What you'll learn
Degrees of comparison covers the forms adjectives and adverbs take when they compare two or more things, and it appears in CXC CSEC English Language Paper 1 as discrete multiple choice items, within cloze passages, and in the editing of continuous writing. The system has only three degrees and a handful of rules, but it generates a surprising number of errors because English uses two different methods of forming comparatives and superlatives, and because several very common adjectives are irregular. By the end of this guide you should be able to form the comparative and superlative of any adjective or adverb, choose correctly between the -er ending and more, avoid double comparison, use the correct degree for the number of items being compared, handle irregular forms confidently, recognise adjectives that cannot logically be compared, and write comparisons that are complete and unambiguous.
Key terms and definitions
Positive degree — the base form of an adjective or adverb, describing without comparing: tall, quickly
Comparative degree — the form comparing two things: taller, more quickly
Superlative degree — the form comparing three or more things and identifying the extreme: tallest, most quickly
Inflected comparison — comparison formed by adding the endings -er and -est
Periphrastic comparison — comparison formed by placing more and most before the word
Syllable — a unit of pronunciation containing one vowel sound, which usually determines which method of comparison applies
Double comparison — the non-standard use of both methods at once, as in more taller
Absolute adjective — an adjective describing a quality that cannot logically exist in degrees, such as unique or perfect
Incomplete comparison — a comparison in which the second element is missing or unclear
Core concepts
The three degrees
The positive degree simply describes: The mango is sweet.
The comparative degree compares exactly two things and normally takes than: This mango is sweeter than that one.
The superlative degree compares three or more and identifies the highest or lowest, usually taking the: This is the sweetest mango in the basket.
The number of items being compared is the single most important thing to establish before choosing a form, because it decides between the comparative and the superlative immediately.
Choosing between -er and more
English forms comparison in two ways, and the choice depends mainly on the length of the word.
One-syllable adjectives take -er and -est: tall, taller, tallest; quick, quicker, quickest; small, smaller, smallest.
Two-syllable adjectives ending in -y change the y to i and take the endings: happy, happier, happiest; easy, easier, easiest; busy, busier, busiest.
Other two-syllable adjectives generally take more and most, though some allow both: careful, more careful, most careful; modern, more modern, most modern. Words such as clever, quiet, simple and gentle accept either form, and both are correct.
Adjectives of three or more syllables always take more and most: beautiful, more beautiful, most beautiful; interesting, more interesting, most interesting; comfortable, more comfortable, most comfortable.
Spelling changes when adding endings
Three spelling rules apply when adding -er and -est.
A word ending in a single consonant after a single vowel doubles that consonant: big, bigger, biggest; hot, hotter, hottest; thin, thinner, thinnest; sad, sadder, saddest.
A word ending in silent e drops the e: large, larger, largest; fine, finer, finest; safe, safer, safest.
A word ending in a consonant plus y changes the y to i: dry, drier, driest; early, earlier, earliest.
Note that dry and early follow this rule even though one is an adjective and the other functions as both adjective and adverb.
Adverbs
Most adverbs ending in -ly take more and most: carefully, more carefully, most carefully; slowly, more slowly, most slowly.
A small group of short adverbs take the endings instead, and these are the ones tested: fast, faster, fastest; hard, harder, hardest; soon, sooner, soonest; late, later, latest; early, earlier, earliest.
Be careful with hard and hardly, which are unrelated in meaning. He worked harder concerns effort; He hardly worked means he barely worked at all.
Irregular forms
A small set of very common words form comparison irregularly, and they must simply be learned.
Good and well both give better and best. Bad and badly both give worse and worst. Many and much both give more and most. Little gives less and least.
Far has two accepted sets: farther and farthest for physical distance, further and furthest for figurative extent, as in further discussion. In practice further is increasingly used for both, and both are accepted.
Old gives older and oldest generally, but elder and eldest when referring to members of a family: my elder sister, the eldest of four children. Note that elder cannot be followed by than; you must write older than.
The regularised forms gooder, badder, worser and most best are not Standard English.
Double comparison
Using both methods at once is the single most frequently penalised error in this topic. More taller, most easiest, more better and most quickest are all wrong, because each already carries the comparison in its ending.
Choose one method only: taller or more tall — the first being correct for a one-syllable word — but never both.
Double comparison is common in speech across many varieties of English, including Caribbean speech, where it often functions as intensification rather than error. The examination assesses Standard English, in which only one marker is permitted.
Comparative for two, superlative for three or more
Use the comparative when exactly two things are compared: Of the two candidates, Shanice is the stronger. Writing the strongest here is incorrect.
