Language/Polish/Grammar/Comparative-and-Superlative
As a Polish language teacher with over 20 years of experience, I am confident that I can help you understand comparative and superlative adjectives and adverbs in the Polish language. These concepts are important to master as they are frequently used in everyday conversation and are essential for expressing comparisons.
Comparative adjectives and adverbs are used to compare two things, while superlative adjectives and adverbs are used to compare three or more things. In this lesson, we will focus on formation of these forms and how to use them properly in sentences.
Comparative Adjectives
Let's start by examining how to form comparative adjectives in Polish.
In general, there are two ways to form comparative adjectives:
1. For short adjectives (one syllable) simply add the suffix "-szy" to the stem. 2. For long adjectives (two or more syllables) add the word "bardziej" which means "more".
Here are some examples:
| Polish | Pronunciation | English | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| dobry ('good') | DOH-brih | better | nowy ('new') | NOH-vih | newer | krótki ('short') | KROOT-kih | shorter | ciekawy ('interesting') | tsieh-KAH-vih | more interesting | wspaniały ('wonderful') | fspah-NYAH-wih | more wonderful | piękny ('beautiful') | PYEHNK-nih | more beautiful |
Note that for comparative adjectives, the adjective agrees with the noun it modifies in gender, number and case. For example, consider the following sentence:
"Ten dom jest większy niż tamten" ("This house is larger than that one")
In this example, the adjective "większy" (larger) agrees with the masculine singular noun "dom" (house).
Comparative Adverbs
Now, let's look at how to form comparative adverbs in Polish.
Most adverbs fall into the second category above -- long adjectives that use "bardziej" in order to form comparative adjectives. In this case, the "-ie" ending of the adverb stem is dropped and "bardziej" is added in front of the remaining adjective.
Here are some examples:
| Polish | Pronunciation | English | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| szybko ('quickly') | SHIH-pkoh | more quickly | łatwo ('easily') | WAHT-voh | more easily | wolno ('slowly') | VOHL-noh | more slowly |
However, there are some adverbs that are formed in a different way. For short adverbs (one syllable), the same rule applies as for short adjectives -- simply add "-szej" to the stem of the adverb.
Here are some examples:
| Polish | Pronunciation | English | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| głośno ('loudly') | GWOHSH-noh | louder | wcześnie ('early') | VCHEH-sheh-nyeh | earlier |
Just like with comparative adjectives, comparative adverbs also must agree in gender, number, and case with the noun it modifies.
Superlative Adjectives
Superlative adjectives are used to describe the highest degree of a quality in comparison to others. In Polish, superlative adjectives can be formed in three ways:
1. By adding the suffix "-est" to the stem of the adjective for short adjectives (one syllable). 2. By adding the suffix "-ejszy" to the stem of the adjective for short adjectives that have the stem ending with a vowel letter. 3. By adding the prefix "naj-" to the comparative adjective form for both short and long adjectives (one or more syllable).
Here are some examples:
| Polish | Pronunciation | English | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| mały ('small') | MAH-wih | smallest (1st way) | potężny ('mighty') | po-TEH-zhny | mightiest (3rd way) | lekki ('light') | LEH-key | lightest (2nd way) | niebezpieczny ('dangerous') | nye-beh-SHYEH-chnih | most dangerous |
Note that superlative adjectives, like comparative adjectives, must agree in gender, number, and case with the noun it modifies.
Superlative Adverbs
Forming superlative adverbs in Polish is also straightforward.
To form the superlative degree of an adverb (compare three or more things), the prefix "naj-" is added before the comparative form of the adverb. For example:
| Polish | Pronunciation | English | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| najszybciej ('fastest') | naih-SHIB-tsyeh | fastest | najdłużej ('longest') | naih-DWOH-zheh | longest |
Note that just like comparative adverbs, superlative adverbs are formed from comparative adverbs which must agree in gender, number, and case with the modified noun.
When are comparative and superlative forms used?
Comparative and superlative forms are used in sentences to compare two or more things.
Here are some example sentences using comparative adjectives and adverbs, and superlative adjectives and adverbs:
"|Janusz jest bardziej inteligentny od Andrzeja.| (John is more intelligent than Andrew)" "|This book is shorter than that one|.|Ten książka jest krótsza niż tamta.|" "|On jest najlepszym nauczycielem języka polskiego.| (He is the best Polish language teacher)" "|Najłatwiejszym językiem do nauczenia się jest esperanto.| (Esperanto is the easiest language to learn)"
Conclusion
Congratulations! You have now learned how to form comparative and superlative adjectives and adverbs in Polish. These concepts might seem intimidating at first, but with practice, you will soon be able to use them with ease. It's important to keep in mind the rules of adjective and adverb agreement with gender, number and case.
I encourage you to practice forming comparative and superlative adjectives and adverbs by making up your own sentences. With regular practice, you will soon have mastered this important aspect of the Polish language.
I hope this lesson was helpful to you. In the next lesson, we will cover more concepts related to Polish grammar. Remember, practice makes perfect!
Related Lessons
- The Polish Alphabet
- Past Participle in Polish
- Be Polite
- Adverbs in Polish
- Possessive Case in Polish
- Definite and Indefinite Articles
- Noun Gender
- 0 to A1 Course
- Present Tense
- Conditional Mood
Sources
- Polish/Comparative and Superlative - Wikibooks, open books for an ...
- Polish Comparatives and Superlatives
- Comparison of Adjectives (Stopniowanie Przymiotników) - Polish ...