Editing Adjective (section)

==Comparison (degrees)==
{{Main|Comparison (grammar)|Comparative}}

In many languages, some adjectives are ''comparable'' and the measure of comparison is called ''degree''. For example, a person may be "polite", but another person may be "''more'' polite", and a third person may be the "''most'' polite" of the three. The word "more" here modifies the adjective "polite" to indicate a comparison is being made, and "most" modifies the adjective to indicate an absolute comparison (a ''superlative'').

Among languages that allow adjectives to be compared, different means are used to indicate comparison. Some languages do not distinguish between [[comparative]] and [[superlative]] forms. Other languages allow adjectives to be compared but do not have a special comparative form of the adjective. In such cases, as in some [[Australian Aboriginal languages]], case-marking, such as the [[ablative case]], may be used to indicate one entity has more of an adjectival quality than (i.e. ''from''—hence ABL) another.<ref name=":0" />

In English, many adjectives can be inflected to [[comparative]] and [[superlative]] forms by taking the suffixes "-er" and "-est" (sometimes requiring additional letters before the suffix; see forms for ''far'' below), respectively:

:    "great", "greater", "greatest"
: "deep", "deeper", "deepest"

Some adjectives are ''irregular'' in this sense:
:    "good", "better", "best"
:    "bad", "worse", "worst"
:    "many", "more", "most" (sometimes regarded as an [[adverb]] or [[determiner]])
:    "little", "less", "least"

Some adjectives can have both ''regular'' and ''irregular'' variations:
:    "old", "older", "oldest"
:    "far", "farther", "farthest"

also
:    "old", "elder", "eldest"
:    "far", "further", "furthest"

Another way to convey comparison is by incorporating the words "more" and "most". There is no simple rule to decide which means is correct for any given adjective, however. The general tendency is for simpler adjectives and those from [[Anglo-Saxon language|Anglo-Saxon]] to take the suffixes, while longer adjectives and those from [[French language|French]], [[Latin]], or [[Greek language|Greek]] do not—but sometimes the ''sound'' of the word is the deciding factor.

Many adjectives do not naturally lend themselves to comparison. For example, some English speakers would argue that it does not make sense to say that one thing is "more ultimate" than another, or that something is "most ultimate", since the word "ultimate" is already absolute in its semantics. Such adjectives are called ''non-comparable'' or ''absolute''. Nevertheless, native speakers will frequently play with the raised forms of adjectives of this sort. Although "pregnant" is logically non-comparable (either one is pregnant or not), one may hear a sentence like "She looks more and more pregnant each day".

Comparative and superlative forms are also occasionally used for other purposes than comparison. In English comparatives can be used to suggest that a statement is only tentative or tendential: one might say "John is more the shy-and-retiring type", where the comparative "more" is not really comparing him with other people or with other impressions of him, but rather, could be substituting for "on the whole" or "more so than not". In Italian, superlatives are frequently used to put strong emphasis on an adjective: {{Lang|it|bellissimo}} means "most beautiful", but is in fact more commonly heard in the sense "extremely beautiful".