Comparative Adverbs

Like adjectives, some adverbs can express the three degrees of comparison: positive, comparative, and superlative. Below are examples of the positive, comparative, and superlative forms of some adverbs:

POSITIVE

soon
near
sweetly
early
slow
late
quick
fast
bright

COMPARATIVE

sooner
nearer
more sweetly
earlier
slower
later
quicker
faster
brighter

SUPERLATIVE

soonest
nearest
most sweetly
earliest
slowest
latest
quickest
fastest
brightest

Positive

The positive form of comparative adverbs describes an action without comparing it to anything. 

  • Kelly came late.
  • Jill will arrive soon.
  • William Houstoun died early.

Comparative

The comparative form compares the action of two people, places, or things.

  • Kelly came later than Amy.
  • Jill will arrive sooner than Jack.
  • Mr. Houstoun died earlier than Mr. Few.

Superlative

The superlative form of comparative adverbs compares the action of three or more people, places, or things.

  • Of the three, Kelly came latest.
  • Of the three, Jill will arrive soonest.
  • Of the three, Houstoun died earliest.

Examples 1

Choose the correct comparative adverb form for each sentence.

  1. Of the two boys, Jay laughed (harder, hardest).
  2. Of your many jokes, that one was (funnier, funniest).
  3. Of all choir members, Sergio sang (louder, loudest).
  4. Of the two delegates, William Houstoun served (long, longer, longest).
  5. Of all the Georgian delegates, William Leigh Pierce fought (hard, harder, hardest) for a stronger central government.

Solutions

  1. Of the two boys, Jay laughed harder.
  2. Of your many jokes, that one was funniest.
  3. Of all the choir members, Sergio sang loudest. (We use the superlative form since we are comparing more than two voices.)
  4. Of the two delegates, William Houstoun served longer. (We use the comparative form since there are two delegates.)
  5. Of all the Georgian delegates, William Leigh Pierce fought hardest for a stronger central government. (We use the superlative form since we are comparing more than two delegates.)

Forming Comparison Adverbs

We form comparison adverbs the same way we form comparison adjectives. How we create the comparative and superlative forms of an adverb depends on how the adverb appears in its positive form. There are two main categories to remember.

One-Syllable Adverbs

We create the comparative form of most one-syllable adverbs by adding er to the end of the word. The superlative form is created by adding est.

POSITIVE

late
soon
tall
long
hard
deep
close
high

COMPARATIVE

later
sooner
taller
longer
harder
deeper
closer
higher

SUPERLATIVE

latest
soonest
tallest
longest
hardest
deepest
closest
highest

Two-Syllable Adverbs

Most adverbs with two or more syllables don't have comparative or superlative forms. Instead, we put the word "more" (or "less") in front of the adverb to form the comparative, and the word "most" (or "least") to form the superlative.

POSITIVE

often

carefully

happily

slovenly

gracefully

elegantly

arrogantly

COMPARATIVE

more often
less often

more carefully
less carefully

more happily
less happily

more slovenly
less slovenly

more gracefully
less gracefully 

more elegantly
less elegantly 

more arrogantly
less arrogantly 

SUPERLATIVE

most often
least often

most carefully
least carefully

most happily
least happily

most slovenly
least slovenly

most gracefully
least gracefully

most elegantly
least elegantly

most arrogantly
least arrogantly

Since most adverbs are formed by adding the suffix -ly to an adjective, the rule above applies to most comparative adverbs.

Irregular Comparison Adverbs

Some adverbs have irregular comparative and superlative forms. We must learn these if we haven't already.

POSITIVE

little
good, well
badly
far
much, some

COMPARATIVE

less
better
worse
farther
more

SUPERLATIVE

least
best
worst
farthest
most

We check the dictionary if we are unsure how to create the comparative or superlative form of any adverb.

Examples 2

Complete the comparison chart by adding the comparative and superlative forms of each adverb.

POSITIVE

  1. far
  2. well
  3. sadly
  4. quietly
  5. much
  6. truthfully
  7. little
  8. lovingly
  9. honestly
  10. badly
  11. kindly

COMPARATIVE

____________
____________
____________
____________
____________
____________
____________
____________
____________
____________
____________

SUPERLATIVE

____________
____________
____________
____________
____________
____________
____________
____________
____________
____________
____________

Solutions

POSITIVE

  1. far
  2. well
  3. sadly
  4. quietly
  5. much
  6. truthfully
  7. little
  8. lovingly
  9. honestly
  10. badly
  11. kindly

COMPARATIVE

farther
better
more sadly
more quietly 
more
more truthfully
less
more lovingly
more honestly
worse
more kindly 

SUPERLATIVE

farthest
best
most sadly
most quietly
most
most truthfully
least
most lovingly
most honestly
worst
most kindly