Class 5 English - ICSE
Adjectives: Degrees of Comparison
In this chapter, Class 5 ICSE students learn how to compare people, places, and things using adjectives. Adjectives have three degrees of comparison: Positive, Comparative, and Superlative. The Positive degree describes a single noun (tall), the Comparative degree compares two nouns (taller), and the Superlative degree compares more than two nouns (tallest). Mastering this chapter is essential for ICSE board exams because it forms the foundation for sentence transformation, error spotting, and descriptive writing. Students will learn regular rules like adding '-er' and '-est', irregular forms, and using 'more' and 'most' for longer words.
Start Learning FreeKey Concepts
Positive Degree
This is the base form of the adjective used to describe a single noun without making any comparison, such as 'smart' or 'fast'.
Comparative Degree
This form is used to compare two nouns or groups of nouns, usually followed by the word 'than', such as 'smarter' or 'faster'.
Superlative Degree
This form is used to compare three or more nouns, showing the highest degree of a quality, and is usually preceded by 'the', such as 'smartest' or 'fastest'.
Regular Adjectives (Rule of -er/-est)
Most short adjectives form their comparative and superlative by adding '-er' and '-est' to the positive form, like cold, colder, coldest.
Long Adjectives (More/Most)
Adjectives with two or more syllables do not take '-er' or '-est'; instead, we use 'more' for comparative and 'most' for superlative, like beautiful, more beautiful, most beautiful.
Irregular Adjectives
Some adjectives completely change their form when compared and do not follow any rules, such as good, better, best or bad, worse, worst.
Important Formulas
Board Exam Info
In ICSE Class 5 English Grammar, this chapter typically carries 5 to 8 marks. Common question types include filling in the blanks with the correct degree of comparison, rewriting sentences by changing the degree without altering the meaning, and spotting errors in adjective forms.
Frequently Asked Questions
When do we use 'more' and 'most' instead of '-er' and '-est'?
We use 'more' and 'most' with longer adjectives that have two or more syllables, such as 'difficult' or 'expensive'.
Do we always need to use 'the' before a superlative degree?
Yes, 'the' is almost always placed right before the superlative adjective, like 'the tallest' or 'the best'.
How do we compare words that end in 'y' like 'happy'?
For adjectives ending in a consonant plus 'y', we drop the 'y' and add '-ier' for comparative and '-iest' for superlative, making it happy, happier, happiest.
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