Comparative and Superlative - 2. a 3. stupeň¶
Basic principles¶
Most adjectives have three forms:
| positive | comparative | superlative | |
|---|---|---|---|
| CZE | mladý | mladší | nejmladší |
| ENG | young | younger | youngest |
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Positive (1. stupeň) has a neutral meaning.
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Comparative (2. stupeň) is used to compare one person or thing with another.
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Superlative (3. stupeň) describes one person or thing as having more of a quality than all other people or things in a group.
Note
Superlative structure is always:
nej + comparative
Tip
All comparative and superlative adjectives belong to the soft declension group.
Morphology¶
The morphology of the comparative utilises a set of suffixes. The most common ones are -ší and -ější.
A typical comparative structure is:
graph LR
A[adjectival stem<br /><b>mlad</b>]-- + ---B["comparative suffix<br /><b>š</b>"]
B-- + --- C["soft ending<br /><b>í</b>"]Many adjectival comparatives are derived this way. Nonetheless, we observe many sub-rules and consonant alternations.
| stem | suffix+ending | positive | comparative | ENG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| -n- or -v- + -ý/-í | -ější | krásný nový |
krásnější novější |
beautiful new |
| -sk-ý | -št-ější | lidský | lidštější | human |
| -ck-ý | -čt-ější | tragický | tragičtější | tragic |
| -l-ý | -l-ejší | rychlý | rychlejší | fast |
| -r-ý | -ř-ejší | chytrý | chytřejší | smart |
| -h- or -z- + -ký | -čí | lehký hezký |
lehčí hezčí |
light nice |
| -h-ý | -žš-í | drahý | dražší | expensive |
| -ch-ý | -šš-í | jednoduchý hluchý |
jednodušší hlušší |
easy deaf |
Note
Some comparatives have two possibilities:
bohatý (rich): bohatší or bohatější
snadný (easy): snazší or snadnější
hustý (thick:) hustší or hustější and other
The distribution of usage is not perfectly clear. Sometimes the shorter variants are preferred in spoken Czech, but it is often a matter of personal preference for the speaker.
To be sure about the comparative forms, it is recommended to check them against Příručka.
Irregular comparative forms¶
An unspecified number of adjectives have irregular comparative forms.
| positive | comparative | ENG |
|---|---|---|
| dobrý | lepší | better |
| špatný | horší | worse |
| malý | menší | smaller |
| velký | větší | bigger |
| krátký | kratší | shorter |
| dlouhý | delší | longer |
| vysoký | vyšší | higher, taller |
| nízký | nižší | lower |
| bílý | bělejší | whiter |
Note
When in doubt about comparative forms, check them in Příručka.
Periphrastic comparison¶
Apart from the more commonly used synthetic comparison (by adding a suffix to the adjectival stem), the analytical, periphrastic comparison is available when the adverb (nej)víc(e) (more) or (nej)méně (less) precedes the positive form of the adjective:
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více produktivní (more productive), nejvíce produktivní (most productive)
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méně produktivní (less productive), nejméně produktivní (least productive)
This type of comparison has limited use, and the synthetic comparative dominates.
Adjectives without comparative¶
The following adjectives do not form comparatives:
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Adjectives ending in -cí, e.g., vzrušující (exciting)
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Adjectives derived from animals, e.g., psí (dog's)
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Adjectives derived from time expressions, e.g., loňský (last year's)
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Adjectives describing absolute states or conditions, e.g.:
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absolutní (absolute)
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perfektní (perfect)
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jednohlasný (unanimous)
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celý (whole) and other
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Comparison of entities and values¶
In the sentence Petr is two years older than Pavel., there are two entities (Petr and Pavel) and the difference in value (2 years) to compare.
| Entity1 | Verb | Difference in value | Adjectival Comparative | Conjunction | Entity2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Petr | je | o dva roky | starší | než | Pavel |
| Petr | is | two years | older | than | Pavel |
Rules to follow are:
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The o preposition requires the accusative case of the numeral.
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Entity1 and Entity2 must be in the same case. Compare:
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(CZE) Petr NOM je mladší než já NOM.
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(ENG) Petr NOM is younger then me non-NOM.
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The conjunction než and Entity2 must always come after the comparative. Following this rule, there are several options for structuring the sentence:
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Petr je o dva roky mladší než Pavel.
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Petr je mladší než Pavel o dva roky.
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Petr je mladší o dva roky než Pavel.
Note
There is no crucial difference between these sentences, but placing a word at the end of the clause emphasizes it.
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The 'The Comparative, the Comparative' Structure¶
In Czech, this type of comparison has the following structure:
| čím | starší | tím | moudřejší |
|---|---|---|---|
| the | older | the | wiser |
Čím jsme starší, tím jsme moudřejší. (The older we grow, the wiser we become.)