Introductory Latin: Comparatives and Superlatives

Exercise 26: Comparatives and Superlatives

USE

Simple statement: ‘The soldier is greedy.’
Comparison: ‘The soldier is greedier (e.g. than the sailor).’

‘greedy’ is an adjective; cupidus -a -um
‘greedier’ is a comparative adjective; cupidior cupidior cupidius
‘greediest/very greedy’ is a superlative adjective; cupidissimus -a -um

Comparative and superlative adjectives agree with their noun/pronoun in NUMBER CASE and GENDER (just like ordinary adjectives).

DECLENSION AND RECOGNITION

Comparative and superlative adjectives are made from the ordinary adjectives in a limited number of ways (see ‘Formation’ below), but as Latin-readers you can survive on this:

ALL comparatives have the following endings (slight difference in plus [Kennedy #80b] and minor [omit the ‘i’):

I.e. like tristior (Kennedy #77; for slight variants in ‘plus’ see Kennedy #80b).

ALL superlatives have the endings -imus -ima -imum and so on, as bonus -a -um (Kennedy #71).

COMPARING THINGS TOGETHER

There are TWO ways of expressing the following sentence in Latin:

‘The soldier is greedier than the slave.’

EITHER

(a) miles est cupidior servo; servo is ablative.

OR

(b) miles est cupidior quam servus; servus is in the same case as miles.

With quam ask yourself what things/people are being compared with each other. They will go the same case as each other.

EXAMPLES

equus maior est cane (type [a])
equus maior est quam canis (type [b])
A horse is bigger than a dog

non amiciorem servum Plauto habeo (type [a])
non amiciorem servum quam Plautum habeo (type [b])
I haven’t got a friendlier slave than Plautus

amicior sum Ciceroni quam Caesari
I am more friendly to Cicero than to Caesar (type [b] only)

Type [a] is allowed when type [b] would put both things/people compared in the nom. or acc.

NB: A sentence with a comparative adjective is not obliged to have one of these two constructions: it may be like ‘I am happier today’ in English.

FORMATION

1. Regular comparison: add -ior to the stem for comparative and -issimus for the superlative.

2. Adjectives whose nom. sing. masc. ends in -er (e.g. tener, Kennedy #71) form the superlative by adding -rimus to the nom sing masculine.

3. Six adjectives in -ilis add -limus to the stem for the superlative.

4. Some very common irregular forms.

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