Monosyllabic adjectives in English. Compound adjectives in English

Adjectives (Adjectives) are words that express qualities, characteristics of objects. They answer the question Which?. In a sentence, they usually define a noun. IN English language they do not change either by gender, or by number, or by case:

a little girl - little girl

a little boy - little boy

little children - little children

With a little boy - with a little boy.

Adjectives change only by degrees of comparison (Degrees of Comparison). There are three degrees of comparison of adjectives: positive (Positive Degree), comparative (Comparative Degree), excellent (Superlative Degree).

Rules for the formation of degrees of comparison of adjectives.

Adjectives in the positive degree do not have any endings, for example: quick (fast), slow (slow), old (old), new (new). The comparative and superlative degrees are formed using the suffixes -er and -est or by adding the words more (more) and most (most). The choice of method depends on the original form of the adjective.

Monosyllabic and some two-syllable adjectives form the comparative degree with the suffix -er, and the superlative degree with the suffix -est. Using the suffixes -er, -est, degrees of comparison are formed into two-syllable adjectives ending in -er, -ow, -y, -le (clever, narrow, early, simple).

Here are some examples:

One- and two-syllable adjectives

Positive degree	comparative	Superlative
high - high	higher – higher, higher	highest - the highest
small - small	smaller - less	smallest – smallest, smallest
strong - strong	stronger – stronger, stronger	strongest - the strongest
cheap - cheap	cheaper - cheaper, cheaper	cheapest - the cheapest
quick - fast	quicker - faster	quickest - the fastest
new - new	newer – newer	newest - the newest
clean - clean	cleaner – cleaner, cleaner	cleanest - the cleanest
cold - cold	colder – colder, colder	coldest - the coldest
short - short	shorter - shorter, shorter	shortest - the shortest
great – great, big	greater - more	greatest – the greatest, greatest
weak – weak	weaker - weaker	weakest - the weakest
deep – deep	deeper – deeper, deeper	deepest - the deepest
low - low	lower - lower	lowest - the lowest
clever - smart	cleverer – smarter, more intelligent	cleverest – smartest, most intelligent
narrow - narrow	narrower - narrower	narrowest - the narrowest
shallow - small	shallower - smaller	shallowest - the smallest

When writing, certain spelling rules must be followed.

1. If an adjective has a short vowel and ends in one consonant, then comparative degree and in the superlative degree this consonant is doubled:

big – bigger – biggest

big - bigger - biggest, biggest

Fat – fatter – fattest

thick, fatty – thicker – the thickest

Wet-wetter-wettest

wet, humid – more humid – the most humid

Sad – sadder – saddest

sad, sad – sadder – saddest

thin – thinner – thinnest

thin, thin – thinner – thinnest

2. If the adjective ends with a letter -y with a preceding consonant, then in the comparative and superlative degrees the letter y changes to i:

Easy – easier – easiest

light - lighter - lightest, lightest

early – earlier – earliest

early – earlier – earliest

dry – drier – driest

dry, arid – drier – driest

But the word shy (shy, fearful) does not obey this rule and forms degrees of comparison as follows:

shy – shyer – shyest.

3. If the adjective ends with a letter -e, then in the comparative and superlative degrees it is added -r, -st:

wide – wider – widest

wide - wider - widest, widest

late – later – latest

late – later – the latest

fine – finer – finest

good, wonderful – better – the best

simple – simpler – simplest

simple - simpler - simplest

Polysyllabic adjectives, i.e. Adjectives consisting of three or more syllables form degrees of comparison using the words more for the comparative degree and most for the superlative degree. Consider the following examples:

Polysyllabic adjectives

Positive degree	comparative	Superlative
interesting – interesting	more interesting – more interesting	most interesting - the most interesting
beautiful – beautiful	more beautiful - more beautiful	most beautiful - the most beautiful
expensive - expensive	more expensive - more expensive	most expensive - the most expensive
difficult - difficult	more difficult – more difficult	most difficult - the most difficult
dangerous - dangerous	more dangerous – more dangerous	most dangerous - the most dangerous
important - important	more important - more important	most important - the most important
comfortable - comfortable	more comfortable - more comfortable	most comfortable - the most convenient

In the same way, i.e. Using the words more for the comparative degree and most for the superlative degree, some two-syllable words that end in -ed and - are formed into degrees of comparison.

Hello dear friends!
Imagine a situation where you are in a store, trying on a shirt and realizing that it is too big. You want to ask for a smaller size and you realize that you know how to say “small”, but you find it difficult to remember what to add to get “smaller”. And there are enough situations when you need to be able to compare. To be able to do this, you need to know the difference between monosyllabic and polysyllabic adjectives in English.

From this article you will learn:

How to identify them

Basically, the division of words into syllables coincides with the Russian language, that is, their number corresponds to the number of vowels. For example, in Russian kar-tosh-ka there are 3 vowels, respectively 3 syllables. It's the same with po-ta-to. But there are also small differences. There are consonants in English that are called sonorant. They give sounds: [m], [n], [l], [w], [r], [j]. Even if a word has one vowel sound, two syllables are counted, as in mild. You'll soon see that it's very simple!
A word that has only a diphthong (a combination of two vowel sounds) among vowel sounds is considered indivisible. Thus, fine contains a diphthong.
And now I’ll tell you why we discussed this...

