Сравнителна и превъзходна степен в английския език

13/04/2023 | Граматически урок

Умението да сравняваме е част от част от владеенето на който и да е език. Сравнителната и превъзходната степен в английския език се различават от тези на български, но са лесно усвоими, тъй като се подлагат на ясни правила.

Ети и примери, с които ще представя граматиката:

a. Mexico City is bigger than London. (сравнителна степен)
b. London is more expensive than Mexico City. (сравнителна степен)
c. Madrid is the biggest city in Spain. (превъзходна степен)
d. Paris is the most beautiful city in the world. (превъзходна степен)

В кои случаи използваме сравнителната и превъзходна степен?

Сравнителната и превъзходната степен са форми на прилагателните. Прилагателните, от своя страна са част от речта, с която се определя съществителното име, например a tall building. При необходимост две съществителни да бъдат сравнени се използват сравнителните и превъзходни степени на прилагателните.

Сравнителна степен се използва в случаите, когато говорим за две или повече съществителни и ги сравняваме едно с друго, за да определим кое притежава определено качество в по-голяма степен – кое е по-добро, по-високо, по-интересно и т.н. (вж. изречения a и b по-горе).

Превъзходната степен на съществителното използваме, за да изберем само едно съществително от дадена група, което притежава определена характеристика в най-голяма степен –най-добро, най-високо, най-интересно и т.н. (вж. изречения c и d по-горе).

Правилата за образуване на сравнителните и превъзходни степени

За целта, съществителните имена се разпределят в групи спрямо броя на сричките. Съществува и категория – неправилни прилагателни.

Брой на сричките в основната форма на прилагателното	Пример	Сравнителна форма	Превъзходна форма
Тип 1: Една сричка	fast (или high, small и т.н.)	A cat is faster than a turtle. (Правило: прилагателно + "-er" + than)	Usain bold is the fastest runner in the world (Правило: the + прилагателно + "-est")
Тип 2: Две срички когато втората от тях завършва на “y”)	heavy (или happy, busy и т.н.)	A melon is heavier than a grape. (Правило: “y” отпада, след което формата се образува от прилагателното + “ier” + than)	The heaviest man in the world weighs almost 600 kilos! (Правило: "y" отпада, след което формата се образува от the + прилагателното + "iest"
Тип 3: Повече от една сричка (с изключение на прилагателните от Тип 2)	important (или intelligent, careful и т.н.)	Good health is more important than money.	Happiness is the most important thing in life. (Правило: the + most + прилагателно)

Изключения и вариации

Макар че горните правила са валидни за по-голямата част от прилагателните, има и малък брой специални прилагателни с неправилни форми . Трите най-често срещани изключения са:

Основна форма на прилагателното	Сравнителна форма	Превъзходна форма
good	Tim is bettar than Steve at tennis.	Serena Williams is one of the best tennis players in the world.
bad	This winter is worse than last year's winter.	At school, I was the worst iin the class at Geography.
far*	Mars is further than the Moon from planet Earth.	In our solar system, Pluto is the furthest planet from the sun.

*обърнете внимание, че при прилагателното “far” може да се използват също и формите “farther than” и “the farthest”

ADJECTIVE	COMPARATIVE	SUPERLATIVE
Good	Better	Best
Bad or Ill	Worse	Worst
Little (Amount)	Less	Least
Far (Distance)	Farther	Farthest
Far (Extent)	Further	Furthest
Many or Much	More	Most

Освен конструкциите със сравнителна и превъзходна степен, за сравнение се използва и граматичната конструкция as + adjective + as („толкова, колкото“). Примери:

Утвърдително изречение: Rebecca is as tall as her sister.
Отрицателно изречение: Kourtney Kardashian is not as famous as Kim Kardashian.

(В случая с отрицателните изречения може да се използва и конструкцията “not so + adjective + as”.)

Ако искате да подчертаете разликата между сравняваните обекти, можете да използвате допълнителни думи пред сравнителната конструкция. Най-често употребяваните думи за тази цел са “much”, “far”, или, в разговорния език, “way”.

Примери:

Game of Thrones is much more popular than The Crown.
Tokyo is way bigger than Frankfurt.

