GRAMMAR COMPARATIVES AND SUPERLATIVES Comparative forms show the difference between two things. Superlatives are used when comparing three or more things. Comparative and superlative adjectives COMPARATIVE OF MAJORITY one-syllable words adjective + -er (than) My PC is faster than yours. SUPERLATIVE OF MAJORITY adjective + the -est (in/of) My PC is the fastest in the class. The final consonant doubles if preceded by a vowel. My PC is bigger than yours. My PC is the biggest in the class. two-syllable words ending in -y remove y and add -ier to the adjective IT is easier than Maths. remove y and add the -iest to the adjective IT is the easiest subject for me. two or more-syllable words more + adjective Public key encryption is more secure than private key encryption. the most + adjective Cryptography is the most secure system to protect data. better worse farther, further less more For me, Trojan horses are worse than viruses. the best the worst the farthest, the furthest the least the most For me, identity theft is the worst type of malware. irregular adjectives good bad far little much When we want to say that people or things are equal in some way, we use as as. Worms are as dangerous as viruses. After not, we can also use so as instead of as as. Private key encryption is not so secure as public key encryption. Comparatives can be intensified with the addition of adverbs such as much/far/a lot or a bit/a little in front of the comparative adjective. My computer is much/far/a lot faster than yours. My laptop is a bit/a little bigger than yours. Comparative adverbs Add the word more before the adverb. A virus infects a computer more quickly than a Trojan horse. There are some exceptions: adverbs not ending in -ly such as soon, fast, early and hard take the suffix -er. My computer runs faster than yours. irregular adverbs such as well which becomes better, and far which becomes farther/further. My PC works better than yours. With my old computer, I can go no farther. 272 Module 6 DEBUGGING