The simplest rule

So now let's learn powers of comparison. The general scheme of a comparative sentence is as follows: Subject + verb to be + comparative adjective (comparative adjective) + than.
If a word consists of only one syllable, then add –er to it. Examples: tall – taller, small – smaller, fast – faster. We get in a sentence: My car is faster than yours.

Don't forget to subscribe so you don't miss anything and receive a gift - a phrasebook in English, German and French. It has Russian transcription, so even without knowing the language, you can easily master colloquial phrases.

The superlative sentence structure looks like this: subject + verb to be + the + superlative adjective (superlative).
To make a superlative adjective from a short word, add –est to it. We get: tallest, smallest, fastest.
There are some nuances to remember here. If a word contains a combination of letters consonant + vowel + consonant, double the last letter. For example, sad – sadder – the saddest, big – bigger – the biggest. Moscow is bigger than Tomsk (Moscow is bigger than Tomsk).

Comparative and superlative degrees

With doubling consonants

When a word ends in –e (those with diphthongs), add only –r/-st: nice – nicer – the nicest. Sally is the nicest girl I’ve ever met (Sally is the nicest girl I’ve ever seen).

Endings with diphthongs - you need to remember

Ending in -y

When words are longer
With adjectives that have two or more syllables, use more in the comparative and the most in the superlative. In this case, the ending is no longer added. For example, wonderful – more wonderful – the most wonderful. Emily is the most beautiful girl in class (Emily is the most beautiful girl in class).
However, with some people the rule of small words also applies. Most often these are those in which the stress falls at the beginning: quiet – quieter – the quietest, clever – cleverer – the cleverest, narrow – narrower – the narrowest. Although you can add more/most to them.
If the word consists of two and ends in y, then change y to i and add –er/est. For example, funny – funnier – the funniest, crazy – crazier – the craziest.

It's as easy as shelling pears - add more or the most

By the way, did you know that you can easily form adjectives?

With two or more syllables
Not without exceptions
Of course, there are exceptions to every rule. Also here, but there are few of them, so learning them will be as easy as shelling pears. I announce the list: good – better – the best, bad – worse – the worst, far – further – the furthest, old – elder – the eldest. However, old is also changed as a regular one, without changing the meaning: older – the oldest. As you noticed, the form itself is changing here, and not just endings are added. But remember, in Russian the same phenomenon is observed: good - better - best.

Exception table

Exceptions

Therefore, the sentence “I have the best dad” will sound in English as My father is the best.
Let's now put the information we received into a table:

adjective	comparative	superlative
One syllable
Young	Younger	Youngest
Vowel + consonant + vowel
Hot	Hotter	Hottest
Two or more syllables
Curious	More curious	Most curious
Ending with -e
Cute	Cuter	Cutest
Ending with -y
Funny	funnier	funniest
exceptions
Good	Better	Best

By the way, speaking English is as easy as shelling pears! You will understand this after your first lesson at Marina Rusakova’s school! Get your first 5 lessons for free! The course can be completed online, no boring cramming or tons of textbooks. Only interesting, lively communication and a simple approach to learning complex rules.

Exercises

And so that the scheme fits into your head forever and bounces off your teeth, I offer you exercises to practice.
Put the adjectives in brackets in the comparative degree:

1. John is ________ (weak) than Michael.
   John is weaker than Michael.
2. My teacher is ________(strict) than yours.
3. People in the North are ________ (friendly) than in the South.
4. People in Thailand are ________(lazy) than in China.
5. Sam is 3 years ________(old) than Emily.
6. Stan has a ________(fat) cat than Dan.
7. Matt is ________(generous) than Scrooge.
8. My apartment is ________(big) than yours.
9. Their workers are even ________(lazy) than ours.
10. My book is ________(interesting) than yours.

Now translate the sentences into English:

1. Jack is more sociable than his wife.
   Jack is more sociable than his wife.
2. Adam is the most insecure person I have ever met.
3. Mason is more talkative than his neighbor.
4. Evan is even more arrogant than his boss.
5. Justin is the most untrustworthy person I know, so I never ask him to help me.
6. Jessica is more sincere than her friend.
7. Violet is more practical than Jazmine, she will never spend her last money on lipstick.
8. Diana is the most forgetful. Yesterday she left her passport at the bank.

Write your answers in the comments, we’ll check it together!

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I was with you, a philologist of the English language, Ekaterina Martynova.
Everyone have a good day!

(good, yellow, interesting).

Adjectives in English 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 positive form consists of three or more syllables, the comparative degree is formed using the word more, and the superlative degree - using the word most, which are placed before the positive form 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). 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 (fewer, less) or least (least of all).

Additional material.

Degrees of comparison of adjectives and adverbs.

1. In English, as well as in Russian, adjectives and adverbs have three degrees of comparison:
2. positive
3. comparative

excellent.

