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When you can't make comparatives and what modifiers to use

(Bit dull in the middle, but it's clear and useful so keep going)

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Adjectives are words that describe the qualities of something. Some adjectives in English are gradable - that means you can have different degrees or levels of that quality. For example, the weather can be a little cold, rather cold, very cold, or extremely cold.

Extreme adjectives or non-gradable adjectives are words that mean "extremely + adjective" - for example, "freezing" means "extremely cold." The weather can't be "a little bit freezing" or "very freezing" - because the word "freezing" itself automatically means "extremely cold."

Regular & Extreme Adjectives List

Special Rules for Extreme Adjectives

1) No comparatives/superlatives.

With regular adjectives, we can use comparatives and superlatives to compare two or more things:

My neighbor's house is bigger than mine.
(comparative)

My parents' house is the biggest house on the street.
(superlative)

With extreme adjectives, we don't use comparatives and superlatives:

My parents' house is enormous.

My parents' house is more enormous / the most enormous.

2) Use different adverbs with extreme adjectives.

With regular adjectives, we can use these adverbs:

a little, a bit, slightly, fairly, rather

very, extremely, immensely, intensely, hugely

Examples:

With extreme adjectives, we CANNOT use these adverbs:

However, there are other adverbs we can use to give additional emphasis to the extreme adjective:

Examples:

The words pretty and really can be used with both regular and extreme adjectives:

This room is pretty dirty. (regular)

This room is pretty filthy. (extreme)

The party is really crowded. (regular)

The party is really packed. (extreme)

Absolute Adjectives

Another type of extreme adjective is called an "absolute" adjective.

These are words that are either "yes or no." For example, dead - you can't be "a little bit dead" or "very dead" - either YES, you are dead, or NO, you're not dead.

Here's a list of absolute adjectives and their opposites (this list is not complete; it only shows some examples):

You might hear expressions like these in spoken English:

These sentences are not technically correct, because we shouldn't use the words "very" or "more" with absolute adjectives - but native speakers don't always follow the rules!

Now you can take the quizzes to test your knowledge of extreme adjectives:

Quiz: Extreme Adjectives in English

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Choose the correct extreme adjective to complete each sentence.

Your answers are highlighted below.

Quiz: Adverbs with Extreme Adjectives

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Decide whether the adverb-adjective combination is correct or incorrect.

Your answers are highlighted below.

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Adjectives are words that describe the qualities of something. Some adjectives in English are gradable - that means you can have different degrees or levels of that quality. For example, the weather can be a little cold, rather cold, very cold, or extremely cold.

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Clear text explanation and a quiz

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LY Adverbs.

With LY adverbs (adverbs formed from adjectives by adding -ly to the end) we form the comparative and superlative forms with more and most.

Jeff works more quietly than Steve does.

Jeff works the most quietly of all the students.

Mary drives more carefully than John does.

Of the three drivers, Mary drives the most carefully.

Steve works more happily than he used to.

Mary sings the most happily of all the girls in the group.

Other Adverbs.

For adverbs which retain the same form as the adjective form, we add -er to form the comparative and -est to form the superlative.

Please work harder.

Steve works the hardest.

Mary runs faster than John does.

Mary runs the fastest of all the runners on the team.

Steve gets to work earlier than I do.

Steve gets to work the earliest of all.

Irregular Adverbs.

John plays tennis better than Jack does.

On our tennis team, John plays tennis the best.

I did worse on the test than Bart did.

On that test, I did the worst in the class.

My paper airplane flew farther than yours did.

My paper airplane flew the farthest of all.

Test your knowledge

Directions: Choose the best answer. (10 problems)

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Forming Comparative and Superlative Adverbs

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With LY adverbs (adverbs formed from adjectives by adding -ly to the end) we form the comparative and superlative forms with more and most. Jeff works more quietly than Steve does. Jeff works the most quietly of all the students. Mary drives more carefully than John does.

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very short and visual

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When do we use bored and when do we use boring? "I'm bored" "I'm boring" When do we use interested and when do we use interesting? "I'm interested, I'm interesting" When do we use scared and when do we use scary? "I'm scared, I'm scary" When do we use excited and when do we use exciting?

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relating to adjectives and adverbs

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answers to questions about adjectives and adverbs

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Answers to questions about adjectives and adverbs

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A more user friendly explanation for adverbs v adjectives

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Rule based explanation. Bit heavy but quite logical.

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Definitions

An adjective is a word or set of words that modifies (i.e., describes) a noun or pronoun. Adjectives may come before the word they modify.

Adjectives may also follow the word they modify:

An adverb is a word or set of words that modifies verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. Adverbs answer how, when, where, why, or to what extent-how often or how much (e.g., daily, completely).

Many adverbs end in -ly, but many do not. Generally, if a word can have -ly added to its adjective form, place it there to form an adverb.

Adverbs that answer the question how sometimes cause grammatical problems. It can be a challenge to determine if -ly should be attached. Avoid the trap of -ly with linking verbs such as taste, smell, look, feel, which pertain to the senses. Adverbs are often misplaced in such sentences, which require adjectives instead.

Roses smell sweet/sweetly.
Do the roses actively smell with noses? No; in this case, smell is a linking verb-which requires an adjective to modify roses-so no -ly.

The woman looked angry/angrily to us.
Did the woman look with her eyes, or are we describing her appearance? We are describing her appearance (she appeared angry), so no-ly.

The woman looked angry/angrily at the paint splotches.
Here the woman actively looked (used her eyes), so the-ly is added.

She feels bad/badly about the news.
She is not feeling with fingers, so no-ly.

The word good is an adjective, whose adverb equivalent is well.

You did a good job.
Good describes the job.

You did the job well.
Well answers how.

You smell good today.
Good describes your fragrance, not how you smell with your nose, so using the adjective is correct.

You smell well for someone with a cold.
You are actively smelling with your nose here, so use the adverb.

The word well can be an adjective, too. When referring to health, we often use well rather than good.

Adjectives come in three forms, also called degrees. An adjective in its normal or usual form is called a positive degree adjective. There are also the comparative and superlative degrees, which are used for comparison, as in the following examples:

A common error in using adjectives and adverbs arises from using the wrong form of comparison. To compare two things, always use a comparative adjective:

She is the cleverer of the two women (never cleverest)

The word cleverest is what is called the superlative form of clever. Use it only when comparing three or more things:

Chocolate or vanilla: which do you like best?

Chocolate or vanilla: which do you like better?

There are also three degrees of adverbs. In formal usage, do not drop the -ly from an adverb when using the comparative form.

She spoke quicker than he did.

When this, that, these, and those are followed by a noun, they are adjectives. When they appear without a noun following them, they are pronouns.

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An adjective is a word or set of words that modifies (i.e., describes) a noun or pronoun. Adjectives may come before the word they modify. Adjectives may also follow the word they modify: An adverb is a word or set of words that modifies verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs.

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ed- ing audio explanation

and grammar challenge

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BBC World Service | Learning English | Grammar Challenge

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Every week, a different student takes our grammar challenge. A continuing online course with quizzes, downloads and grammar tables.

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and superlatives...

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Quiz: 'Comparatives and Superlatives' - Online Language Quiz - UsingEnglish.com

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English quiz about 'Comparatives and Superlatives'. This free beginner grammar test includes quiz answers & results. No sign-up required.

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Light-hearted cartoon from Learn English

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Essa é uma da Grammar Snacks,vídeos que ensinam Gramática de um modo Divertido e fácil. Créditos ao site British Council. Visite: http://www.englishininternet.tk/

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Review the comparative and superlative rules