Adjective - 2 | English Grammar Basic - Class 10 PDF Download

Understanding Degrees of Comparison

Adjectives describe the quality of a noun. When we compare this quality between different nouns, adjectives change their form. These forms are called Degrees of Comparison.

Example Sentences:

Sunil’s orange is sweet.
Kavita’s orange is sweeter than Sunil's.
Sanjay’s orange is the sweetest of all.

Explanation:

In the first sentence, "sweet" is a simple adjective that describes Sunil's orange.
In the second sentence, "sweeter" compares Kavita’s orange with Sunil’s orange, showing that Kavita's orange has more sweetness.
In the third sentence, "sweetest" shows that Sanjay’s orange has the highest degree of sweetness among all.

These sentences demonstrate the three degrees of comparison:

Positive Degree: Describes a quality without comparison (sweet).
Comparative Degree: Compares the quality between two items (sweeter).
Superlative Degree: Shows the highest degree of quality among three or more items (sweetest).

Types of Degrees of Comparison

There are three kinds of degrees:

Positive Degree
Comparative Degree
Superlative Degree

Structures for Positive, Comparative, and Superlative Degrees

1. Positive Degree:

Structure: No other + noun + is as + positive form of adjective + as + noun.
Example: No other boy in our class is as bad as Mohan.

2. Comparative Degree:

Structure: Noun + helping verb + comparative form of adjective + than any other + noun.
Example: Mohan is worse than any other boy in our class.

3. Superlative Degree:

Structure: Noun + helping verb + the + superlative form of adjective.
Example: Mohan is the worst boy in our class.

Note: After "the" (superlative), "no other" (positive), and "than any other" (comparative), use a singular noun.

Correct: The best boy, No other boy, Than any other boy.
Incorrect: The best boys, No other boys, Than any other boys.

Structures with "Very few" and "One of"

1. Positive Degree:

Structure: Very few + plural noun + are as + positive form of adjective + as + noun.
Example: Very few cities of India are as busy as Kolkata.

2. Comparative Degree:

Structure: Noun + helping verb + comparative form of adjective + than most other + plural noun.
Example: Kolkata is busier than most other cities of India.

3. Superlative Degree:

Structure: Noun + helping verb + one of the + superlative form of adjective + plural noun.
Example: Kolkata is one of the busiest cities of India.

Note: After "one of," "very few," and "than most other," use a plural noun.

Correct: One of the best girls, Very few girls, Than most other girls.
Incorrect: One of the best girl, Very few girl, Than most other girl.

Summary

Positive Degree: Describes a quality without comparison.
Comparative Degree: Compares the quality between two nouns.
Superlative Degree: Shows the highest degree of quality among three or more nouns.

Examples:

Positive: No other city is as beautiful as Paris.
Comparative: Paris is more beautiful than any other city.
Superlative: Paris is the most beautiful city in the world.