the death of his father and mother (L. Tolstoy).

Comparison Levin's sister is older than him doesn't mean that Sister is old and the comparative degree can therefore mean lesser degree than the positive in the expression Sister is old. Similar sentence Sister is older than Levin says nothing about Levin's old age; By old age Levina will be implied if we add the adverb more: The sister is even older than Levin. We see that such a use of the word more is not self-evident.

When negating a step superiority (1) Sister is not as old as Levin we get the value either equality(2), or lower degree(3). When negating a step equality(2) we get the value lower degree (3): less old than; younger than. Wed: And as old as V. An objection to this statement would be the following: Oh no, not as old as B, but much older.

There are designs proportional compliance, in which the determining element represents a period of time, but does not have an explicit expression. In such sentences the following meanings and features of their expression are revealed:

a) repetition of the comparative degree form:

It was becoming getting darker and darker (= the longer it has continued, the darker became). He was becoming more and more impatient; Heartache was getting hotter(M. Sholokhov);

b) formant All together with the comparative degree it forms the superlative degree: He said everything is more and more illegible.

V.V. Vinogradov pointed out that adjectives in - the greatest/- the greatest can have three meanings in modern Russian:

1) regardless of large measure (maximum degree) of the characteristic (elative meaning):

He the smartest person; The weather is wonderful. – He began to tear out leaves and flowers in his hearts and sneezed from the smallest dust (V. Nabokov).

Some forms of the superlative degree break away from the paradigm and appear in the meaning of the elative, i.e. in the sense of an absolutely greater degree of quality: greatest scientist(does not mean the greatest) ,

• 2) excellent degrees: the most faithful of friends, greatest poet ,
• 3) comparative degrees (a meaning almost lost in modern Russian, but which has left traces in phraseology): upon closer inspection.

The most common is the use of forms on -the greatest/-the greatest in an elative sense. Such forms in free combinations have an evaluative character. Wed:

I found myself in a stupid situation; This is a rare case, etc. - This the smartest, most decent and most talented man (N. Gogol); But nothing of the sort happened, he listened calmly, and when his father, who was trying to pick up the most curious, most attractive(= “evaluative character”) details, said, among other things, that as an adult he would be called by his last name, the son blushed, blinked, leaned back on the pillow, opening his mouth and shaking his head... (V. Nabokov).

Gradual-evaluative value of the superlative degree of the form on -the greatest/-the greatest realized in combination with the preposition from:the most brilliant of (musicians), oldest of (workers)) and so on. For example:

And as in my cart... with clothes and linen there was also a bed, then in my misfortune I honored myself happiest of mortals (A. Pushkin).

Elative meaning is very close to the category of subjective evaluation. Elative forms express gradual meaning and serve to express the extreme degree of quality without indicating the relationship to other objects: Tiny specks of dust fluttered in the air; I found a rare specimen.

Consequently, a formal means of expressing the meanings of measure and degree (graduality) in the field of qualitative adjectives (and qualitative adverbs) is morphological level concerning the properties of morphemes and cases of analytical formation. As a grammaticalized core gradualism the corresponding category appears degrees of comparison – comparative, superlativeAndelative

• Cm.: Kolesnikova S. M. Semantics of gradualism and ways of expressing it in modern Russian. M., 1998; Hers. Functional-semantic category of gradualism in modern Russian language. M., 2010. pp. 78-86.
• See additional: Falev I. A. On the question of degrees of comparison in the modern Russian language // Language and thinking. Vol. 9. M.; L. 1940; Nikulin A. S. Degrees of comparison in modern Russian. M.; L., 1937; Knyazev Yu. P. On the semantics of degrees of comparison of adjectives // Scientific notes of the Tartu State University. un-ta. T. 524: Problems of intrastructural functional description of language. Tartu, 1980; Kolesnikova S. M. Degrees of comparison of adjectives and the intensity of the attribute they express // Russian language at school. 1998. No. 5.
• Wed: Galich G. G. Gradual characteristics of modern qualitative adjectives, verbs and nouns German language: author's abstract. dis.... cand. Philol. Sci. L., 1981; Kharitonchik Z. A. Turansky I. I. Semantic category of intensity in modern English. M., 1990; Novikov L. A. Antonymy in Russian. M., 1973; Arutyunova N. D. Language and the human world. M., 1999; Apresyan Yu. D. Lexical semantics. Synonymous means of language. M., 1974; Wolf E. M. Functional semantics of evaluation. M., 1985; Ubin I. I. Lexical means of expressing intensity (based on the Russian and English languages): abstract. dis.... cand. Philol. Sci. M., 1974; Turansky I. I. Semantic category of intensity in English. M., 1990; Vorotnikov Yu. L. Degrees of quality in modern Russian language. M., 1999; Norman V. Yu. Gradation in the Russian language // Qnantitat und Graduierungals kognitiv-semantische Kategorien. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz verlg, 2001. pp. 381-403. Sapir E. Graduation: semantic research // New in foreign linguistics. M., 1986. P. 43; Halina N.V. The category of gradualism in words and texts. Barnaul, 1993; Krzhizhkova E. Quantitative determination of adjectives in the Russian language (lexico-syntactic + analysis) // Syntax and norm. M., 1974. S. 122-144; Bolinger D. Degree words. Paris: Mouton, 1972; Studia gramatyezne bulgarsko-polskie. T. 3: Ilosc, gradaeja, osoba. Wroclaw, 1989; Kolesnikova S. M. Graduality: linguistic description (based on the Russian language) // Akademiai Kiado. Budapest, 2011; Repasi D., Szekely G. On gradualism in a comparative aspect // Bulletin of MGOU. Ser. "Russian Philology". Vol. 5. M., 2010. P. 110-117; Kolesnikova S. M. Functional-semantic category of gradualism in the modern Russian language // Modern Nyelvoktatas: A Magyar Alkalmazott Nyelveszek es Nyelvtanarok Egyesfiletenek folyoirata. XVI. 2010. S. 116-118; Sjostrom S. Spatial relations: Towards a theory of spatial verbs, prepositions, a pronominal adverbs in Swedish. Goteborg: Dept. of linguistics, 1990.
• Kartsevsky S. O. Comparison // Questions of linguistics. 1976. No. 1. P. 112.
• Isachenko A.V. The grammatical structure of the Russian language in comparison with Slovak. Bratislava, 1965. P. 201.
• Cm.: Jespersen O. Philosophy of grammar: trans. from English M., 1958.

