How to Solve Degrees of Comparison Common Errors

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Degrees of Comparison Common Errors

You must often find yourself confused when it comes to degrees of comparison? DO you find it hard to decide when to use positive degree, comparative degree, or superlative degree? Is it frustrating? or are there worse questions than this in grammar? If yes, then fear not! Here, we are giving you a lesson on basics of degrees of comparison. Here you will learn to spot common error in degrees of comparison and correct them like a professional!

TALKING DEGREES OF COMPARISON

Few of our friends had a meetup at a place to catch up with each other’s lives. We were discussing about each other’s lives when some of my friends compared her previous colleagues with her current ones.

She said, “The people in my new office are way more friendlier than the people at my old office.”

One of my other friends chipped in, “Are they offering you a good salary than before?”

She replied, “Yes. They definitely are. The best part is I learn to use my time more effectively than at my previous work.

Above simple conversation can be easily used to identify errors people are prone to make while using degrese of comparison. Its really very easy to identify degrees of comparison. While we talk about only one thing, we are talking about positive degree. While we compare between two things we use comparative degree. While we compare something with all the other things, then we use degrees like best and worst, such type of comparison is called superlative degree.

SPOTTING EXTRA REDUNDANCIES!

Let us now find out the errors in the conversation given above.

Even though the first sentence seems correct, it is not. Since she is comparing two things, she has used the comparative degree of comparison; but she has incorrectly used ‘more’. The adjective ‘friendlier’ is already in the comparative form so it doesn’t need an additional ‘more’ before it.

‘More’ and ‘most’ is used in the comparative and superlative degree of comparison respectively when the rule of applying ‘er’ or ‘ier’ and ‘est’ or ‘iest’ does not apply.

Usually, when the word is too long (three or more syllables), the word takes ‘more’ and ‘most’ in its comparative and superlative degrees. Then do not add ‘er’, ‘ier’, ‘est’ or ‘iest’ at its end.

Eg: The palace we visited at Udaipur was more splendid than this palace.

IRREGULAR FORMS

In the second sentence, ‘as before’ implies there is a comparison between two timeframes – now and before. Thus, it should have been a ‘better salary’. Why not ‘gooder’? Or ‘more good’?

Because, some words follow an irregular pattern.

Here are some examples:

1. Good- Better- Best
2. Many/Much- More- Most
3. Bad/Ill- Worse- Worst
4. Far- Farther- Farthest (talking about distance)
5. Far- Further- Furthest (talking about achievements)
6. Old- Elder- Eldest (talking about blood relatives)
7. Old- Older- Oldest (talking about others)
8. Little- Less- Least
9. Late- Later- Latest (talking about an event)
10. Late- Latter- Last (talking about a person or object)

USING WITH ADVERBS – IT’S OKAY!

In the third sentence, the thing to be observed is that even though ‘effectively’ is an adverb it is being used in the comparative degree.

The aim is to indicate that the degree of comparison can be used for adverbs as well.

SWITCHING DEGREES

We can interchange the degrees of comparison by keeping the meaning of the sentence same.

Let us take the example of the previous sentence:

The palace we visited at Udaipur was more splendid than this palace.

Originally in comparative degree, let us change it to the positive degree.

This palace is not as splendid as the palace we visited at Udaipur. (Positive degree)

Another example:

This is the easiest way to learn degrees of comparison. (Superlative degree)

There is no other way as easy as this one to learn degrees of comparison. (Positive degree)

This way is easier than any other way to learn degrees of comparison. (Comparative degree)

The only way to master correct usage of degrees of comparison is reading and practising converting sentences from one degree to another. This way you can spot errors more easily in degrees of comparison.

Thanks,

Team GovernmentAdda

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