(Пред сравнителна конструкция не могат да се използват думи като “very” или “really”.)

Кои са най-често допусканите грешки при тези граматични конструкции?

Когато искат да направят сравнение, някои от учещите автоматично се сещат за думата “more”, дори ако използват едносрично прилагателно:

Berlin is more big than Frankfurt ✗
вместо
Berlin is bigger than Frankfurt ✓

При употреба на превъзходна степен някои допускат грешката да използват неподходящ предлог:

The tallest building of the world ✗
вместо
The tallest building in the world ✓

Някои погрешно употребяват думата “more”, когато искат да изразят идеята за количество или да я подчертаят. Това не е правилно, тъй като думата “more” се използва само когато се сравняват най-малко две съществителни:

The new car costs more money ✗
вместо
The new car costs a lot of money ✓
The new car is more expensive ✗
вместо
The new car is very expensive ✓

Понякога се използват неподходящи думи в конструкцията “as + adjective + as”:

Barcelona is so beautiful than Paris ✗
вместо
Barcelona is as beautiful as Paris ✓

Запознайте се с индивидуалното обучение по бизнес английски език.

Запознайте се с индивидуалното подготовка за интервю за работа на английски език.

Прочути примери

The Best (песен на Тина Търнър) – В тази класическа песен от 80-те години Тина се обръща към своя любим с думите: “You’re simply the best, better than all the rest”.

Stronger (песен на Кели Кларксън) – В този хит от 2011 г. се пее за преодоляването на трудностите в живота. “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” – казва ни Кели.

As good as it gets (филм с Джак Никълсън и Хелън Хънт) – Този филм от 1997 г. разказва историята на самотен писател, който се сприятелява със съседа си и с местна сервитьорка, започвайки нов живот, който е “as good as it gets”. Изразът би трябвало да се преведе „По-добре не може да бъде“ (макар че на български филмът е известен със заглавието „Колкото – толкова“).

Stranger Things (сериал на Нетфликс) – Тази поредица, която започна през 2016 г., разказва историята на малък град, пълен с подозрителни хора, загадъчна научна лаборатория и дори още по-странни неща.

List of 35 comparative and superlative adjectives with examples

angry – angrier – the angriest
He was angrier yesterday than he was last week.
He is the angriest man I have ever seen met!
bad – worse – the worst (irregular)
I think the weather’s worse than last winter as it’s rained nearly every day!
This is the worst weather in December since records began!
big – bigger – the biggest
Your desk is bigger than mine.
You have the biggest desk in the whole office.
boring – more boring – the most boring
The film was a bit more boring than I thought it would be.
That film was the most boring thing I’ve seen for ages!
cheap – cheaper – the cheapest
Your car was cheaper than mine by about two grand (£2,000).
Our package deal to Spain was by far the cheapest holiday I’ve ever been on!
clever – cleverer – cleverest
I was cleverer when I was younger.
Sarah is the cleverest student in our year.

Note that some native English speakers also use the forms ‘more clever’ and ‘most clever’. These forms appear to follow the rules more closely, but they are less popular when it comes to real usage in the UK.

