DEGREE of COMPARISON of

ADJECTIVES

POSITIVE

COMPARATIVE

SUPERLATIVE

Positive Adjectives Positive adjectives stand alone. They are

the sole modifier of a noun or pronoun. They do not compare the noun/pronoun with any other. Even though they are called "positive" adjectives they can describe something negative.

For example: Her blue hat was brilliant. (Blue is the

positive adjective modifying the noun, hat.) She was a smart woman. (Smart is the

positive adjective modifying the noun, woman.)

Comparative Adjectives Comparative adjectives are used when

describing the differences between ONLY two items.

For example: take the two words: orangutan and rhinoceros

Rhinoceros is a longer word than orangutan; orOrangutan is a shorter word than rhinoceros.

Comparative adjectives, used to describe only two items, can be used to describe groups of items as long as there are only two groups.

For example:

• Their swim team was faster than our swim team.

Superlative AdjectivesSuperlative adjectives are used when

describing three items or more. Superlative adjectives are never used with two items. They are used to express the highest degree of the item you are expressing in comparison to the other items. They are the most extreme in the group of items. For example: take the three words: orangutan, rhinoceros, and hippopotamus• Hippopotamus is the longest word; or• Orangutan is the shortest word.