Use the superlative for three or more: Of the five candidates, Shanice is the strongest.
The same rule governs pairs of related words. Either and neither refer to two; any and none to more than two. Which of the two roads is shorter? against Which of the three roads is shortest?
Absolute adjectives
Some adjectives describe qualities that are either present or absent, and so cannot logically be compared: unique, perfect, complete, empty, equal, round, dead, impossible, final.
Something is either unique or it is not; more unique is illogical. Where you need to indicate approach to that state, use almost, nearly or virtually: almost unique, nearly perfect.
Examiners test this, so in formal writing avoid comparing absolutes even though the usage is widespread in speech and advertising.
Complete and logical comparisons
A comparison must state both elements clearly. Our team performed better invites the question: better than what? Write Our team performed better than theirs did.
Comparisons must also be between like things. The climate of Barbados is warmer than Jamaica wrongly compares a climate with an island. The correct version is The climate of Barbados is warmer than that of Jamaica, or than Jamaica's.
When comparing one member of a group with the rest, use other or else: Kingston is larger than any other city in Jamaica. Without other, the sentence claims Kingston is larger than itself.
Worked examples
Example 1: Forming comparisons correctly (3 marks)
Give the comparative and superlative of heavy, comfortable and good.
Heavy is a two-syllable adjective ending in -y, so the y changes to i and the endings are added: heavier, heaviest. Comfortable has four syllables, so it takes more and most: more comfortable, most comfortable. Good is irregular and gives better and best.
Example 2: Correcting errors in a passage (4 marks)
Correct the errors: Of the two routes, the coastal road is the most scenic, though it is more longer. The mountain route is the worser of the two in wet weather, but it is the more quicker.
Four corrections are needed. Most scenic compares only two routes, so the comparative is required: more scenic. More longer is a double comparison; longer alone is correct. Worser is a non-standard double form; the irregular comparative of bad is worse. More quicker is again double; quicker alone is correct. The corrected passage reads: Of the two routes, the coastal road is the more scenic, though it is longer. The mountain route is the worse of the two in wet weather, but it is the quicker.
Example 3: Completing an illogical comparison (3 marks)
Explain the fault and correct it: The rainfall in Dominica is higher than St Lucia.
The sentence compares rainfall, which is a quantity, with St Lucia, which is an island, so the two elements are not alike. The comparison must be made between comparable things. Two correct versions are: The rainfall in Dominica is higher than that in St Lucia, or The rainfall in Dominica is higher than St Lucia's. Both make clear that one rainfall figure is being compared with another.
Common mistakes and how to avoid them
Double comparison is by far the most common error. Before writing more or most, check whether the word already ends in -er or -est.
Using the superlative for two items is almost as frequent. The word two, or the word both, anywhere in the sentence is a signal to use the comparative.
Students regularly write gooder, baddest or worser. The irregular forms better, best, worse and worst have no regular alternatives.
Incomplete comparisons appear constantly in persuasive writing, particularly in phrases such as far more effective with no second element. Always name what you are comparing to.
Finally, comparing absolute adjectives — more perfect, most unique — is widespread in everyday usage but is penalised in formal writing. Use almost or nearly instead.
Exam technique for "Usage and Grammar: Degrees of Comparison"
Count the items being compared before you look at the options. Two takes the comparative; three or more takes the superlative. This single check resolves a large proportion of Paper 1 items on this topic.
Count the syllables next. One syllable means the ending; three or more means more or most; two syllables require you to check whether the word ends in -y.
Scan for than. Its presence almost always signals that a comparative is required, and its absence alongside the usually signals a superlative.
In Paper 2, check every comparison you write for a second element. Persuasive and argumentative writing generates incomplete comparisons in quantity, and they weaken the argument as well as costing accuracy marks.
Quick revision summary
The positive degree describes, the comparative compares two and usually takes than, and the superlative compares three or more and usually takes the. One-syllable adjectives and two-syllable adjectives ending in -y take -er and -est, with the spelling changes of doubling a final consonant, dropping a silent e, or changing y to i; longer adjectives take more and most. Most -ly adverbs take more and most, but fast, hard, soon, late and early take the endings. Irregular forms are good/better/best, bad/worse/worst, many and much/more/most, little/less/least, far/farther or further, and old/elder within a family. Never combine both methods, so more taller and most easiest are wrong. Absolute adjectives such as unique and perfect cannot be compared; use almost instead. Every comparison must name both elements and compare like with like, using that of or a possessive, and any other when comparing a member with its own group.