Understanding Comparative and Superlative Forms in Russian

Understanding Comparatives in Russian

In Russian, comparatives are used to compare two nouns and express a greater or lesser degree of a quality. Unlike in English, Russian comparatives do not always require auxiliary words such as "more" or "less."

Forming Russian Comparatives

To form a comparative in Russian, you typically add the suffix -ее to the stem of an adjective. However, some adjectives have irregular forms. Here's how you can form them:

• Add -ее to the adjective stem, e.g. лучший (better) becomes лучше
• Use "более" + adjective for complex forms, e.g. интересный (interesting) becomes "более интересный"

Understanding Superlatives in Russian

Superlatives are used to describe the extreme degree of an adjective within a group. In Russian, superlatives can be formed in several ways, often using the word "самый".

Forming Russian Superlatives

To form a superlative, you generally add the word "самый" before the adjective. This is the most common and straightforward method.

Using Prefixes and Suffixes in Superlatives

Superlatives can also be formed by adding certain prefixes and suffixes. For instance, "превосходный" (excellent) can be derived from "восходный" through prefix addition.