AN INTRODUCTION TO ENGLISH GRAMMAR & LANGUAGE
6. Both very and much can be used before Superlative         13. Nearest / Next
Adjective.                                                       Nearest denotes distance ; and next denotes position.
          For example,                                           For example,
          Anil is the very best boy of his class.   —correct     Mumbai is the seaport nearest to Europe.
          Sekhar is much the best boy of our school.             Time’s shop is next to Police Station.
7. The same form of degree will be used before and
                                                                 My uncle lives in the next quarter.
after and
          For example,
                                                                                  FORMATION OF
          Ram is the best and tallest.         —Superlative
          Shyam is better and taller.         —Comparative         COMPARATIVE AND SUPERLATIVE DEGREE
          Indu is good and tall.                   —Positive     * Most Adjectives of one syllable, and some of more
8. Fewer/Less                                                than one, form their Comparative degree by adding -er and
          Fewer is used before countable noun while less is  the Superlative Degree by adding -e st to the Positive.
used before uncountable noun.                                     Positive         Comparative       Superlative
          For example,                                            Small            Smaller           Smallest
          No fewer than five persons died.                        Sweet            Sweeter           Sweetest
          No less than half of the work has been done.
                                                                  Tall             Taller            Tallest
9. Former/Latter/Later
     Former is used for the first out of two Latter is used       Bold             Bolder            Boldest
for the second out of two. And later is used for time.            Clever           Cleverer          Cleverest
     For example,                                                 Kind             Kinder            Kindest
     Of Ajay and Nikhil, the former is the more intelligent.      Young            Younger           Youngest
     Of iron and gold, the latter is the more precious.           Great            Greater           Greatest
     The death of Rajib was later than the death of Indira
                                                                  Old              Older             Oldest
10. Latest/Last
     Latest refer to time and, last refer to position.            * When the last letter in the Positive Degree ends in -
          For example,                                       e, only -r and -st are added to their Comparative and
                                                             Superlative degrees respectively.
          I have not heard the latest news.
          Can you say me the latest proceedings of the            Positive         Comparative       Superlative
meeting?                                                          Wise             Wiser             Wisest
          The last chapter is carelessly written.                 Noble            Nobler            Noblest
          Ours is the last house in the street.                   Able             Abler             Ablest
11. Elder/Older; Eldest/ Oldest
                                                                  Large            Larger            Largest
     Elder and eldest are used only of persons, confined to
members of the same family.                                       Brave            Braver            Bravest
     While, older and oldest are both used of persons and         White            Whiter            Whitest
things for the members of different families.                     Fine             Finer             Finest
          For example,                                            * When the Positive Form ends in -y, preceded by a
               John is my elder brother.                     consonant, the -y is changed into -i before adding -er and -
               Alter is my eldest son.                       east.
               My sister is elder to me.                          Positive         Comparative       Superlative
               Gandhi was older to Nehru.
                                                                  Happy            Happier           Happiest
               He is older than his sister.
               Harry is the oldest boy in the eleven.             Easy             Easier            Easiest
               This is the oldest temple in Calcutta.             Heavy            Heavier           Heaviest
     Again, old is used in all three degrees while elder is       Merry            Merrier           Merriest
used in Comparative and eldest in Superlative degree.             Wealthy          Wealthier         Wealthiest
     For example,                                                 * When the Positive Form is a word of one syllable
          Positive            Comparative     Superlative    and ends in a single consonant, preceded by a short vowel,
          old                 older           oldest         this consonant is doubled before adding -er and -east
          —                   elder           eldest
                                                                  Positive         Comparative       Superlative
12. Farther/Further
                                                                  Fat              Fatter            Fattest
     Farther means more distant one advanced, while
further means additional.                                         Sad              Sadder            Saddest
          For example,                                            Thin             Thinner           Thinnest
          Delhi is farther from the equator than Colombo.         Hot              Hotter            Hottest
          After this he made no further remarks.                  Big              Bigger            Biggest
          I must have a reply without further delay.
                                                                  Red              Redder            Reddest
                                                         SEE–32