Degrees of Comparison (Positive, Comparative, Superlative)
Degrees of Comparison (Positive, Comparative, Superlative) MCQ Questions
13.
Which of the following is in superlative degree?
C.
The bus is the fastest
ANSWER :
C. The bus is the fastest
Approach
This question tests knowledge of degrees of adjectives: positive, comparative, and superlative. We need to identify the sentence that uses an adjective in its superlative form.
Step-by-step
- Understand Degrees of Adjectives: Adjectives describe nouns and can show different degrees of intensity or comparison.
- Positive Degree: Describes a quality without comparison (e.g., fast).
- Comparative Degree: Compares two things (e.g., faster, more beautiful). It usually ends in '-er' or uses 'more' before the adjective.
- Superlative Degree: Compares three or more things and indicates the highest or lowest degree of a quality (e.g., fastest, most beautiful). It usually ends in '-est' or uses 'most' before the adjective, and is often preceded by 'the'.
- Analyze the Options:
- A) "The bus is fast" uses the positive degree.
- B) "The bus is faster" uses the comparative degree.
- C) "The bus is the fastest" uses the superlative degree, indicated by 'the' and the '-est' ending.
- D) "The bus is more fast" is grammatically incorrect for the adjective 'fast'. The comparative form of 'fast' is 'faster', not 'more fast'.
- Identify the Superlative: Based on the analysis, option C correctly uses the superlative degree.
Correct Option: C) The bus is the fastest
Incorrect Options
- A) The bus is fast — This uses the positive degree of the adjective 'fast'. It simply describes the bus without comparing it to anything else.
- B) The bus is faster — This uses the comparative degree of the adjective 'fast'. It implies a comparison between this bus and at least one other bus (e.g., faster than another bus).
- D) The bus is more fast — This is grammatically incorrect. For single-syllable adjectives like 'fast', the comparative form is typically made by adding '-er' (faster), not by using 'more'. 'More fast' is not standard English usage.
14.
"She is as tall as her sister." This sentence is in ___.
Approach
This question tests knowledge of degrees of comparison in English grammar. We need to identify which degree of comparison (positive, comparative, or superlative) is used in the given sentence.
Step-by-step
- Understand Degrees of Comparison: Adjectives and adverbs have three degrees of comparison:
- Positive Degree: Used when no comparison is made, or when two things are equal. It describes a quality without comparing it to others.
- Comparative Degree: Used to compare two things. It typically uses '-er' endings or words like 'more'/'less'.
- Superlative Degree: Used to compare three or more things, indicating the highest or lowest degree of a quality. It typically uses '-est' endings or words like 'most'/'least'.
- Analyze the Sentence: The sentence is "She is as tall as her sister."
- Identify Keywords: The phrase "as tall as" is a key indicator. This construction is used to show equality between two subjects regarding a particular quality.
- Relate to Degrees of Comparison: When two things are equal in a quality, the positive degree of the adjective is used, often framed with "as...as". In this case, 'tall' is the positive degree of the adjective.
Correct Option: A) Positive — The sentence "She is as tall as her sister" uses the structure "as + adjective (positive degree) + as" to indicate that the two individuals (she and her sister) are equal in height. Therefore, it is in the positive degree of comparison.
Incorrect Options
- B) Comparative — The comparative degree would involve comparing two subjects where one possesses more or less of a quality than the other (e.g., "She is taller than her sister"). This is not the case here.
- C) Superlative — The superlative degree would involve comparing three or more subjects, indicating the highest degree of a quality (e.g., "She is the tallest of all her sisters"). This is not the case here.
- D) Negative — While the sentence is affirmative, the term 'negative' in the context of degrees of comparison refers to the absence of a quality or a comparison indicating less of a quality, often using 'not as...as' or 'less than'. The given sentence expresses equality, not negativity.
15.
Select the positive degree:
Approach
This question tests knowledge of degrees of adjectives in English grammar. Adjectives have three degrees: positive, comparative, and superlative. The task is to identify the positive degree among the given options.
Step-by-step
- Understand Degrees of Adjectives:
- The positive degree is the simple form of the adjective, used to describe a quality without comparison (e.g., clever, tall, beautiful).
- The comparative degree is used to compare two things (e.g., cleverer, taller, more beautiful).
- The superlative degree is used to compare three or more things and indicates the highest degree of a quality (e.g., cleverest, tallest, most beautiful).
- Analyze the Options:
- A) Clever: This is the base form of the adjective, describing a quality without comparison.
- B) Cleverer: This form ends in "-er," indicating a comparison between two entities.
- C) Cleverest: This form ends in "-est," indicating the highest degree among three or more entities.
- D) Most clever: This is an alternative way to form the superlative degree for some adjectives, also indicating the highest degree.
- Identify the Positive Degree: Based on the definitions, "Clever" is the positive degree.
Correct Option: A) Clever is the positive degree of the adjective, indicating a quality without comparison.
Incorrect Options
- B) Cleverer — This is the comparative degree, used to compare two people or things.
