You all have certain qualities that make you different from each other. These qualities vary in degree from one person to another.

Look for a classmate who is tall. Look for another who is taller. Still look for the one who is the tallest in the class.

The words tall, taller, and tallest are adjectives. Their different forms indicate the degrees of comparison.

Thus, we see that adjectives have three degrees of comparison.

The adjective tall is said to be in the positive degree. It is used when there is no comparison.

Examples:

long, quiet, young, etc.

The adjective taller is said to be in the comparative degree. It is used when two persons or things are compared. After an adjective in the comparative degree, we often use the word than.

Example:

Between the sisters, Mary is taller.

The sentence implies that Mary is taller than her sister.

The adjective tallest is said to be in the superlative degree. It is used when more than two persons or things are compared.

However, when than is used to compare more than two things or persons, then we use the comparative degree and not the superlative degree.

Examples:

He is the tallest boy in the class.

He is taller than any other boy in the class.