VF: Lesson - Comparison - Irregular Forms
Irregular Forms
Please download and complete the Via Falsa Adjective Comparison handout.
Use the information about comparison on this page along with the previous pages to complete this handout.
Be sure that you have completed the handout before moving ahead in the course.
Irregular Adjectives and Adverbs - Comparison
Certain adjectives do not follow the normal rules of formation for the comparative and superlative degrees. The irregular forms can be found both in the adjective degrees and also in the adverb degrees.
Common Irregular Adjectives - Positive, Comparative and Superlative Forms
Below is a chart of the most common adjectives with irregular forms.
|
Positive |
Meaning |
Comparative |
Superlative |
|---|---|---|---|
|
bonus, bona, bonum |
good |
melior, melius (gen. melioris) - better |
optimus, optima, optimum - best |
|
malus, mala, malus |
bad |
peior, peius (gen. peioris) - worse |
pessimus, pessima, pessimum - worst |
|
magnus, magna, magnum |
great |
maior, maius (gen. maioris) - greater |
maximus, maxima, maximum - greatest |
|
parvus, parva, parvum |
small |
minor, minus (gen. minoris) - smaller, less |
minimus, minima, minimum - smallest, none at all |
|
multus, multa, multum |
much (s) many (pl) |
plus (gen. pluris) - more complus (gen. compluris) - more |
plurimus, plurima, plurimum - most complurimus, complurima, complurimum - most |
N.B. plus and complus are interchangeable, but the plural (complures) is commonly used as several.
Common Irregular Adverbs
Certain adjectives form irregular adverbs and those adverbs, in turn, have irregular forms for comparison. Below is a chart of the most common adjectives with irregular adverb forms.
|
Adjective |
Meaning |
Positive |
Comparative |
Superlative |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
bonus, bona, bonum |
good |
bene - well |
melius - better |
optime - best |
|
malus, mala, malus |
bad |
male - badly |
peius - worse, more badly |
pessime - worst, most badly |
|
magnus, magna, magnum |
great |
magnopere - greatly |
magis - more greatly, greater |
maxime - greatest |
|
multus, multa, multum |
much, many (pl) |
multum - much |
plus - more |
maxime/ plurimum - most |
|
parvus, parva, parvum |
small |
parum/paulum - a little |
minus - less |
minime - least, none at all |
|
[none] |
[none] |
[none] |
prior - earlier |
primum - for the first time primo - at first |