cute – cuter – the cutest
Your new dog is cuter than your old one.
That is the cutest dog I’ve ever seen!
clean – cleaner – the cleanest
The house is looking a lot cleaner than it was this morning.
The house is the cleanest it has ever been.
comfort – more comfortable – the most comfortable
I would be more comfortable wearing jeans.
These are my most comfortable trousers.
dirty – dirtier – the dirtiest
That seat looks a bit dirtier than this one.
After our walk, my little brother had the dirtiest pair of shoes.
expensive – more expensive – the most expensive
It’s more expensive to go to France in the summer (than in the winter).
Switzerland is the most expensive country in Europe.
far – further – the furthest (irregular)
From London, Liverpool is further than Oxford.
Leeds is one of the furthest big cities from London (in England).
fast – faster – the fastest
It’s faster to use the self-service checkout at the supermarket.
That was the fastest journey I’ve ever been on.
fat – fatter – the fattest
She was fatter when she was younger, but she’s lost weight recently.
She used to be the fattest girl at school.
funny – funnier – the funniest
Dave is funnier when he’s drunk!
Apparently, Americans are some the funniest people in the world.
good – better – the best (irregular)
Baan Thai has got better reviews than the other restaurants in the area.
It has by far the best reviews we’ve read so far.
happy – happier – the happiest
I’m always happier in the summer.
John is the happiest I’ve seen him in years.
hard-working – more hard-working – the most hard-working
Michael is more hard-working than Harry.
He’s the most hard-working student I’ve ever taught.
healthy – healthier – the healthiest
It is healthier to eat vegetables than meat.
The Mediterranean diet is the healthiest in the world.
high – higher – the highest
The Himalayas is a higher mountain range than The Alps.
Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world.
interesting – more interesting – the most interesting
I found the book more interesting than the film.
It was the most interesting film we’d seen this year.
little – less – the least (irregular)
I did less work than Hannah this term.
Simon has done the least work in the whole team, but has got all the credit!
long – longer – the longest
The Nile is longer than the River Thames.
The Amazon is the longest river in the world.
loud – louder – the loudest
You should give the speech because your voice is louder than mine.
Jane has the loudest voice I’ve ever heard!
nice – nicer – the nicest
The pasta is nicer than the pizza in this restaurant.
The Margherita is the nicest pizza on the menu.
old – older – the oldest
As a nation, Italy is older than America.
Damascus is thought to be the oldest city in the world.
poor – poorer – the poorest
Financially speaking, Greece is poorer than Sweden.
Ukraine is one of the poorest countries in Europe.
popular – more popular – the most popular
Spain is a more popular holiday destination for Brits than Croatia.
Mauritius is one of the most popular honeymoon destinations.
pretty – prettier – the prettiest
That dress is prettier than the other one you tried on.
I think this is the prettiest dress in the shop.
rich – richer – the richest
If you hadn’t wasted your money on fancy cars, then you’d be richer now.
Bill Gates is the second richest person in the world.
slow – slower – the slowest
The bus is slower than the train.
Walking would be the slowest option.
small – smaller – the smallest
Peru is smaller than Brazil.
Out of Peru, Panama and Brazil, Peru is by far the smallest country.
tall – taller – the tallest
The Empire State Building is taller than the Shard.
The Burj Khalifa is the tallest building in the world.
ugly – uglier – the ugliest
That hat is uglier than anything else in your wardrobe!
Julie bought the ugliest bag in the shop!
young – younger – the youngest
I don’t have any cousins who are younger than me.
I am the youngest member of my family.

Quantifiers for comparatives

We can use quantifiers with comparative adjectives to show if there is a big or small difference between the two things we are comparing.

For a big difference use…

A lot
The US is a lot bigger than Ireland.

Much
Sarah has much longer hair than Anna.

A great deal
It is a great deal more polluted in London than Cornwall.

Far
It’s far healthier to eat a salad than a burger.

Significantly
The company’s sales have been significantly better this year.

Considerably
Siberia is considerably colder than Australia.

Way (informal)
This week’s homework is way easier than I thought it would be.
For a small difference use…

A little
The chocolate cake was a little more popular than the lemon sponge.

A bit (informal)
First class train tickets are always a bit more expensive than standard ones.

A little bit
The UK is a little bit further north than France.

Slightly
France is slightly bigger than Spain.

Marginally
My hotel room is only marginally bigger than yours.

Some comparative quantifiers are more informal than others so it’s important to know when to use each one. You will find a lot, way and a bit are very common in spoken English. However, you generally wouldn’t write way or use it in more formal contexts. In these formal situations, you would be more likely to use a great deal, considerablyor marginally.

Superlative phrases

We don’t use quantifiers with superlative adjectives but there are common phrases that are used with superlatives. These are useful to know as they are very commonly used by native speakers and you will likely hear them a lot!

One of the…

Aramaic is one of the oldest languages in the world.
(We are not saying it is necessarily the oldest. Often used when we don’t know something for sure)

The second/third…
According to Mastercard’s Global Destination Cities Index, London is the second most visited city in the world.

By far the…
In England, the bus is by far the cheapest mode of transport.
(Meaning by a long way or by a significant margin)