Adverbs: Comparative & Superlative

Rule

In general, comparative and superlative forms of adverbs are the same as for adjectives:

·                       add -er or -est to short adverbs:

Adverb	Comparative	Superlative
hard late fast	harder later  faster	the hardest the latest  the fastest

Example:

·                       Jim works harder than his brother.

·                       Everyone in the race ran fast, but John ran the fastest of all.

Rule

With adverbs ending in -ly, use more for the comparative and most for the superlative:

Adverb	Comparative	Superlative
quietly slowly seriously	more quietly more slowly more seriously	most quietly most slowly most seriously

Example:

·                       The teacher spoke more slowly to help us to understand.

·                       Could you sing more quietly please?

Rule

Some adverbs have irregular comparative forms:

Adverb	Comparative	Superlative
badly far little well	worse farther/further less better	worst farthest/furthest least best

Example:

·                       The little boy ran further than his friends.

·                       You're driving worse today than yesterday !

BE CAREFUL! Sometimes 'most' can mean 'very':

·                       We were most grateful for your help

·                       I am most impressed by this application.

Teacher Anna Sophia