Latin Grammar Comparison of Adjectives

Comparison of Adjectives  In English, adjectives have three degrees: 1. Positive degree—old 2. Comparative degree—older 3. Superlative degree—oldest  Compare:  new, newer, newest  ugly, uglier, ugliest  good, better best  beautiful, more beautiful, most beautiful

Positive, Comparative, and Superlative Degrees  Latin, too, has these degrees 1. longus 2. longior 3. longissimus  Compare:  altus, altior, altissimus  stultus, stultior, stultissimus  bonus, melior, optimus

Comparative Degree  longus, -a, -um = long  To make its comparative, put –ior on its stem: longior  Other examples:  stultus ➔ stultior  facilis ➔ facilior

Comparative Degree  The form in –ior is actually masculine and feminine.  The neuter ends in –ius.  So the full name of the comparative form is longior, longius (or longior, -ius)  Compare: stultior, stultius (stultior, -ius) facilior, facilius (facilior, -ius)

Declining Third Declension Adjectives. singularplural omnis omneomnēs omnia omnem omneomnīs omnia omnis omnium omnī omnibus omnī omnibus  You may remember that most third- declension adjectives are i-stems and have i-stem endings.

Declining Comparative Adjectives  Comparatives are third-declension, but they aren’t i-stems, so they use consonant stem endings. singularplural longior longiuslongiōrēs longiōra longiōrem longiōrelongiōrēs longiōra longiōris longiōrum longiōrī longiōribus longiōre longiōribus

Superlatives To make a superlative, add –issimus to the adjective stem. Examples: longus ➔ longissimus stultus ➔ stultissimus audāx ➔ audācissimus

Superlatives All adjectives whose first form ends in –er, oddly, add –rimus. Examples: pulcher ➔ pulcherrimus miser ➔ miserrimus celer ➔ celerrimus

Superlatives All a few adjectives that end in –ilis, like facilis and similis make their superlatives like so: Examples: facilis ➔ facillimus similis ➔ simillimus

Good News  Superlatives are easy to decline.  They all decline just like multus, -a, -um singularplural longissimuslongissimalongissimumlongissimīlongissimaelongissima longissimumlongissimamlongissimumlongissimōslongissimāslongissima longissimīlongissimaelongissimīlongissimōrumlongissimārumlongissimōrum longissimōlongissimaelongissimōlongissimīs longissimōlongissimālongissimōlongissimīs

Irregular Comparatives and Superlatives  Just as English has good, better, best and bad, worse, worst, Latin has some irregular adjectives. bonus, melior, optimus malus, peior, pessimus multus, plus, plūrimus magnus, maior, maximus

The End