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’):
| SINGULAR | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter |
| Nominative | -ior | -ior | -ius |
| Accusative | -iorem | -iorem | -ius |
| Genitive | -ioris | -ioris | -ioris |
| Dative | -iori | -iori | -iori |
| Ablative | -iore | -iore | -iore |
| PLURAL | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter |
| Nominative | -iores | -iores | -iora |
| Accusative | -iores | -iores | -iora |
| Genitive | -iorum | -iorum | -iorum |
| Dative | -ioribus | -ioribus | -ioribus |
| Ablative | -ioribus | -ioribus | -ioribus |
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.
| longus (long) | long-ior (longer) | long-issimus (longest) |
| fortis (brave) | fort-ior (braver) | fort-issimus (bravest) |
| audax (bold) | audac-ior (bolder) | audac-issimus (boldest) |
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.
| pulcher (beautiful) | pulchr-ior | pulcher-rimus |
| miser (wretched) | miser-ior | miser-rimus |
3. Six adjectives in -ilis add -limus to the stem for the superlative.
| facilis (easy) | facil-ior | facil-limus |
| humilis (humble) | humil-ior | humil-limus |
| difficilis (difficult) | difficil-ior | difficil-limus |
| similis (like) | simil-ior | simil-limus |
| dissimilis (unlike) | dissimil-ior | dissimil-limus |
| gracilis (slender) | gracil-ior | gracil-limus |
4. Some very common irregular forms.
| bonus (good) | melior (better) | optimus (best) |
| malus (bad) | peior (worse) | pessimus (worst) |
| magnus (big) | maior | maximus |
| parvus (small) | minor | minimus |
| multus (much) | plus | plurimus |
| multi (many) | plures | plurimi |
