Study Resource: Qualifiers for comparative adjectives
Intensifying adverbs
Use these qualifiers before a comparative adjective if the difference is larger than expected.
Example
My house is much larger than your house.
→ Compared to my house, your house is very small.My house is much more interesting than your house.
→ Compared to my house, your house is very boring.My house is much less interesting than your house.
→ Compared to your house, my house is very boring.
Qualifiers for comparative adjectives: BIGGER difference | |
|---|---|
Qualifier | Notes |
much | |
far | |
heaps | colloquial |
loads | colloquial |
vastly | for a very large difference |
a good deal | |
a great deal | a larger difference than a good deal |
infinitely | use when the difference is so big it is almost silly to compare them |
rather | mostly in British English |
way | colloquial (very common) |
lots | colloquial |
There are a few unusual intensifying adverbs that you can also use with comparative adjectives:
even→ This does not show that the difference is large, but it does say that both things have a lot of the quality. This is a very common intensifier for comparative adjectives. For example:
Maggie is even taller than Susan.
→ We know that Susan is very tall, so it is surprising/impressive that Maggie is taller than Susan.
still → Like even, this shows that both things have a lot of the quality. But usually we use still after we have already made another comparison. For example:
Cathy is tall, Susan is taller, and Maggie is still taller!
→ Because Susan is taller than Cathy, it is surprising that Maggie is taller than Susan.
Stillis also more literary/formal than ever.
But be careful! The word still is not always an intensifying adjective. Usually, it just means that there has been no change over time:
Maggie is still taller than Susan.
→ Last year, Maggie was taller than Susan. That has not changed.
Mitigating adverbs
Use these qualifiers before a comparative adjective if the difference is smaller than expected.
Example
My house is a bit larger than your house.
→ Our houses are close in size, but mine is bigger.My house is a bit more interesting than your house.
→ Our houses are close in price, but mine is more expensive.My house is a bit less interesting than your house.
→ Our houses are close in price, but mine is less expensive.
Qualifiers for comparative adjectives: SMALLER difference | |
|---|---|
Qualifier | Notes |
a bit | you can also say a little bit or a tiny bit |
a little | this is very common |
a touch | |
slightly | this is the best choice for formal contexts, but it is okay in informal speech too |
