35c Choose appropriate comparative and superlative forms.
Most adjectives and adverbs have three forms: positive, comparative, and superlative.
| POSITIVE | COMPARATIVE | SUPERLATIVE |
| large | larger | largest |
| early | earlier | earliest |
| careful | more careful | most careful |
| happily | more happily | most happily |
Canada is larger than the United States.
My son needs to be more careful with his money.
They are the most happily married couple I know.
Form the comparative and superlative of most one- or two-syllable adjectives by adding -er and -est. With some two-syllable adjectives, longer adjectives, and most adverbs, use more and most: scientific, more scientific, most scientific; elegantly, more elegantly, most elegantly. If you are not sure, consult the dictionary entry for the simple form.
Irregular adjectives and adverbs
Some short adjectives and adverbs have irregular comparative and superlative forms.
| POSITIVE | COMPARATIVE | SUPERLATIVE |
| good, well | better | best |
| bad, badly | worse | worst |
| little (quantity) | less | least |
| many, much, some | more | most |
Comparatives vs. superlatives
Use the comparative to compare two things; use the superlative to compare three or more.
Double comparatives and superlatives
Double comparatives and superlatives are those that unnecessarily use both the -er or -est ending and more or most. Occasionally, these forms can act to build a special emphasis, as in the title of Spike Lee’s movie Mo’ Better Blues. In academic and professional writing, however, do not use more or most before adjectives or adverbs ending in -er or -est.
Incomplete comparisons
In speaking, we sometimes state only part of a comparison because the context makes the meaning clear. For example, you might tell a friend “Your car is better,” but the context makes it clear that you mean “Your car is better than mine.” In writing, take the time to check for incomplete comparisons—and to complete them if they are unclear.
Absolute concepts
Some readers consider modifiers such as perfect and unique to be absolute concepts; according to this view, a construction such as more unique is illogical because a thing is either unique or it isn’t, so modified forms of the concept don’t make sense. However, many seemingly absolute words have multiple meanings, all of which are widely accepted as correct. For example, unique may mean one of a kind or unequaled, but it can also simply mean distinctive or unusual.
If you think your readers will object to a construction such as moreperfect (which appears in the U.S. Constitution) or somewhat unique (which was used by J. D. Salinger), then avoid such uses.
Multiple Negation
TALKING ABOUT STYLE
Speakers of English sometimes use more than one negative at a time (I can’t hardly see you). Multiple negatives, in fact, have a long history in English and can be found in the works of Chaucer and Shakespeare. It was only in the eighteenth century, in an effort to make English more uniform, that double negatives came to be seen as incorrect. Emphatic double negatives—and triple, quadruple, and more—are used in many varieties of spoken English (Don’t none of you know nothing at all).
Even though multiple negatives occur in many varieties of English (and in many other languages), in academic or professional writing you will play it safe if you avoid them—unless you are quoting dialogue or creating a special effect.