Comparative and superlatives adverbs
Introduction
I eat more healthily now than when I was young.
He eats the most unhealthily of all his family.
Definition and use
We use comparative adverbs to compare two activities/actions or to show change.
We can use comparative structures with adverbs of manner and some adverbs of time and frequency.
We use superlative adverbs to compare more than two activities or actions.
Construction
Comparative adverbs: Adverbs ending in 'ly'
| Superiority | Inferiority | Equality |
|
'more' + adverb + 'than'
She works more quietly than him.
|
1. 'less' + adverb + 'than'
He works less quietly than her.
2. 'not as' + adverb + 'as'
He doesn't work as quietly as her.
|
'as' + adverb + 'as'
She works as quietly as him. |
Note that
1. The second form for inferiority is more common in conversation.
2. It isn't always necessary to include 'than' and the second part of the sentence. For example:
It started to rain more heavily.
She's working less efficiently now.
Adverbs with the same form as the adjective
| Superiority | Inferiority | Equality |
|
adverb + 'er' + 'than'
She works faster than him.
She works harder than him.
She arrived earlier than him.
|
'not as' + adverb + 'as'
She doesn't work as fast as he does.
She doesn't work as hard as him.
She didn't arrive as early as him. |
'as' + adverb + 'as'
She works as fast as he does.
She works as hard as him.
She arrived as early as him.
|
Irregular comparative adverbs
Superiority Inferiority Equality adverb + 'than' She speaks French better than he does. He speaks French worse than she does. He lives further from the station than her. She eats less than he does. 'not as' + adverb + 'as' He doesn't speak French as well as she does. She doesn't speak French as badly as he does. She doesn't live as far from the station as him. She doesn't eat as much as he does. 'as' + adverb + 'as' She speaks French as well as he does. She speaks French as badly as he does. She lives as far from the station as him. She eats asmuch as he does.
Superlative adverbs
Superiority | Inferiority | |
Adverbs ending in 'ly' |
'the most' + adverb She works the most quietly.
|
'the least' + adverb She works the least quietly.
|
Adverbs with the same form as the adjective
|
'the' + adverb + 'est' She works the fastest. She arrived the earliest.
|
See note 2. below |
Irregular comparative adverbs |
'the' + adverb
She speaks French the best. She speaks French the worst. He lives the furthest from the station.
|
See note 2. below
|
Note that
1. It is generally more common to use comparative adverbs than superlative ones. For example, we are more likely to say:
He behaved more professionally than the other delegates did.
than
He behaved the most professionally.
and
She works less quietly than the others do./She doesn't work as quietly as the others do.
than
She works the least quietly.
2. With these adverbs, an alternative structure is preferred:
She works the least fast. | She doesn't work as fast as her colleagues.
She works more slowly than her colleagues .
|
He speaks French the least well.
He speaks French the least badly. | He doesn't speak French as well as the others.
He doesn't speak French as badly as the others.
|
He lives the least far from the office. | He lives the nearest to the office.
He doesn't live as far from the office as the others. |
Examples
|
She's swimming more confidently now. |
Unfortunately, some laptops work less efficiently than others do. Of all the computers I've owned, this one works the least efficiently. |
|
We don't go cycling as often as before. |
This project isn't going as well as we hoped - everyone needs to start earlier each day and work harder. |
|
He doesn't drive as carefully as his wife. |
He dresses as badly as he dances. Of everyone in the class, he dances the worst! |
|
I'm sorry. We can't have the meeting as soon as we want to. |
My children's behaviour is getting worse, not better! |
Peter always deals with Katashi because
he speaks Japanese the most confidently.
