comparativus

Comparativus, or the comparative degree, is the grammatical form used to express a higher degree of a property relative to another entity. It sits between the positive (the base form) and the superlative. The comparative is common across languages and may be formed by inflection (synthetic) or by periphrasis (analytic), depending on the language and the adjective.

In English, most short adjectives form a comparative by adding -er or by using more for longer words: tall → taller; quick → quicker; beautiful → more beautiful. Irregulars exist, such as good → better, bad → worse, far → farther or further. In Latin, the comparative is described by the comparativus. The usual pattern is -ior for masculine and feminine, -ius for neuter (for example melior “better,” maior “larger”). Adverbs can also take a related ending, as in melius “better.” Latin typically uses quam to express comparison (“than”), as in melior quam hostis.

Across Romance languages, comparatives are often expressed analytically with more or plus (más alto in Spanish, più alto in Italian, plus grand in French), while some Germanic languages use inflected endings (größer, besser) often with additional words. The exact mechanism varies by language, reflecting different historical paths of inflection and periphrasis.

The comparativus is distinct from the superlativus, which marks the highest degree; together they form the three-degree system used to compare qualities in many languages. Irregular comparatives and adverbial forms are common and must be learned as part of each language’s grammar.