quinta-feira, 18 de novembro de 2010

COMPARATIVOS E SUPERLATIVOS

                                      
Usamos o comparativo para comparar uma pessoa ou coisa com uma outra;
usamos o superlativo para comparar uma pessoa ou coisa com mais de uma outra.


Há três coisas que devemos lembrar quando falamos de comparativos e superlativos:


1 Adjetivos de uma sílaba;
2 adjetivos de duas sílabas
3 adjetivos de três ou mais sílabas.

       Comparativos

Uma sílaba: Adicionamos er para formar o compartivo da maioria dos adjetivos com uma sílaba:

Curitiba is smaller than Sao Paulo.
Curitiba é menor que São Paulo.

clean - cleaner
cold - colder
tall - taller

Note: Adjetivos como hot, big, fat, sad, wet (isto é, se os verbos forem formados por consoante, vogal, consoante - ou se terminarem com esta sequência), dobramos a consoante final:

hotter, bigger, fatter, sadder, wetter.

Duas sílabas com 'y' (heavy): Se o adjetivo tiver duas sílabas e terminar em 'y', trocamos o 'y' por 'i' e acrescentamos er:

Is an elephant heavier than a horse?
Um elefante é mais pesado que um cavalo?

busy - busier
pretty - prettier
noizy - noisier

Note: Se o adjetivo tiver duas sílabas e não terminar com 'y', seguiremos a regra das três sílabas, como segue abaixo:

Três ou mais sílabas: Usamos more antes de adjetivos com três sílabas ou mais:

This car is more comfortable than that one.
Este carro é mais confortável que alquele.

expensive - more expensive
beautiful - more beautiful
handsome - more handsome
upset - more upset (duas sílabas não terminando com 'y')
boring - more boring (duas sílabas não terimando com 'y')

Note: Com alguns adjetivos de duas sílabas como (clever, common, narrow, pleasant, quiet, simple, stupid) podemos usar as duas formas:

cleverer ou more clever
commoner ou more common etc

Superlativos

Uma sílaba: Formamos o superlativo acrescentando est no adjetivo:

I have the smallest car.
Eu tenho o menor carro (de todos).

clean - cleanest
cold - coldest
tall - tallest

Duas sílabas com 'y' (heavy): Se o adjetivo tiver duas sílabas e terminar em 'y', trocamos o 'y' por 'i' e acrescentamos est:

He is the heaviest
Ele é o mais pesado (de todos)

busy - busiest
pretty - prettiest
noizy - noisiest

Três ou mias sílabas: usamos most antes de adjetivos com três ou mais sílabas:

Who has the most comfortable car?
Quem tem o carro mais confortável? (de todos)

expensive - most expensive
beautivul - the most beautiful
handsome – the most handsome

Irregular comparatives:

bad worse the worst
far farther the farthest
good better the best
Little less the least
Much, many more the most


Compare:

He has the most money = Ele é quem tem mais dinheiro.
She has the least money = Ela é quem tem menos dinheiro.

I hope that helps!

Forming Comparative and Superlative Adjectives
One-syllable adjectives.
Form the comparative and superlative forms of a one-syllable adjective by adding –er for the comparative form and –est for the superlative.
One-Syllable Adjective
Comparative Form
Superlative Form
tall
taller
The tallest
old
older
The oldest
long
Longer
The longest

Mary is taller than Max.
Mary is the tallest of all the students.
Max is older than John.
Of the three students, Max is the oldest.
My hair is longer than your hair.
Max's story is the longest story I've ever heard.
If the one-syllable adjective ends with an e, just add –r for the comparative form and –st for the superlative form.
One-Syllable Adjective with Final -e
Comparative Form
Superlative Form
large
larger
The largest
wise
wiser
The wisest
Mary's car is larger than Max's car.
Mary's house is the tallest of all the houses on the block.
Max is wiser than his brother.
Max is the wisest person I know.

If the one-syllable adjective ends with a single consonant with a vowel before it, double the consonant and add –er for the comparative form; and double the consonant and add –est for the superlative form.
One-Syllable Adjective Ending with a Single Consonant with a Single Vowel before It
Comparative Form
Superlative Form
big
bigger
The biggest
thin
thinner
The thinnest
fat
fatter
The fattest
My dog is bigger than your dog.
My dog is the biggest of all the dogs in the neighborhood.
Max is thinner than John.
Of all the students in the class, Max is the thinnest.
My mother is fatter than your mother.
Mary is the fattest person I've ever seen.