- C) Cleverest — This is the superlative degree, used to compare three or more people or things and indicate the highest degree.
- D) Most clever — This is also a form of the superlative degree, used for adjectives that do not typically take "-est" or as an alternative for emphasis.
16.
"He is one of the ___ players."
Approach
The question requires identifying the correct degree of comparison for the adjective "good" to complete the sentence. The phrase "one of the" indicates that we are referring to a superlative degree, comparing the subject to a group of similar items.
Step-by-step
- Analyze the sentence structure: The sentence begins with "He is one of the...". The phrase "one of the" is a key indicator.
- Understand degrees of comparison: Adjectives have three degrees of comparison:
- Positive degree: Describes a quality without comparison (e.g., good).
- Comparative degree: Compares two items (e.g., better).
- Superlative degree: Compares three or more items and indicates the highest or lowest degree of a quality (e.g., best).
- Apply to the context: The phrase "one of the" implies that the person being referred to is part of a group and possesses the quality to the highest degree among that group. Therefore, a superlative adjective is required.
- Identify the superlative form of "good": The superlative form of the irregular adjective "good" is "best".
- Complete the sentence: "He is one of the best players."
Correct Option: C) best — The phrase "one of the" necessitates the use of a superlative adjective. "Best" is the superlative form of "good", correctly indicating that he is among the top players.
Incorrect Options
- A) good — This is the positive degree of the adjective. It is used for simple description without comparison. The sentence structure "one of the" requires a comparison to a group, making "good" inappropriate.
- B) better — This is the comparative degree of the adjective, used when comparing two items (e.g., "He is better than that player"). The sentence implies comparison within a larger group, not just two individuals.
- D) more good — This is an incorrect formation. For most one-syllable adjectives and some two-syllable adjectives, the comparative and superlative forms are created by adding "-er" and "-est" (e.g., good, better, best). "More good" is grammatically incorrect; the correct comparative is "better".
17.
Choose the correct comparative of "beautiful".
ANSWER :
B. More beautiful
Approach
This question tests knowledge of degrees of adjectives, specifically how to form the comparative degree for multi-syllabic adjectives.
Step-by-step
- Understand Degrees of Adjectives: Adjectives have three degrees: positive (e.g., beautiful), comparative (used to compare two things), and superlative (used to compare three or more things).
- Identify the Adjective Type: The word "beautiful" is a multi-syllabic adjective (beau-ti-ful, three syllables).
- Recall Rules for Comparative Forms:
- For most one-syllable adjectives, add "-er" (e.g., tall - taller).
- For some two-syllable adjectives ending in -y, change -y to -i and add "-er" (e.g., happy - happier).
- For most two-syllable adjectives not ending in -y, and all adjectives with three or more syllables, use "more" before the adjective to form the comparative degree.
- Apply the Rule to "beautiful": Since "beautiful" has three syllables, its comparative form is created by adding "more" before it.
Correct Option: B) More beautiful
Incorrect Options
- A) Beautifuller — This is incorrect because "beautiful" is a multi-syllabic adjective, and we do not add "-er" to such words.
- C) Most beautiful — This is the superlative degree of "beautiful," used when comparing three or more items, not two.
- D) Beautifulest — This is an incorrect formation. We do not add "-est" to multi-syllabic adjectives to form the superlative, nor is it the correct comparative form.
18.
Which word is the superlative degree of "far"?
Approach
This question tests knowledge of degrees of adjectives, specifically the superlative form of irregular adjectives. We need to identify the correct superlative form of "far".
Step-by-step
- Adjectives have three degrees: positive, comparative, and superlative.
- The positive degree describes a quality (e.g., far).
- The comparative degree compares two things (e.g., farther/further).
- The superlative degree compares three or more things and indicates the highest degree of a quality (e.g., farthest/furthest).
- The adjective "far" is irregular and has two superlative forms: "farthest" and "furthest".
- "Farthest" is used to refer to physical distance.
- "Furthest" is used to refer to metaphorical or abstract distance, or an additional extent.
- Since the question simply asks for the superlative degree of "far" without specifying context, both "farthest" and "furthest" are grammatically correct superlative forms. However, in standard usage, "farthest" is more commonly associated with physical distance, which is the primary meaning of "far". Both are generally accepted as superlatives of "far".
- Among the given options, both "Furthest" and "Farthest" are present. In competitive exams, if both are given, "Farthest" is often considered the primary superlative for physical distance, while "Furthest" can also mean 'additional'. Given the options, "Farthest" is a direct and unambiguous superlative for distance.
Correct Option: C) Farthest
Incorrect Options
- A) Further — This is the comparative degree of "far", used for additional or metaphorical distance. It is not the superlative.
- B) Furthest — While "furthest" is also a superlative form of "far", often used for metaphorical distance or 'most additional', "farthest" is specifically used for the greatest physical distance, which is the most direct superlative meaning of "far". In many contexts, "farthest" is preferred for physical distance.
- D) More far — This is an incorrect formation. "Far" is an irregular adjective, and its comparative and superlative forms are not created by adding "more" or "most".
