大多數兩個音節以上( ),或字尾已含有字根ful, less, ing, ed, ous, ive, ible, able, ent, ant, ish, ic, ary, al等的形容詞,直接在形容詞字前加 more (更),如:wonderful - more wonderful、useless - more useless、exciting - more exciting、interested - more interested、difficult - more difficult、famous - more famous、expensive - more expensive...等。
基本的形容詞比較級句型為「主詞1 + Be動詞 + 形容詞比較級 + than + 主詞2 (+ Be動詞)」,如:「Health is more important than money.」(健康比金錢重要)。須要注意表示此句型時:
(1)兩個主詞的性質必須相同,才可加以比較, 例如:「Your house is larger than mine.」(你的房子比我的還要大)。
(2)than當連接詞使用時,後應接「主詞2 + Be動詞」才算完整,但在口語上會把Be動詞省略掉,此時主詞2如果為人稱代名詞,可用受詞代替主格,例如:「Tom is more handsome than he (is).」=「Tom is more handsome than him.」(湯姆比他還要英俊)。
(3)在不影響句意的情況下,比較的對象(than之後的內容)可以完全省略,例如:「It was colder yesterday.」(昨天比較冷)。
形容詞比較級前面可以用程度副詞來修飾,例如:much, a lot和far(比...得多)表示差異很大、even和still(甚至更)表示來強調比較,與a little(...一點點)表示差異很小,除此之外也可以用數字修飾,以表示具體的不同。
例1:「The radio is much more expensive than the fan.」(收音機比電扇還要昂貴很多)
例2:「Ted is even thinner than Kelly.」(泰迪甚至比凱莉還要瘦)
例3:「Linda is a little taller than her sister.」(琳達比她的姐姐高一點)
例4:「Kevin is one year older than his brother.」(凱文比他的弟弟大一歲)
其它常見的比較級句型及用法:
「主詞1 + 一般動詞 + 形容詞比較級 + 名詞 + than + 主詞2 (+ 助動詞)」,如:「Nick eats more cookies than his cousin.」(尼克餅乾吃得比他表弟還多)。
表示「兩者之間來做比較」時,可用「the + 形容詞比較級 + of the two」,此處加the是因為後面的「of the two」的關係表示限定,如:「He is the happier of the two.」(他是兩人之中比較快樂的)。
表示「越...(就)越...」時,可用「the + 形容詞比較級, the + 形容詞比較級」或「the + 形容詞比較級 + 主詞 + 動詞, the + 形容詞比較級 + 主詞 + 動詞」,此處的第一個和第二個形容詞比較級是兩個不同的形容詞,如:「The more, the better.」(越多越好);「The harder you study, the better grades you will get.」(你越努力用功,你就會得到越好的成績)。
表示「越來越...」時,可用「形容詞比較級 + and + 形容詞比較級」,此處的第一個和第二個形容詞比較級是相同的,如: (1)「The weather is getting warmer and warmer.」(天氣變得越來越暖和)
「原級 + - er」類型的比較級,用「比較級 + 比較級」表示「越來越...」
(2)「This kind of cellphone is becoming more and more popular.」(這款手機變得越來越受歡迎)
「more + 原級」類型的比較級,用「more and more + 原級」表示「越來越...」
如果是表示「越來越不...」時,則可用「less and less + 形容詞原級」如:
(1)「It is getting less and less cold.」(天氣變得越來越不冷了)。
(2)「This man is less and less handsome.」(這位男人越來越不英俊)。
表示「比任何其他的都...」時,可用「形容詞比較級 + than + any other + 單數名詞」;表示「比所有其他的都...」時,則用「形容詞比較級 + than + all the other + 複數名詞」,此兩種句型都是用形容詞比較級來表達形容詞「最高級」的概念。
例1:「Jason is taller than any other student in his class.」(傑森比他班上任何其他男生都來得高)
此句意同Jason is the tallest student in his class.
例2:「To David, math is more difficult than all the other subjects.」(對大衛來說,數學比所有其他的科目還要來得困難)
此句意同To David, math is the most difficult subject of all.
