The category of comparison

The category of comparison is constituted by the opposition of three forms

of the adjective: the positive, the comparative, and the superlative.

Some grammarians have expressed the view that there are only two degrees

of comparison. Otto Jespersen, for instance, argues that the positive degree cannot

be regarded as a degree of comparison as it does not convey the idea of

comparison.

According to A.I. Smirnitsky, the degrees of comparison include the positive

degree and the relative degree which is subdivided into the comparative and the

superlative degree.

There are three ways of forming degrees of comparison: synthetic, analytic,

and suppletive. The synthetic way of forming degrees of comparison is by the

inflections - er, -est; the analytic way, by placing more and most before the

adjective. The synthetic way is generally used with monosyllabic adjectives and

dissyllabic adjectives ending in -y, -ow, -er, -le and those which have the stress on

the last syllable. However, in the dissyllabic group we can observe radical changes:

adjectives formerly taking - er and - est are tending to go over to more and most,

e.g. more common, most common; more cloudy, most cloudy; more fussy, most

fussy; more cruel, most cruel; more quiet, most quiet; more clever, most clever;

more profound, most profound; more simple, most simple; more pleasant, most

pleasant – all these were normally compared with -er and -est before the WWII.

All this goes to show that English comparison is getting more and more analytic.

The question that linguists have been grappling with is: what is the linguistic

status of analytic forms? Are more and most adverbs of quantity (degree) or

grammatical word-morphemes? The problem is similar to the problem of the future

in English. At present linguists are divided on this question: some linguists (A. I.

Smirnitskyj, B. Khaimovich and B. Rogovskaya, B. Blokh) treat degrees of

comparison with more and most as analytic constructions proper while others (V.

N. Zhigadlo, L. S. Barkhudarov, D. A. Shteling,) treat them as free combinations

of adverbs and adjectives.

To analytic forms of comparison M. Blokh also attributes less/least

combinations. He calls them forms of reverse comparison. By the way, the forms

less, least are generally used as an argument against the treatment of more and

most as grammatical word-morphemes. So, for instance, B. Ilyish argues that if

less and least are not grammatical word morphemes, more and m o st are not

grammatical word-morphemes either.

As already pointed out, the third way of forming degrees of comparison is

by the use of suppletive forms: good _ better, best; bad _ worse, worst; far _

farther/further, farthest/furthest; little _ less, least; much/many _ more, most.

In discussing the category of comparison, linguists generally mention such

constructions as a most beautiful girl. This combination is a common means of

expressing elative evaluations of substance properties. The indefinite article has

nothing to do with comparison; it points to another problem, viz. the lexicalization

of superlative forms: most no longer marks the superlative degree; it has turned

into an adverb of degree whose meaning is the same as that of very.

Cf. also the best suit vs. a best suit; the best seller vs. a best-seller.

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