A Quick Guide to Comparatives

Drawing comparisons is something that we all do quite frequently in our everyday lives. But have you ever thought about the type of language used to make such comparisons?

Comparative adjectives and adverbs are what we use to compare one individual or thing with another individual or thing. They allow us to say which individual or thing has more or less of a particular quality. Here are some features of comparative language.

1. We often use the word ‘than’ when we compare one person or thing with another.
   
   Examples:
   He’s taller than his brother.
   Dan is a better player than Christy.  
   
2. Sometimes we use double comparatives (i.e. use the comparative twice) along with the word ‘and’ to emphasise how someone or something changes.
   
   Examples:
   Questions get tougher and tougher as the test progresses.
   The investigation was getting more and more complicated.
   
3. When we wish to say that one thing depends on another, or that two things vary together, we use the word ‘the’ with comparative adjectives.
   
   Examples:
   The faster you drive, the riskier the journey up the mountain gets.
   The longer they walked, the thirstier they got.
   
4. It is possible to make comparatives sound stronger with the help of intensifiers, such as much, a lot, and far. Similarly, a group of words and phrases called mitigators (e.g. slightly, a bit, a little) can be used to make comparatives less strong.
   
   Examples:
   This watch is a lot more expensive than my last one.
   This film is far better than the one we saw last week.
   The task gets slightly easier if you use this tool.
   We have a train to catch, so can you please walk a bit more quickly?
   
5. Two common ways to form comparatives is by adding ‘-er’ or by adding the word ‘more’ in front of the adjective or adverb.
   
   Examples:
   She was taller than I had expected.
   We should get something cheaper than this one.
   We’d like to have equipment that is more advanced. 
   Can you please speak more quietly?

We’ll be back soon with another post on superlative forms.