1. Latin Grammar Comparison of Adjectives

2. Comparison of Adjectives  In English, adjectives have three degrees: 1. Positive degree—old 2. Comparative degree—older 3. Superlative degree—oldest  Compare:  new, newer, newest  ugly, uglier, ugliest  good, better best  beautiful, more beautiful, most beautiful

3. Positive, Comparative, and Superlative Degrees  Latin, too, has these degrees 1. longus 2. longior 3. longissimus  Compare:  altus, altior, altissimus  stultus, stultior, stultissimus  bonus, melior, optimus

4. Comparative Degree  longus, -a, -um = long  To make its comparative, put –ior on its stem: longior  Other examples:  stultus ➔ stultior  facilis ➔ facilior

5. Comparative Degree  The form in –ior is actually masculine and feminine.  The neuter ends in –ius.  So the full name of the comparative form is longior, longius (or longior, -ius)  Compare: stultior, stultius (stultior, -ius) facilior, facilius (facilior, -ius)

6. Declining Third Declension Adjectives. singularplural omnis omneomnēs omnia omnem omneomnīs omnia omnis omnium omnī omnibus omnī omnibus  You may remember that most third- declension adjectives are i-stems and have i-stem endings.

7. Declining Comparative Adjectives  Comparatives are third-declension, but they aren’t i-stems, so they use consonant stem endings. singularplural longior longiuslongiōrēs longiōra longiōrem longiōrelongiōrēs longiōra longiōris longiōrum longiōrī longiōribus longiōre longiōribus

8. Superlatives To make a superlative, add –issimus to the adjective stem. Examples: longus ➔ longissimus stultus ➔ stultissimus audāx ➔ audācissimus

9. Superlatives All adjectives whose first form ends in –er, oddly, add –rimus. Examples: pulcher ➔ pulcherrimus miser ➔ miserrimus celer ➔ celerrimus

10. Superlatives All a few adjectives that end in –ilis, like facilis and similis make their superlatives like so: Examples: facilis ➔ facillimus similis ➔ simillimus

11. Good News  Superlatives are easy to decline.  They all decline just like multus, -a, -um singularplural longissimuslongissimalongissimumlongissimīlongissimaelongissima longissimumlongissimamlongissimumlongissimōslongissimāslongissima longissimīlongissimaelongissimīlongissimōrumlongissimārumlongissimōrum longissimōlongissimaelongissimōlongissimīs longissimōlongissimālongissimōlongissimīs

12. Irregular Comparatives and Superlatives  Just as English has good, better, best and bad, worse, worst, Latin has some irregular adjectives. bonus, melior, optimus malus, peior, pessimus multus, plus, plūrimus magnus, maior, maximus

13. The End