Writing Tips
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Index A
- a
- a- (1)
- a- (2)
- AB
- ab-
- abbreviations: acronyms and initialisms
- abbreviations: ampersand
- abbreviations: business terms and symbols
- abbreviations: capitals and hyphens
- abbreviations: corporate names
- abbreviations: days and months
- abbreviations: degrees and distinctions
- abbreviations: general guidelines
- abbreviations: geographical names
- abbreviations: imperial system
- abbreviations: International System of Units (SI)
- abbreviations: latitude and longitude
- abbreviations: military abbreviations
- abbreviations: monetary units
- abbreviations: netspeak
- abbreviations: number symbols
- abbreviations: parts of a book or document
- abbreviations: periods
- abbreviations: plurals
- abbreviations: scientific and technical terms
- abbreviations: time zones
- abbreviations: titles with personal names
- abeyance
- abide
- abide by
- about
- above-mentioned
- abreast
- absolutely essential
- absolute phrases
- abstain
- abstain from
- abstain in
- abstain on
- accede to
- accordance
- according to
- according to our records
- accord (of one’s own)
- accountable for
- accountable to
- accuracy
- accurate
- acquiesce in
- acquiesce to
- acquiesce with
- action verbs
- active voice
- act on
- act upon
- acu-
- addresses: official languages
- addresses on envelopes and parcels (Linguistic recommendation from the Translation Bureau)
- adequate amount of
- adequate number of
- adjective
- adjective clause
- adjective comparison
- ADT
- adverb clause
- adverb comparison
- adverbs
- adverse
- adverse to
- advice
- advise
- aero-
- a few
- affect
- Afghan
- afghani
- aforementioned
- Afro-
- after
- again
- ageing
- agenda
- agendas
- aggravate
- aging
- agreeable
- agree on
- agree to
- agree with
- agro-
- Alberta
- Albertan
- alliteration
- allo-
- all over again
- allow for
- allow to
- all ready
- all right
- all-time record
- all together
- allude
- allusion
- almost without exception
- along these lines
- already
- alright
- Alta.
- alternate(ly)
- alternative(ly)
- altogether
- alumna
- alumnus
- a.m.
- a mari usque ad mare
- ambi-
- American dollar (symbol) (Linguistic recommendation from the Translation Bureau)
- Americo-
- amount
- an-
- an
- an abundance of
- analyse
- analyze
- and
- and/or
- and so as a result
- Anglo-
- Anglophone
- anniversary
- answer for
- answer to
- ante-
- anti-
- anticipate
- anxious about
- anxious at
- anxious for
- anxious to
- any
- apostrophe: contractions
- apostrophe: plurals
- apostrophe: possession
- apparent
- appear
- appositives
- appraise
- apprise
- approval of
- approval to
- approve
- approve of
- approximately
- approximately about
- apt
- aqua-
- aqui-
- Arabo-
- arch-
- Armeno-
- Armistice Day
- around (1)
- around (2)
- as a consequence of
- as a matter of fact
- as a result of
- as a result of the fact that
- ascend
- ascent
- as far as
- aspire after
- aspire to
- as regards
- assent
- associate to
- associate with
- as soon as
- assume
- assure
- AST
- asterisk at end of sentence
- astro-
- as well as
- Atlantic Daylight Time
- Atlantic provinces
- Atlantic Standard Time
- attention
- attentive
- attentiveness
- at that point in time
- at the present time
- at this point in time
- at variance among
- at variance with
- audit and derived terms (Linguistic recommendation from the Translation Bureau)
- Austro-
- authentic
- autumn
- auxiliary verbs
- avenge
- averse to
- avocation
- awards
- aware of
- Azerbaijani
- Azeri
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Search and Functionalities Area
adjective comparison
An adjective is a word that modifies a noun or a pronoun. In English grammar, adjectives fall into the category called modifiers. (A modifier is a word that either describes or limits the meaning of the word it refers to.)
Adjective forms
Adjectives have three forms: positive, comparative and superlative.
The positive form is the adjective itself:
- Louise is tall.
- Eric is careful.
The comparative is used to compare two persons or things:
- Louise is taller than Jean-Marc.
- Eric is more careful than Jordan.
The superlative is used to compare three or more persons or things:
- Louise is the tallest person in her family.
- Eric is the most careful driver on our block.
Rules for forming the comparative and superlative
We add -er (for the comparative) or -est (for the superlative) to most adjectives that fall into the following groups:
- adjectives of one syllable
- fast, faster, fastest
- kind, kinder, kindest
- long, longer, longest
- adjectives of two syllables ending in -le
- noble, nobler, noblest
- subtle, subtler, subtlest
- adjectives of two syllables ending in -ow
- narrow, narrower, narrowest
- shallow, shallower, shallowest
- adjectives of two syllables ending in -y
- happy, happier, happiest
- merry, merrier, merriest
To form the comparative or superlative of most other adjectives, we put the words more or most in front of them:
- comparative: more agreeable, more secure, more reckless
- superlative: most agreeable, most secure, most reckless
Note: Some two-syllable adjectives can form their comparatives and superlatives using either form: cleverer or more clever, friendliest or most friendly. In addition to clever and friendly, common examples are gentle, lively, narrow, quiet, silly, simple.
Irregular comparative and superlative forms
The following table shows six common adjectives with irregular comparative and superlative forms:
Positive | Comparative | Superlative |
|---|---|---|
bad | worse | worst |
far | farther | farthest |
good | better | best |
little | less | least |
much | more | most |
many | more | most |
Mistakes to avoid in using comparative and superlative adjectives
The following guidelines will help you avoid the most common mistakes.
Don’t combine the two forms for the comparative or superlative. Use either more or -er (or most or -est), but not both:
- gentler or more gentle [not more gentler]
- cleverest or most clever [not most cleverest]
Don’t use the superlative when comparing only two persons or things:
- The larger of the two race cars was damaged. [not the largest]
- Anita is the livelier twin. [not the liveliest]
Don’t use comparative and superlative forms or intensifiers (very, quite, rather, etc.) with adjectives that express absolute ideas (complete, empty, essential, fatal, full, perfect, unique, etc.). Since absolutes have no degrees of comparison, they should not be intensified or compared.
- The accident was fatal. [not quite fatal]
- The Broccoli Bar is the perfect restaurant for vegans. [not the most perfect]
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