THE COMPARISON OF ADVERBS

THE COMPARISON OF ADVERBS

There are three degrees of comparison of adverbs – the Positive, the Comparative, and the Superlative. The adverb forms its comparative and superlative by using –er and –est, and more and most. An adverb that ends in –ly, use the words such as more and most to form its comparative and superlative.

1: The one-syllable adverbs use-er in the comparative form, and -est in the superlative form.

ABSOLUTE	COMPARATIVE	SUPERLATIVE
early	earlier	earliest
fast	faster	fastest
hard	harder	hardest
high	higher	highest
late	later	latest
loud	louder	loudest
near	nearer	nearest
soon	sooner	soonest

2: Adverbs which end in -ly or have three or more syllables each form the comparative

with more and the superlative with most.

ABSOLUTE	COMPARATIVE	SUPERLATIVE
angrily	more angrily	most angrily
brightly	more brightly	most brightly
dimly	more dimly	most dimly
freely	more freely	most freely
gladly	more gladly	most gladly
heavily	more heavily	most heavily
loudly	more loudly	most loudly
quietly	more quietly	most quietly
sweetly	more sweetly	most sweetly
terribly	more terribly	most terribly

The comparative form is used to compare two things.

For examples:

We must not reach there later than 7 o’clock.

You speak more loudly than a loudspeaker.

Sirius shines more brightly than all the other stars.

The superlative form is used to compare three or more things.

For examples:

He arrived the earliest, so he had to wait for the others.

Why do you have to speak the most loudly of all at the meeting?

Of all the girls, your sister sang the most sweetly.

It is not correct to use –er and more together, or –est and most together.

For examples:

Incorrect: The tree is more taller than the giraffe.

Correct: The tree is taller than the giraffe.

Incorrect: This turkey is the most oldest in the farm.

Correct: This turkey is the oldest in the farm.

Some adverbs form the comparative and the superlative irregularly.

ABSOLUTE	COMPARATIVE	SUPERLATIVE
badly	worse (than)	worst (the)
far	farther	farthest
far	further	furthest
little	less	least
much/many	more	most
well	better	best

For examples:

Of the two teddy bears, which do you like better?

This has to be the farthest I have ever walked in my life.

Some adverbs have two forms which are used in different ways. One form ends in –ly while the other form doesn’t end in –ly (cheap and cheaply). Those that don’t end in –ly are the same as adjectives in spelling; for example, cheap is an adverb and it is also an adjective.

The following table lists the two forms.

cheap	cheaply
clean	cleanly
clear	clearly
close	closely
dear	dearly
deep	deeply
direct	directly
double	doubly
fair	fairly
fine	finely
firm	firmly
first	firstly
free	freely
hard	hardly
high	highly
last	lastly
late	lately
loud	loudly
low	lowly
near	nearly
quick	quickly
real	really
right	rightly
sharp	sharply
short	shortly
slow	slowly
strong	strongly
sure	surely
thin	thinly
tight	tightly
wide	widely
wrong	wrongly

MORE EXAMPLES ON “CHEAP/CHEAPLY - LAST/LASTLY”

These small pet frogs don't come cheap.

Grandpa sold his rare coins cheaply to his grandchildren.

Police believed the area of the front passenger seat had been washed clean to destroy evidence.

Their garden is cleanly maintained by keeping weeds under control.

We could hear the sickly neighbor coughing loud and clear in the middle of the night.

You must speak loudly and clearly when you speak to my grandfather.

The man followed so close behind me in the queue that I could feel his breathing on my neck.

Your questions not closely related to what we are talking here.

All the things that she held dear were destroyed in the fire.

After fifty years of marriage, grandpa still loved grandma dearly.

Once at the crowded airport, I felt someone’s hand thrust deep in my pocket.

He deeply regretted his decision to give all his money to charity.

We took a wrong bus that went direct in the opposite way.

In his new job, he reports directly to the boss who is his wife.

Look at the receipt! I was charged double for service charges.

We had a look again to be doubly sure of what we saw.

Many thought those cheats would have been losers if they had played fair.

She was fairly sure that her father kept a string of mistresses.

The mother and the quintuplets are all doing fine.

The onions must be finely chopped, please.

The tribe held firm to its belief that God was neither male nor female.

They grabbed hold of him and held him firmly until police arrived.

You pay me back the fifty dollars first before you want to borrow again.

Well, firstly I think it’s a made-up story of a mermaid appearing in the lake.

His barber friend gave him a haircut for free as he had little hair.

He freely admitted to his mother that he had escaped from the prison.

They ran as hard as they could from a knife-wielding man.

I hardly watch any television after my third television broke down.

