Comparative and Superlative Adverbs

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May 8, 2024

Mastering Comparative and Superlative Adverbs with Adverb Examples

What do we really know about adverbs apart from them being those protean words that add flavor to our verbs, adjectives, and indeed other adverbs. Let us take a moment, and dive deep into relative adverbs and superlative adverbs, which take descriptions to the coming position by expressing different degrees of comparisons.

Adverbs Examples: The Concept

Before we jump into comparisons, here is a quick refresher on what they are with easy-to-understand with adverbs examples.

Adverbs are words that modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. They answer questions like "how," "when," "where," "why," "to what degree," and "in what manner." Here are some examples:

Verb: She walks (how?) slowly.

Adjective: The soup was extremely (to what degree?) hot.

Another adverb: She arrived rather (to what degree?) late.

Is 'The' an Adverb? Deciphering Facts!

It is crucial to distinguish adverbs from other parts of speech, especially the definite article "the." While "the" can sometimes appear before an adverbial phrase (e.g., "We ate the whole cake quickly"), "the" itself isn't an adverb.

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Conjunctive Adverbs, A More Advanced Stage

When we make comparisons, it is important to also keep in mind conjunctive adverbs. These adverbs link clauses and show a connection between them.

Original text: "The company is currently facing financial difficulties due to a global economic downturn."
Paraphrased text: "The company is currently experiencing financial challenges as a result of a worldwide economic decline.")

Comparative Adverbs Relationship

comparative and superlative adverbs, superseed descriptions by showcasing different aspects and degrees of comparison.

When one uses superlative and comparison adjectives together they can make their writing and articulation levels clearer. Here are some examples:

Original: The pizza was good.

With comparative adverb: The pizza was more delicious than I expected.

Original: John is a hard worker.

With superlative adverb: John works hardest out of all his colleagues.

Examples, Examples, Everywhere!

Let's see more examples in action:

She arrived earlier today (comparative adverb).

Michael is the tallest person in his class (superlative adverb).

They danced enthusiastically (adverb modifying a verb).

However, they got tired quickly (conjunctive adverb with comparative adverb).

To conclude, comparative adverbs are utilized for comparing two objects. They indicate the degree to which something is more (or less) in a particular manner. This is the process we use to create them:
To form the comparative of adverbs ending in -ly, simply add more before the adverb (e.g., She now speaks more clearly).
For one-syllable adverbs, just add -er to compare (e.g., She sings better than her friend).

FAQs:

Q1: Can I use "very" with a comparative adverb?

Ans: Generally, it's better to avoid using "very" with a comparative adverb because "more" already implies a higher degree.

Q2: What about adverbs with two syllables?

Ans: For adverbs with two syllables (and sometimes those with prefixes or suffixes), the preferred way to form the comparative and superlative is with "more" and "most" instead of adding "-er" and "-est."

Q3: What are adjectives?

Ans: Adjectives are words that enhance our verbs adjectives or even other adverbs at times.

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