WREN & MARTIN's English grammar-10 MCQs on comparison of adjectives

 

10 MCQs on Comparison of Adjectives, Formation of Comparative and Superlative, Irregular Comparison and Interchange of Degrees

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1. "She is the most intelligent student in the entire class." — Which of the following correctly changes this superlative degree sentence into the positive degree without changing the meaning?

• A) No other student in the entire class is more intelligent than she.
• B) She is more intelligent than most other students in the entire class.
• C) No other student in the entire class is as intelligent as she.
• D) Very few students in the entire class are as intelligent as she.

Answer: C) No other student in the entire class is as intelligent as she. (To change a superlative degree sentence into the positive degree the structure "no other + noun + is as + adjective + as + subject" is used — this structure effectively conveys the same meaning as the superlative without using the superlative form of the adjective.)

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2. "Which of the following correctly gives the comparative and superlative forms of the adjective "good"?"

• A) Gooder — Goodest
• B) More good — Most good
• C) Better — Best
• D) Gooder — Most good

Answer: C) Better — Best ("Good" is an irregular adjective whose comparative and superlative forms are not formed by adding "-er" or "-est" or by using "more" and "most" — "better" and "best" are the irregular comparative and superlative forms of "good" — other irregular adjectives include "bad — worse — worst" and "little — less — least.")

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3. "Mount Everest is higher than any other mountain in the world." — Which of the following correctly changes this comparative degree sentence into the superlative degree without changing the meaning?

• A) Mount Everest is the highest of all mountains in the world.
• B) No other mountain in the world is as high as Mount Everest.
• C) Mount Everest is higher than most mountains in the world.
• D) Very few mountains in the world are as high as Mount Everest.

Answer: A) Mount Everest is the highest of all mountains in the world. (To change a comparative degree sentence of the structure "subject + comparative + than any other + noun" into the superlative degree the structure "subject + the + superlative + of all + nouns" is used — both sentences convey the same meaning that Mount Everest surpasses all other mountains in height.)

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4. "Which of the following correctly gives the comparative and superlative forms of the adjective "bad"?"

• A) Badder — Baddest
• B) More bad — Most bad
• C) Worse — Worst
• D) Badder — Most bad

Answer: C) Worse — Worst ("Bad" is an irregular adjective that does not follow the regular pattern of adding "-er" and "-est" or using "more" and "most" — "worse" and "worst" are the irregular comparative and superlative forms of "bad" — irregular comparisons must be memorised as they do not follow predictable rules.)

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5. "No other metal is as precious as gold." — Which of the following correctly changes this positive degree sentence into the comparative degree without changing the meaning?

• A) Gold is more precious than all metals.
• B) Gold is the most precious of all metals.
• C) Gold is more precious than any other metal.
• D) Very few metals are as precious as gold.

Answer: C) Gold is more precious than any other metal. (To change a positive degree sentence of the structure "no other + noun + is as + adjective + as + subject" into the comparative degree the structure "subject + comparative + than any other + noun" is used — both sentences convey the same meaning that gold surpasses all other metals in terms of preciousness.)

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6. "Which of the following correctly gives the comparative and superlative forms of the adjective "far"?"

• A) Farrer — Farrest
• B) More far — Most far
• C) Further — Furthest
• D) Farer — Farest

Answer: C) Further — Furthest ("Far" is an irregular adjective with two sets of comparative and superlative forms — "farther/farthest" is used for physical distance while "further/furthest" is used for both physical distance and figurative or metaphorical distance — both forms are acceptable but "further/furthest" is more commonly used in formal contexts.)

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7. "She is one of the most talented singers in the music industry today." — Which of the following correctly changes this superlative degree sentence into the comparative degree without changing the meaning?

• A) She is more talented than all singers in the music industry today.
• B) She is more talented than most other singers in the music industry today.
• C) No other singer in the music industry today is as talented as she.
• D) Very few singers in the music industry today are as talented as she.

Answer: B) She is more talented than most other singers in the music industry today. (The structure "one of the most + superlative + noun" changes to the comparative degree using the structure "subject + comparative + than most other + noun" — note that "any other" is used when the superlative is absolute while "most other" is used when the structure is "one of the most.")

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8. "Which of the following adjectives forms its comparative and superlative by adding "-er" and "-est"?"

• A) Beautiful
• B) Intelligent
• C) Tall
• D) Dangerous

Answer: C) Tall ("Tall" is a one-syllable adjective and forms its comparative and superlative by adding "-er" and "-est" giving "taller" and "tallest" — one-syllable adjectives generally add "-er" and "-est" — two-syllable adjectives ending in "-y" also use this pattern while adjectives of three or more syllables use "more" and "most.")

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9. "Iron is more useful than any other metal." — Which of the following correctly changes this comparative degree sentence into the positive degree without changing the meaning?

• A) Iron is the most useful of all metals.
• B) No other metal is as useful as iron.
• C) Very few metals are as useful as iron.
• D) Iron is more useful than most other metals.

Answer: B) No other metal is as useful as iron. (To change a comparative degree sentence of the structure "subject + comparative + than any other + noun" into the positive degree the structure "no other + noun + is as + adjective + as + subject" is used — both structures convey the same absolute meaning that iron surpasses all other metals in usefulness.)

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10. "Which of the following correctly gives the comparative and superlative forms of the adjective "little" when referring to amount or quantity?"

• A) Littler — Littlest
• B) Lesser — Least
• C) More little — Most little
• D) Less — Least

Answer: D) Less — Least ("Little" when referring to amount or quantity has the irregular comparative "less" and superlative "least" — "littler" and "littlest" are used only when "little" refers to physical size — the forms "less" and "least" are used to compare uncountable quantities and are among the most commonly used irregular comparative forms in English.)