comparison adjective

Comparative adjectives

비교급 형용사는 두 대상의 특성을 비교할 때 사용한다:

• Josh is taller than his sister.
• I’m more interested in music than sport.
• Big cars that use a lot of petrol are less popular now than twenty years ago.

 

Superlative adjectives

최상급 형용사는 한 대상과 그 대상이 속한 집단을 비교할 때 사용한다:

• The ‘Silver Arrow’ will be the fastest train in the world when it is built.
• The most frightening film I’ve ever seen was Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘Psycho’.
• What is the least expensive way of travelling in Japan?

 

Comparative or superlative?

비교급은 두 대상을 비교하고 최상급은 한 대상과 그 대상이 속한 집단을 비교한다:

• Joe’s older than Mike. (comparing one person with another)
• Sheila is the youngest girl in the family. (comparing one person with the whole group she belongs to)

 

두 대상을 비교할 때 비교급을 사용하지만 일상적인 상황에서 최상급을 사용하기도 한다:

• Who is younger, Rowan or Tony? (traditional usage)
• Jan and Barbara are both tall, but Jan’s the tallest. (more informal)

 

Comparative and superlative adjectives: form

One-syllable adjectives (big, cold, hot, long, nice, old, tall)

1음절 형용사의 비교급 형태는 접미사 '-er'를 뒤에 붙인다:

• It’s colder today than yesterday.
• It was a longer holiday than the one we had last year.
• Sasha is older than Mark.

 

1음절 형용사의 최상급 형태는 접미사 '-est'를 뒤에 붙이고 일반적으로 정관사 'the'를 최상급 형용사 앞에 사용한다:

• I think that’s the biggest apple I’ve ever seen!
• At one time, the Empire State building in New York was the tallest building in the world.
• They have three boys. Richard is the oldest and Simon is the youngest.

 

One-syllable adjectives which are irregular

몇몇 1음절 형용사는 불규칙한 형태의 비교급 그리고 최상급 형태를 갖는다:

bad, worse, worstㅣfar, farther / further, farthest / furthestㅣgood, better, bestㅣold, older / elder, oldest / eldest

• The morning flight is better than the afternoon one.
• His elder sister works for the government.
• Olivia is Denise’s best friend.
• I think that was the worst film I’ve ever seen!
• Pluto is the furthest planet from the sun in our solar system.

 

Two-syllable adjectives

'-y'로 끝나는 2음절 형용사는 '-y'를 '-i'로 바꾸고 '-er', '-est'를 뒤에 붙인다:

busy, busier, busiest; happy, happier, happiest; easy, easier, easiest; funny, funnier, funniest

• We were busier last week than this week.
• Are you happier now that you’ve changed your job?
• That was the easiest exam I’ve ever taken.

 

몇몇 강세를 받지 않는 모음으로 끝나는 2음절 형용사도 '-er', '-est'를 뒤에 붙인다:

clever, cleverer, cleverest; quiet, quieter, quietest; narrow, narrower, narrowest; simple, simpler, simplest

• I’ve always thought that Donald was cleverer than his brother.
• This new bed is narrower than the old one.
• The guest bedroom is the quietest room in the house because it overlooks the garden.

 

일반적으로 '-ful'로 끝나는 2음절 형용사는 'more/less', 'most/least'를 앞에 사용한다:

• This dictionary is more useful than the one we had before.
• You’ll have to try to be more careful in future.
• The most useful tool in the kitchen is a good sharp knife.
• This is the least harmful chemical in terms of the environment.

 

Longer adjectives 

3음절 이상의 형용사는 'more/less', 'most/least'를 앞에 사용한다:

• The second lecture was more interesting than the first.
• That way of calculating the figures seems less complicated to me.
• London is the most popular tourist destination in England.
• If you are going as a group, the least expensive option is to rent an apartment or villa.

 

Comparative adjectives: using much, a lot, far, etc.

비교급 형용사를 강조하기 위해 'much, a lot, far, even, rather' 단어를 비교급 형용사 앞에 사용하거나 'than ever' 단어를 비교급 형용사 뒤에 사용한다:

• This food is much better than the food we had yesterday.
• The town is a lot more crowded these days because of the new shopping centre.
• Alex is far less intelligent than the other kids in the class.
• We’ve been busier than ever at work this last month or so.

 

비교급 형용사의 의미를 완곡하게 표현하기 위해 'a little/a bit'를 사용할 수 있다:

• She feels a little/a bit more confident now that she’s given her first public performance.