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

1. For short (one syllable) words:

Notes:

1. The definite article is often used with a superlative adjective; When constructing degrees of comparison of adjectives in writing:
2. the final consonant with the preceding short vowel is doubled: big (bigger ((the) biggest
   if there is a consonant before the final -y, then -y goes into -i:
3. easy (easy ((the) easiest; early (earlier ((the) earliest

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 makes no sense to lengthen the word even more, so in English we add another a short word

• ahead:
• beautiful beautiful
• more beautiful
• easily easy
• more easily easier

most easily To pass values 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 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 come before a noun or pronoun in plural

(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 indicate 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. 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 She is beautiful my mother

(She is as beautiful as my mother. When comparing quality in a 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; more often than others, much is used for this: much more / less beautiful;

• The Russian version of than..., the... is translated into English the + comparative degree of the adjective... the + comparative degree of the 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. Every person or thing has distinctive characteristics , properties, signs. And in order to tell your interlocutor about them, you need to be able to correctly use the appropriate adjectives. Today we will study this grammatical category , and also learn its laws of composition and use. In addition, they will help us quickly understand and remember the rules about simple and polysyllabic adjectives in English, language examples

given in the final section.

Grammatical meaning

• The role of English adjectives is no different from the role of Russian ones - to characterize people and describe objects, emphasizing their qualities, characteristics, properties. Despite the fact that there is always a noun in conjunction with this part of speech, it does not change either number, gender, or case. I see a graybird -II see gray
• bird. Graybirds are sitting on the branch of the tree – Graybirdssittingonbranch
• tree. I see a graybird -I gave some bread to theA littleof breadthisgray bird.

The only case of changing the form of adjectives in English sentence- this is their use to compare objects and express superiority.

Comparison forms

Before mastering comparison methods, it is necessary to understand that for English grammar The composition of adjectives is very important. They come in three types: simple, complex and compound.

Compound adjectives are a combination of two words and are written with a hyphen (sometimes together). These combinations consist of adjectives and other parts of speech: numerals, nouns, participles, etc.

• A one-eyed young man lives in this flat – A young one-eyed man lives in this apartment.
• Mother bought a dark blue suit for my brother –Motherboughtmybrotherdark-bluecostume.
• He didn't want to take a low-paid jobHe didn't want to take a low-paying job.

The compound form is rarely used. One- and two-syllable adjectives and words with a large number of syllables are much more common. For the first two groups, comparative forms are formed by changing the stem, and the last category requires additional words. Therefore, we will separately analyze polysyllabic adjectives in English, giving examples of composing their comparative degrees. For now, let's focus on the first group.

Definitions consisting of one syllable, as well as adjectives of two syllables with the endings le, er, ow, y form degrees of comparison in a suffixal way. For the comparative degree it is the suffix –er, and for the superlative degree it is est. Since only one person or thing can be superior to everyone, the article the is placed before such adjectives.

• Ihaddonemytaskby3 o'clockbecauseitwas easy – I completed my task by three o’clock because it was light.
• YouhaddoneyourtaskfasterthanIdidbecauseyourtaskwas easier – You completed your task faster than I did, because your task was easier.
• Hehaddonehistaskearlierthanothersdidbecausehistaskwas the easiest - He completed his task before everyone else, because his task was the easiest.

When changing the degree for monosyllabic adjectives, several nuances related to spelling are typical. When the definition ends with one consonant preceded by a short vowel, it is doubled in the comparative construction. Here we note that the final unreadable vowel e is never doubled.

• It was hot yesterday –Yesterdaywashot.
• The weather is getting hotter and hotter –WeatherbecomesAllhotterAndhotter.

Words ending in -y with a preceding consonant change that letter to i.

• My sister is lazy – Mysisterlazy.
• He is the laziest pupil in his class –HemostlazystudentVhisclass.

Note that in this group there are special cases, studied separately.

Polysyllabic adjectives in English - examples of construction

For definitions containing three or more syllables, no changes occur to the word itself. In compiling comparative degrees they are helped by special additional notations: more/less(more/less) And themost/theleast(most/least).

Original form	Comparison	Superiority
comfortable room comfortable room	more comfortable room the room is more comfortable	the most comfortable room the most comfortable room
beautiful butterfly beautiful butterfly	more beautiful butterfly the butterfly is more beautiful	the most beautiful butterfly the most beautiful butterfly
expensive present expensive gift	less expensive present less expensive gift	the least expensive present not an expensive gift at all

This method is often used to form comparison forms of adjectives ending in –ed and –ing, which many equate to participles.

• He wasn't more surprised than his brother –HewasstrongersurprisedhowhisBrother.
• It was the most interesting day of my trip –Thiswasmostinterestingdayfrommytrips.

Often, two-syllable adjectives are also used this way, especially if they end in –ful, -less, -ous.

• Your husband is more careful than my –Is yourshusbandmorecaring,howmy.
• It is the most useless thing in the world –Thisthe mostuselessthingVworld.
• Palahniuk is more famous writer than Frei –Palahniukmorefamouswriter,howFry.

To words always used for education degrees of comparison additional structures also include: frequent, careless, modern, normal, certain, foolish, correct and etc.

Some representatives of adjectives can even use both methods of constructing comparisons.