Two-syllable adjectives.
With most two-syllable adjectives, you form the comparative with more and the superlative with most.
Two-Syllable Adjective
Comparative Form
Superlative Form
peaceful
more peaceful
The most peaceful
pleasant
more pleasant
The most pleasant
careful
more careful
The most careful
thoughtful
more thoughtful
The most thoughtful

This morning is more peaceful than yesterday morning.
Max's house in the mountains is the most peaceful in the world.
Max is more careful than Mike.
Of all the taxi drivers, Jack is the most careful.
Jill is more thoughtful than your sister.
Mary is the most thoughtful person I've ever met.
If the two-syllable adjectives ends with –y, change the y to i and add –er for the comparative form. For the superlative form change the y to i and add –est.

Two-Syllable Adjective Ending with -y
Comparative Form
Superlative Form
happy
happier
The happiest
angry
angrier
The angriest
busy
busier
The busiest

John is happier today than he was yesterday.
John is the happiest boy in the world.
Max is angrier than Mary.
Of all of John's victims, Max is the angriest.
Mary is busier than Max.
Mary is the busiest person I've ever met.

Two-syllable adjectives ending in –er, -le, or –ow take –er and –est to form the comparative and superlative forms.
Two-Syllable Adjective Ending with -er, -le, or -ow
Comparative Form
Superlative Form
narrow
narrower
narrowest
gentle
gentler
The gentlest
The roads in this town are narrower than the roads in the city.
This road is the narrowest of all the roads in California.
Big dogs are gentler than small dogs.
Of all the dogs in the world, English Mastiffs are the gentlest.
Adjectives with three or more syllables.
For adjectives with three syllables or more, you form the comparative with more and the superlative with most.

Adjective with Three or More Syllables
Comparative Form
Superlative Form
generous
more generous
The most generous
important
more important
The most important
intelligent
more intelligent
The most intelligent
John is more generous than Jack.
John is the most generous of all the people I know.
Health is more important than money.
Of all the people I know, Max is the most important.
Women are more intelligent than men.
Mary is the most intelligent person I've ever met.

Exceptions.
Irregular adjectives.
Irregular Adjective
Comparative Form
Superlative Form
good
Better                          the
best
bad
Worse                          the
worst
far
Farther                         the
farthest
little
Less                             the                                                   
least
many
More                            the
most
Italian food is better than American food.
My dog is the best dog in the world.
My mother's cooking is worse than your mother's cooking.
Of all the students in the class, Max is the worst.
Two-syllable adjectives that follow two rules. These adjectives can be used with -er and -est and with more and most.
Two-Syllable Adjective
Comparative Form
Superlative Form
clever
cleverer
The cleverest
clever
more clever
The most clever
gentle
gentler
The gentlest
gentle
more gentle
The most gentle
friendly
friendlier
The friendliest
friendly
more friendly
The most friendly
quiet
quieter
The quietest
quiet
more quiet
The most quiet
simple
simpler
The simplest
simple
more simple
The most simple
Big dogs are gentler than small dogs.
Of all the dogs in the world, English Mastiffs are the gentlest.
Big dogs are more gentle than small dogs.
Of all the dogs in the world

Comparatives adjectives
Adjectives of just one syllable form the comparative by adding "-er"
Brigth.. brighter
Clear…clearer
Fast….  Faster

If a one syllable adjective ends in "e", simply add "r":
Nice……nicer
Fine…….finer
Ripe……riper

For some adjectives, it is necessary to double the last letter before adding "-er". (For spelling: doubling letters, see next week's grammar question).
Big…. Bigger
Slim…slimmer
Flat…..flatter

All adjectives of three or more syllables form the comparative with "more ".
Beautiful….more beautiful
Comfortable…more comfortable
Typical….. more typical

Adjectives of two syllables are more complicated. To see which is the usual form you should see your dictionary. Most adjectives of two syllables form the comparative with "more":
Famous....more famous
Thankful... more thankful
Boring….more boring
Faithless… more faithless

However, some adjectives of two syllables form the comparative with "-er":
Those that end in "y", change the "y" to "i" and add "-er":
Happy...happier
Funny...funnier
Easy....easier

Those ending in a vowel-sound that is not stressed:
Yellow…..yellower
Simple….simpler
Tender….tender

In addition, there are some (common) irregular comparativeadjectives:
Good….better
Bad…worse
Far…farthet ou further
Little (quantity) … less
Much…more
Old… older ou elder

Fonte: 
For more information on comparative adjectives see the following web sites:
For a quiz on comparative adjectives, see:
 (Acesso em 10/11/2010) 

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