Comparative and Superlative  

Making Comparisons

Comparison Using Adjectives
The positive degree expresses the quality without any further idea of
comparison, as Feliz (happy), Rico (rich).
Comparative Superlative Relative
Más feliz que (happier than) El más feliz (the happiest)
Menos feliz que (less happy than) El menos feliz (the least happy)
Tan rico como (as or so rich as)
EXAMPLES
  • Mi tío es más pobre que su hermano: My uncle is poorer than his brother.
  • Su mujer es menos rica que él: His wife is less rich than he.
  • Soy tan feliz como V.: I am as happy as you.
  • No es tan amable como su primo: He is not so amiable as his cousin.

Superlative Absolute.

EXAMPLES

  • Muy largo: Very long. Muy corto: Very short.

Another way to form the Superlative Absolute[1] is by adding ísimo
instead of using muy. If the adjective ends in a vowel, this is elided
before adding ísimo.

EXAMPLES

  • Estas frutas son muy maduras: These fruits are very ripe.
  • Estas frutas son madurísimas: These fruits are very ripe indeed.
  • Estos tenderos son muy ricos: These shopkeepers are very rich.
  • Aquellos son riquísimos: Those (others) are very rich indeed.

Before adding ísimo, adjectives ending in

ble change it into bil, as Amable, amabilísimo.
co change it into qu, as Rico, riquísimo.
go change it into gu, as Largo, larguísimo.

Adjectives of more than three syllables ending in ble, adjectives
ending in two vowels, or in one vowel accented, should always take muy
and not add ísimo for the Superlative Absolute.

Besides the regular forms of the Comparative and Superlative degrees,
there are the following irregular forms:

  • Mejor (better)
  • Óptimo (very good or best)
  • Peor (worse)
  • Pésimo (very bad or worst)
  • Mayor (larger)
  • Máximo (very large or largest)
  • Menor (smaller)
  • Mínimo (very small or smallest)
  • Superior (higher)
  • Supremo (very high or highest)
  • Inferior (lower)
  • Ínfimo (very low or lowest)
Footnote 1: More rarely used and much more emphatic.






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