The cat climbed high on the tree and was too scared to come down,

It appears her parents are highly suspicious of each other.

He was last seen entering the cave two weeks ago and must be assumed dead by now.

Lastly, I welcome you all to sing “Auld Lang Syne” with me.

MORE EXAMPLES ON "LATE/LATELY - WRONG/WRONGLY"

We mistook his children for his grandchildren, not knowing that he marrried late.

She developed a new habit of repeating herself lately.

Do you know you you talk loud enough for everyone to listen to what you say in this quiet restaurant?

She complained loudly to the waitress that her soup was too salty.

The hawk swooped low over the farm.

He left his lowly-paid job as a circus clown to become a successful clown trainer in another circus.

Don’t go near to that dying tree; it could be blown down by the strong wind.

The son is nearly as skinny as his father.

His little boy wants to grow up quick to be a gambling man.

We went home quickly when we were informed that the house was burglarized.

Each time I have a head ache, it hurts really bad.

Do you really expect me to believe that you saw ghosts fighting?

You guess right what she told me about you.

He pointed out, quite rightly, that she was overweight which she disagreed.

We started waiting at six o’clock sharp.

The police were sharply criticized for not stopping rioters from setting the police station on fire.

The boat trip was cut short when everyone complained of seasickness.

They had a big fight shortly after their marriage.

You had better drive slow as the muddy track is full of holes of all sizes.

You have got to speak slowly if you want me to understand what language you are using.

The underdog came on strong in the second half to score a goal.

He strongly denied calling the woman an ugly toothless old witch.

We sure are tired of listening to her whine.

Overeating is surely the main cause of his parents’ obesity.

I’m trying to cut the piece of meat as thin as possible with this blunt knife.

One of the clowns was fat, while the other was tall and thinly built.

Having a car to go to work will stop me being packed as tight as sardines on the bus.

She clutched her handbag tightly in one hand and had the other hand thrust into her pocket.

He opened his mouth wide for the doctor to look inside.

Can she say that she has travelled widely when she has been to only three countries?

My name was spelled wrong in the letter you sent me.

He was wrongly accused of adultery with several women.

Like the comparison of adjectives, adverbs have three degrees of comparison: the Positive, the Comparative, and the Superlative. Most adverbs end in –ly, and they form the Comparative with more and the superlative with most. The following table shows some of the adverbs ending in –ly.

The team played brilliantly against a stronger opponent. (Positive)

The team has to play more passionately to win more matches. (Comparative)

The team needs another striker in order to play most effectively. (Superlative)

angrily	more angrily	most angrily
anxiously	more anxiously	most anxiously
beautifully	more beautifully	most beautifully
bravely	more bravely	most bravely
brightly	more brightly	most brightly
busily	more busily	most busily
carefully	more carefully	most carefully
cheerfully	more cheerfully	most cheerfully
clearly	more clearly	most clearly
cleverly	more cleverly	most cleverly
comfortably	more comfortably	most comfortably
cowardly	more cowardly	most cowardly
cruelly	more cruelly	most cruelly
dearly	more dearly	most dearly
dimly	more dimly	most dimly
directly	more directly	most directly
easily	more easily	most easily
famously	more famously	most famously
fiercely	more fiercely	most fiercely
foolishly	more foolishly	most foolishly
freely	more freely	most freely
frequently	more frequently	most frequently
gladly	more gladly	most gladly
happily	more happily	most happily
hardly	more hardly	most hardly
heavily	more heavily	most heavily
horribly	horribly	most horribly
justly	more justly	most justly
kindly	more kindly	most kindly
lazily	more lazily	most lazily
lightly	more lightly	most lightly
loudly	more loudly	most loudly
mentally	more mentally	most mentally
merrily	more merrily	most merrily
morally	more morally	most morally
neatly	more neatly	most neatly
noisily	more noisily	most noisily
notoriously	more notoriously	most notoriously
patiently	more patiently	most patiently
pleasantly	more pleasantly	most pleasantly
politely	more politely	most politely
proudly	more proudly	most proudly
quickly	more quickly	most quickly
quietly	more quietly	most quietly
roughly	more roughly	most roughly
sadly	more sadly	most sadly
safely	more safely	most safely
silently	more silently	most silently
skillfully	more skillfully	most skillfully
slowly	more slowly	most slowly
soundly	more soundly	most soundly
strangely	more strangely	most strangely
strictly	more strictly	most strictly
sweetly	more sweetly	most sweetly
swiftly	more swiftly	most swiftly
terribly	more terribly	most terribly
violently	more violently	most violently
wastefully	more wastefully	most wastefully
wisely	more wisely	most wisely
wonderfully	more wonderfully	most wonderfully