 

Comparative adjectives: using than 

비교하는 대상을 언급할 때 'than'을 사용한다. 비교하는 대상이 대명사인 경우 일반적으로 목적격 형태를 사용한다 (me, you, him, her, us, them):

• Could you carry this? You’re stronger than me.
• Why did you choose Robert? Marie is more experienced than him.

 

격식을 차리는 상황에서는 'than + 대명사의 주격[주어] + be' 표현도 가능하다:

• You managed to answer the ten questions correctly? Well, you’re definitely cleverer than I am!
• I preferred Henrietta to Dennis. She was always more sociable than he was.

 

Comparative adjectives: -er and -er, more and more 

사람 혹은 사물이 변하면서 점점 어떤 특성을 얻는 경우 즉, '점점 ~한' 의미를 표현할 때는 '-er and -er' 혹은 'more and more ~'를 사용할 수 있다:

• The weather is getting hotter and hotter.
• I’m getting more and more interested in conservation these days.

 

Comparative adjectives: the -er, the -er and the more ..., the more ...

사람 혹은 사물이 어떤 특성을 더 많이 얻을 수록 그것에 비례해서 어떤 특성의 증가를 야기할 경우 즉, 다시 말해서 '더욱 ~ 할수록, 더 ~하다' 의미를 표현할 때 'the -er, the -er and the more ..., the more ...' 구문을 사용한다:

• The colder it is, the hungrier I get. (as the weather gets colder, I get hungrier)
• The more generous you are towards others, the more generous they are likely to be towards you.

 

Reduced forms after comparatives

'Than' 뒤에는 불특정 다수를 가리키는 '주어' 혹은 수동태 동사 형태 'be + -ed'에서 'be'는 잘 사용하지 않는다:

• The exam results were better than predicted. (preferred to … better than people predicted.)
• Temperatures that summer were higher than previously recorded. (preferred to … than were previously recorded.)

 

Less and not as / not so with comparatives

'less'는 긴 음절의 형용사와 사용하지만 일반적으로 1음절의 형용사는 'not as ... as ...'와 함께 사용한다:

• The second method was less complicated than the first one.
• This new laptop is not as fast as my old one. I’m sorry I bought it now. (preferred to is less fast than my old one.)

 

Prepositions after superlative adjectives

최상급 형용사 뒤에 장소 혹은 집단이 오는 경우, 장소 혹은 집단 앞에 '전치사'를 사용한다:

• The castle is the oldest building in the city.
• She’s the youngest musician in the orchestra.

그러나 집단을 가리키는 복수명사가 최상급 뒤에 나오는 경우는 복수명사 앞에 전치사 'of'를 사용한다:

• All the sisters are pretty, but Sarah’s the prettiest of them all.

 

The with superlative adjectives

최상급 형용사 뒤에 명사가 오는 경우 일반적으로 정관사 'the'를 사용한다:

• This is the best meal I’ve had for a long time.

구어체 표현에서 최상급 형용사가 연결동사 [be, seem] 혹은 오감동사 [look, taste] 뒤에 위치하고 뒤에 명사가 오지 않으면 정관사 'the'를 자주 생략하기도 한다:

• They’ve got them in red, green or grey. Which looks best?
• If you want to get a message to Peter, email is quickest. He never answers the phone.

 

Other determiners with superlative adjectives 

최상급 형용사 앞에 '소유격' 혹은 'the + 수' 혹은 '소유격 + 수'를 사용할 수도 있다:

• My worst score ever in an exam was zero. I just couldn’t answer any of the questions.
• Birmingham is the second biggest city in England.
• His two best friends organised a surprise party for him on his fortieth birthday.

 

Emphasising superlative adjectives

최상급 형용사를 강조하기 위해서 'by far, easily, quite, of all' 등을 사용한다:

• The Beatles were by far the most successful rock band of the 1960s.
• This method is by far the least complicated.
• She’s easily the best dancer in the group. No one is as elegant as her.
• There were a number of excellent poems entered for the competition, but the best poem of all was written by a ten-year-old boy.
• This is quite the most irresponsible behaviour I have ever seen.

 

To -infinitives after superlative adjectives 

최상급 형용사 뒤에 부정사를 사용할 수가 있고 관계 대명사절과 비슷한 의미를 갖는다:

• Who was the oldest person to compete in the London Marathon of 2008? (Who was the oldest person who competed …?)
• The Golden Swan was the largest sailing-ship ever to be used in battle.