The comparative and superlative

---

Comparative

Shorts adjectives

Monosyllabic adjectives = long, short, big, fat, thing, good ...
2 syllables adjectives: clever, cheap

Long adjective

Adjectives with 3 syllables or more than 3 syllables are longs adjectives: ex/pen/sive, in/tel/ligent, comfortable.
When we compare 2 things, we use the comparative.
When we compare 3 things or more than 3 things, we use the superlative.

The comparative

AB= 20cm
BC= 30cm
Line AB is long
Line BC is longer than AB

Madame A is fat
Madame B is fatter than Madame A

These 2 shirts are expensive.
Shirt B is more expensive than shirt A

Famous: GRACE DECCA is famous, but Michael Jackson is more famous than GRACE DECCA.
Comfortable (a chair / an armchair): The armchair is more comfortable than the chair.
Intelligent (Peter 16/20; Paul 18/20): Paul is more intelligent than Peter.

The superlative

Short adjective

These women are fat. The fattest woman is Mme C
Book x is cheap; book y is cheap; book z is cheap. The cheapest book is z.
Shirt A is expensive, shirt B is also expensive. Shirt C is very expensive. The more expensive shirt is D

Irregular form of comparative

Remarks

• Comparative: we compare 2 things
• Superlative: we compare 3 things
• Some 2 syllables adjectives are short adjectives. The are adjectives ending in "y", "ow", "er"
• When the adjective end is "y" change "y" into "i" before add

Formation

Comparative

Short adjective

Adjective (er) + than

Long adjective

More + adjective + than

Superlative

Short adjective

The + adjective (est).

e.g.:  The cheapest book this school year is the French grammar book

Long adjective

The most + adjective.
e.g.: The most expensive book this year is our technology book.

Somebody, something, anybody, nobody, nothing

Is there anybody at the door?
No, here is not anybody at the door
No is nobody at the door.

Is there anybody at the bottom of the class?
Yes there is somebody standing at the bottom of the class.

Something -  anything

Ali- Is there anything in my hand?
Bella - No, there is not anything in your hand.
Bella - Is there anything in my bag?
Ntsam - Yes there is some thing in your bag. There is a maths book in your bag.

Remarks

• We use any(body, thing, where) in interrogation and negative sentence
• In affirmative sentence, we use some(body, where, thing)
• Not anybody: nobody
  not anything: nothing
  Not anywhere: nowhere
  e.g.: I am not going anywhere : I am going nowhere