如果是在同範圍內做比較時,比較的對象用「any other + 單數名詞」或「all the other + 複數名詞」表達,是為了將自己排除在外,避免造成自己和自己比較的邏輯錯誤,但若是在不同範圍之間做比較時,則名詞前不加other,如下所示。
例如:「Emily is shorter than any boy in her class.」=「Emily is shorter than all boys in her class.」(艾蜜麗比她班上其他男生都來得矮)
其中上述的「any other + 單數名詞 / all the other + 複數名詞」還可以替換成「No other + 單數名詞/複數名詞」,
例如:「No other student(s) in his class is(are) more handsome than Gavin.」(在他班上沒有其他同學比蓋文還要俊俏)
使用「形容詞原級」做比較的句型
如果比較的兩個對象其性質是一致的,也就是闡述「主詞1和主詞2一樣...」時,可以用as...as... 表示,其中第一個as含義為「像」;第二個as含義為「一樣」,基本句型為「主詞1 + Be動詞 + as + 形容詞原級 + as + 主詞2 (+ Be動詞)」,如:「I am as young as her.」(我和她一樣年輕)。
如要表示「主詞1比主詞2還不...」時,可以用「主詞1 + Be動詞 + less + 形容詞原級 + than + 主詞2 (+ Be動詞) 」,
例如:「Mandy is less smart than Ethan.」=「Mandy isn't as smart as Ethan.」=「Mandy isn't smarter than Ethan.」=「Mandy is stupider than Ethan.」(蔓蒂沒比伊森聰明)
- ly 結尾的副詞,在該副詞之前加 more,如:quickly - more quickly、expensively - more expensively、sadly - more sadly、easily - more easily、seriously - more seriously、merrily - more merrily...等。
副詞比較的用法和形容詞大致相同,基本的副詞比較級句型為「主詞1 + 一般動詞 + 副詞比較級 + than + 主詞2 (+ 助動詞)」,如:「Tom can speak Japanese better than me.」(湯姆講日文比我還要好)。
副詞比較級前面也可以用程度副詞來修飾,如:「We eat out much less expensively than you.」(我問了他一個問題)。
Comparative coordination vs. comparative subordination
At times the syntax of comparatives matches the syntax of coordination, and at other times, it must be characterized in terms of subordination.
Comparative coordination
The syntax of comparatives can closely mirror the syntax of coordination. The similarity in structure across the following a- and b-sentences illustrates this point. The conjuncts of the coordinate structures are enclosed in square brackets:[2]
a. [The boys] and [the girls] sent flowers to him today.
b. More [boys] than [girls] sent flowers to him today.
a. [The boys sent] and [the girls dropped off] flowers for him today.
b. [More boys sent] than [girls dropped off] flowers for him today.
a. The boys sent [flowers to him] and [chocolates to her] today.
b. More boys sent [flowers to him] than [chocolates to her] today.
a. The boys sent [flowers to him today] and [chocolates to her yesterday].
b. More boys sent [flowers to him today] than [chocolates to her yesterday].
The structure of the b-sentences involving comparatives is closely similar to the structure of the a-sentences involving coordination. Based on this similarity, many have argued that the syntax of comparatives overlaps with the syntax of coordination at least some of the time.[3] In this regard, the than in the b-sentences should be viewed as a coordinator (coordinate conjunction), not as a subordinator (subordinate conjunction).
Comparative subordination
Examples of the comparative that do not allow an analysis in terms of coordination (because the necessary parallel structures are not present) are instances of comparative subordination.[4] In such cases, than has the status of a preposition or a subordinator (subordinate conjunction), e.g.
a. We invited more people than wanted to come.
b. A better striker was playing for them than we have.
c. More passengers than the airline had issued tickets tried to board the plane.[5]
d. More guests than we had chairs showed up.
e. Who did he eat more hotdogs than?
Since the parallel structures associated with coordinate structures, i.e., the conjuncts, cannot be acknowledged in these sentences, the only analysis available is one in terms of subordination, whereby than has the status of a subordinator (as in sentences a-d) or of a preposition (as in sentence e). What this means is that the syntax of comparatives is complex because at times an analysis in terms of coordination is warranted, whereas at other times, the analysis must assume subordination.
^For examples of accounts that argue that the syntax of comparatives overlaps with the syntax of coordination at least some of the time, see Pinkham (1982), Napoli (1983), McCawley 1988, Lechner (2004), Corver (2006), and Osborne (2009).
^The distinction between comparative coordination and comparative subordination is discussed at length by Osborne (2009).