Comparatives: CURIOUSER vs. MORE CURIOUS

With almost no exceptions, comparative adjectives are formed either by adding -er or by using more:

• Jill is smart -> Jill is smarter than Penny.
• Jill is intelligent -> Jill is more intelligent than Penny.

The same pattern occurs with the superlative forms -est and most (Note that if an adjective takes the -er form, it will also take the -est form, and likewise for more and most):

• Jill is the smartest student.
• Jill is the most intelligent student.

Non-native speakers of English often find it difficult to know when to use the -er form and when to use the more form. Unfortunately, there isn't a perfect rule for this, but you can still improve your chances of guessing right with a few simple tips.

Adverbially adjectival: GOOD vs. WELL

Many adjectives have an adverbial form produced by adding an -ly ending:

• quick → quickly
• accidental → accidentally
• local → locally
• recent → recently
• frequent → frequently
• happy → happily [replace -y with -ily]

Other adjectives have an irregular adverbial form:

• good → well [instead of goodly]
• early → early [adjective already ends in -ly]

Modern theories of grammar include adverbial forms of adjectives within the class of adjectives much as singular and plural nouns are included within the class of nouns. The reason is because they share most of the behaviour of the adjectives they are derived from. For example, gradable adjectives and adverbs both behave the same way in comparisons: