Position of Comparative and Superlative in Sentences

Far abstract thing further furthest Far concrete thing farther farthest Old of age older Oldest Old of rank elder Eldest Double comparatives or superlatives where two forms of the comparative or superlative are found the difference of meaning or use may accompany difference of form: Farther, farthest used to notify physical objects distance. e.g. – From Bogor, Bandung is farther than Sukabumi - From Bogor, Ciamis is the farthest town is West Java Further, furthest used to notify any of abstract objects and to notify “the following matter” e.g. – I need further information from you soon. Elder, eldest used to notify seniority or maturity, not to notify level of „age‟. Therefore, they are often used to level family hierarchy. e.g. - Your elder sister is the oldest in our class. - They are twin sisters. The curly-haired one is the eldest. Word „elder‟ is never applied together with word „than‟ in comparison, for instance: “ He is older than me” Rather than : He is elder than me. 18 Older, oldest imply the qualities of age. 19

3. Position of Comparative and Superlative in Sentences

a. Equal comparison For an equal comparison, to talk about two or more things that are equal in some way, we use „as + adjective + as‟ 18 Rachmat Effendi P, Cara Mudah Menulis dan Menerjemahkan, Jakarta Pusat: Yayasan Bina Edukasi dan Konsultasi Hapsa et Studia, 2004, p.135. 19 James C. Fernald, English Grammar S implified….,p.68. e.g.: when Jack and Maria are the same height, - Jack is as tall as Maria. Jack and Maria are equally tall - Ron runs as good as Jimmy in the marathon For negative comparison, to talk about two or more things that are different in some way, we use „not as + adjective + as‟. e.g. - Maria is not as tall as Jack. - Jack is not as short as Maria. b. Comparative When comparing only two things, we use the comparison forms. Monosyllabic adjectives form their comparative by adding er to the positive degree. e.g.: big – bigger, short – shorter, good – better - The new room looks bigger than the old room. - Jill is shorter than Susan. - Jean sings better than Pat. Adjectives which have more than two syllables form their comparative by putting more in front of the adjective. e.g.: Beautiful – more beautiful, difficult – more difficult - Angel is more beautiful than Maryssa. - Mathematic is more difficult than Biology. c. Superlative When comparing more than two objects we use superlative forms. Monosyllabic adjectives form their superlative by adding est to the positive degree. e.g.: Big – bigger – biggest, small – smaller – smallest, Good – better – best. – Nick is the biggest of Jenny and Jack. - Luxembourg is the smallest of the countries of the European Union. - The director thinks she is the best singer in the musical show. Adjectives which have more than two syllables form their superlative by putting most in front of the adjective. e.g.: Handsome – more handsome – most handsome Important – more important – most important – Zaki is the most handsome of the three of his friends. - Education is the most important thing of everything. B. Picture

1. Meaning of Picture