ONLY QUALITATIVE ADJECTIVES HAVE DEGREES OF COMPARISON!

Qualitative adjectives differ in that they can denote a characteristic in varying degrees of its manifestation ( large – larger – largest). These forms are called degrees of comparison:

Comparative

Excellent

The paradigm of degrees of comparison also includes the adjective from which the forms of degrees of comparison are formed. The semantic basis of degrees of comparison is the quantitative assessment of the measure of the attribute. In the comparative degree paradigm, the original adjective is called the positive degree form.

Comparative degree (comparative) - denotes a quality that is found in one subject to a greater extent than in another, the name of which is put in the form of the gender or nominative case; the latter is preceded by a comparative conjunction How(truth is more valuable than gold).

Superlative (superlative) - denotes the highest degree of quality in a subject compared to another: most favorite writer; inflected like regular adjectives.

Comparative and superlative degrees can be expressed in simple (synthetic) and complex (analytical) forms.

comparative

The simple form of the comparative degree does not change by gender, number and case; and therefore you need to be able to distinguish it from the form of the comparative degree of the adverb. If a word of this type is syntactically related to a noun, then it will compare the degree of the adjective; if it is connected to a verb, then it will compare the degree of the adverb ( oak is stronger than birch– adj; he squeezed the handle tighter– adverb)

Comparative forms tend to be used in the position of a connective, i.e. in the role of a predicate, but can also be a definition.

Formed from the base of the original adjective using suffixes –ee(s) – bolder,whiter(productive way) or –e, -she – more expensive, richer(unproductive way).

From adjectives with a stem on k, g, x and some words based on d, t, st comparative degree is formed using the suffix -e(in this case, final consonant stems alternate with sibilants) ( loud - louder, quiet - quieter, steep - steeper). In adjectives on -OK And -To the producing stem is truncation, the remaining final consonant alternates with a sibilant or paired soft ( high - above, low - below).

Comparative forms with suffix –she single ( distant - further, early - earlier, long - longer).

From three adjectives the form is formed suppletive way ( small - less, good - better, bad - worse).

Comparative forms are not formed from adjectives that name characteristics that do not change according to degrees. Sometimes they are not formed in accordance with the usage and not the meaning ( dilapidated, alien, scanty).

The complex form of degrees of comparison is formed by adding the word more. Moreover, such combinations can also be formed with a short form ( faster, more red).

Superlative

The simple form of the superlative degree has features in its meaning: in addition to the above basic meaning of the superiority of quality in an object compared to other objects, this form can denote the highest, extreme degree of quality in any object without comparison with others. In other words, it can denote a relatively high degree of quality: worst enemy, kindest creature.

The simple form is formed by adding a suffix –eysh (-aysh). Moreover, it is not formed from all adjectives; usually it is not found in those lexemes from which the comparative form is not formed. It may also be absent in those forms that have the form of a comparative degree. These are qualitative adjectives with suffixes –ast-, -ist, as well as many words with suffixes - liv-, -chiv-, -k-(narrow - narrower, hairy - hairier, silent - more silent).

A complex form is formed by combining a qualitative adjective and the word most. It is not related to lexical restrictions: the reddest, the kindest, the narrowest.

For adjectives with suffixes –ovat-(-evat-) no superlative form is formed, because the value of the incompleteness of the attribute is incompatible with the value of the high degree of the attribute ( the most deaf, the most deaf).

The superlative form denotes the highest degree of quality. Unlike the comparative degree, the superlative forms cannot express a comparative assessment of the degree of a characteristic in the same subject and in two subjects.