Positive degree

EnglishEdit

NounEdit

positive degree

1. (grammar) That state of an adjective or adverb indicating simple quality, without comparison or relation to increase or diminution; as in wise, noble.

Usage notesEdit

English has three degrees of comparison: positive, comparative, and superlative. For short adjectives, English adds the suffix "-er" to an adjective to form the comparative degree, and adds "-est" to form the superlative degree. For adjectives longer than about two syllables, and for adverbs, English precedes the word with "more" for the comparative and "most" for the superlative.

Positive	Comparative	Superlative
wise	wiser	wisest
beautiful	more beautiful	most beautiful
slow (adjective)	slower	slowest
slowly (adverb)	more slowly	most slowly

Related termsEdit

• comparative degree
• superlative degree