Degrees of Comparison
Definition
Just like adjectives, adverbs have comparative and superlative degrees; adverbs in their basic forms are sometimes known as being in the positive degree.
Comparative adverbs express a higher (or lower) degree of how an action is performed, usually in comparison to another person or thing.
Superlative adverbs, on the other hand, are used to identify the highest (or lowest) degree of how an action is performed.
Forming the comparative and superlative degrees
Adverbs are commonly categorized in three ways: one-syllable adverbs, “-ly” adverbs, and irregular adverbs. We create the comparative and superlative forms of each category in different ways.
One-syllable adverbs
One-syllable adverbs are formed into comparatives by adding the suffix “-er” to the end of the word. The superlative form is created by adding the suffix “-est” to the end.
Adverb (positive degree) | Comparative degree | Superlative degree |
|---|---|---|
fast | faster | fastest |
hard | harder | hardest |
high | higher | highest |
late | later* | latest* |
long | longer | longest |
low | lower | lowest |
wide | wider* | widest* |
(*Spelling note: When the adverb already ends in the letter “e,” simply add “-r” or “-st” to the end.)
Adverbs ending in “-ly”
Many adverbs are formed by adding “-ly” to the end of an adjective. If an adverb has been created according to this pattern, we simply use the words more and less to create the comparative degree, and we use the words most or least to make the superlative degree. For example:
Adjective | Adverb (positive degree) | Comparative degree | Superlative degree |
|---|---|---|---|
careful | carefully | more/less carefully | most/least carefully |
efficient | efficiently | more/less efficiently | most/least efficiently |
happy | happily | more/less happily | most/least happily |
horrible | horribly | more/less horribly | most/least horribly |
recent | recently | more/less recently | most/least recently |
sad | sadly | more/less sadly | most/least sadly |
strange | strangely | more/less strangely | most/least strangely |
Irregular adverbs
Of course, the rules we’ve just looked at have some exceptions, which are known as irregular adverbs. Below are the degrees of comparison for some of the most common irregular adverbs:
Irregular adverb (positive degree) | Comparative degree | Superlative degree |
|---|---|---|
badly | worse | worst |
early | earlier | earliest |
far | farther/further | farthest/furthest* |
little | less | least |
well | better | best |
(*Although farther/farthest and further/furthest are often used interchangeably, there are differences between them. In American English, farther/farthest is preferred when comparing physical distances, and further/furthest is preferred when comparing figurative distances; in British English, further/furthest is preferred for both uses.)
To learn more about irregular adverbs, see the chapter section covering Regular and Irregular Adverbs.
Adverbs with two forms
There are a few adverbs that have two generally accepted forms. In these cases, they also have two commonly used comparative and superlative degrees. Some of the most prevalent of these exceptions are:
Adverb (positive degree) | Comparative degree | Superlative degree |
|---|---|---|
cheap or cheaply | cheaper or more/less cheaply | cheapest or most/least cheaply |
loud or loudly | louder or more/less loudly | loudest or most/least loudly |
quick or quickly | quicker or more/less quickly | quickest or most/least quickly |
slow or slowly | slower or more/less slowly | slowest or most/least slowly |
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