Language/Catalan/Grammar/Comparatives-and-Superlatives

Catalan Grammar - Comparatives and Superlatives

Hi Catalan learners! 😊

In today's lesson, we will learn about comparatives and superlatives in Catalan. These are important grammar concepts that allow us to compare different things or describe something as the best or the worst.

Consider exploring these related pages after completing this lesson: How to say "there is" in Catalan, Indefinite Articles in Catalan, Introduction to pronouns & Introduction to verb conjugation.

Let's get started with the table of the most common comparative and superlative forms in Catalan:

Common Comparative and Superlative Forms in Catalan

English	Catalan	Comparative	Superlative
Good	Bé	Millor	El millor
Bad	Dolent	Pitjor	El pitjor
Big	Gran	Més gran	El més gran
Small	Petit	Més petit	El més petit

As you can see from the table, the comparative form in Catalan is usually formed by adding the word "més" before the adjective, and the superlative form is usually formed by adding the word "el" before the adjective.

Here are some additional rules and examples to help you better understand how to form comparatives and superlatives in Catalan:

Forming Comparatives

To form the comparative form of an adjective in Catalan, follow these rules:

• For adjectives of one syllable, add the suffix "-er" to the adjective to form the comparative. Example: "gran" (big) becomes "més gran" (bigger).
• For adjectives of two or more syllables, add the word "més" before the adjective. Example: "interessant" (interesting) becomes "més interessant" (more interesting).

Some examples of comparative forms in Catalan:

• "Aquest llibre és més interessant que aquell." (This book is more interesting than that one.)
• "El cotxe és més ràpid que la bicicleta." (The car is faster than the bicycle.)
• "La ciutat és més gran que el poble." (The city is bigger than the town.)

Forming Superlatives

To form the superlative form of an adjective in Catalan, follow these rules:

• For adjectives of one syllable, add the suffix "-est" to the adjective to form the superlative. Example: "gran" (big) becomes "el més gran" (the biggest).
• For adjectives of two or more syllables, add the word "el" before the adjective. Example: "interessant" (interesting) becomes "el més interessant" (the most interesting).

Some examples of superlative forms in Catalan:

• "Aquest és el llibre més interessant de tots." (This is the most interesting book of all.)
• "El cotxe més ràpid és el Ferrari." (The fastest car is the Ferrari.)
• "La ciutat més gran del món és Nova York." (The biggest city in the world is New York.)

It's important to note that there are some irregular comparative and superlative forms in Catalan that don't follow these rules. Here are a few examples:

• "Bo" (good) becomes "millor" (better) and "el millor" (the best).
• "Dolent" (bad) becomes "pitjor" (worse)

Basic Comparison

Comparative adjectives are used to compare two nouns, indicating that one noun has more of a particular quality than the other noun. In Catalan, comparative adjectives are usually formed by adding the suffix "-er" to the adjective, but there are some irregular comparatives that have different forms.

Here are some examples of regular comparative adjectives and how they are formed:

• "alt" (tall) becomes "més alt" (taller)
• "fort" (strong) becomes "més fort" (stronger)
• "gran" (big) becomes "més gran" (bigger)

To use comparative adjectives in a sentence, simply place "més" before the adjective, like this:

• "El meu germà és més alt que jo." (My brother is taller than me.)
• "Aquesta casa és més gran que la meva." (This house is bigger than mine.)
• "El teu cotxe és més ràpid que el meu." (Your car is faster than mine.)

Superlative adjectives are used to compare one noun to all others in a group, indicating that one noun has the most of a particular quality. In Catalan, superlative adjectives are usually formed by adding the suffix "-est" to the adjective, but again, there are some irregular superlatives that have different forms.

Here are some examples of regular superlative adjectives and how they are formed:

• "alt" (tall) becomes "més alt" (taller) and "el més alt" (the tallest)
• "fort" (strong) becomes "més fort" (stronger) and "el més fort" (the strongest)
• "gran" (big) becomes "més gran" (bigger) and "el més gran" (the biggest)

To use superlative adjectives in a sentence, place "el/la/els/les" before the superlative form of the adjective, like this:

• "El meu germà és el més alt de tots." (My brother is the tallest of all.)
• "Aquesta casa és la més gran del barri." (This house is the biggest in the neighborhood.)
• "El teu cotxe és el més ràpid de tots els cotxes que he vist." (Your car is the fastest of all the cars I've seen.)

It's important to note that some adjectives have irregular comparative and superlative forms. Here are a few examples:

• "bo" (good) becomes "millor" (better) for the comparative and "el millor" (the best) for the superlative
• "dolç" (sweet) becomes "més dolç" (sweeter) for the comparative and "el més dolç" (the sweetest) for the superlative
• "gran" (great) becomes "major" (greater) for the comparative and "el major" (the greatest) for the superlative

Making Comparisons with Nouns

When making comparisons with nouns, we use the words "més" (more) and "menys" (less).

Here are some examples of how to use "més" and "menys" with nouns:

• "Ell té més diners que jo." (He has more money than I do.)
• "La teva ciutat té menys trànsit que la meva." (Your city has less traffic than mine.)
• "El vostre gat és més gran que el meu." (Your cat is bigger than mine.)
• "La meva germana és menys alta que jo." (My sister is less tall than I am.)

It is important to note that "més" and "menys" are only used with singular nouns. If you want to compare plural nouns, you will need to use a different construction.

Comparing Adjectives

When comparing adjectives in Catalan, we use the words "més" (more) and "menys" (less) just like with nouns. Here are some examples of how to use "més" and "menys" with adjectives:

• "La casa nova és més gran que la casa vella." (The new house is bigger than the old house.)
• "El menjar japonès és menys greixós que el menjar americà." (Japanese food is less greasy than American food.)
• "El teu cotxe és més ràpid que el meu." (Your car is faster than mine.)
• "La pel·lícula d'acció és menys interessant que la pel·lícula de terror." (The action movie is less interesting than the horror movie.)

Just like with nouns, "més" and "menys" are only used with singular adjectives. If you want to compare plural adjectives, you will need to use a different construction.

Comparing Adverbs

When comparing adverbs in Catalan, we use the words "més" (more) and "menys" (less) just like with nouns and adjectives. Here are some examples of how to use "més" and "menys" with adverbs:

• "Ell parla més ràpid que jo." (He speaks more quickly than I do.)
• "Ella canta menys bé que la seva germana." (She sings less well than her sister.)
• "El gos corre més lentament que el gat." (The dog runs more slowly than the cat.)
• "El nen escriu menys netament que la nena." (The boy writes less neatly than the girl.)
• As with nouns and adjectives, "més" and "menys" are only used with singular adverbs.

Superlatives

To form superlatives in Catalan, we use the word "més" (most) before the adjective or adverb. Here are some examples:

• "El muntanyó més alt del món és l'Everest." (The highest mountain in the world is Everest.)
• "La pel·lícula més interessant que he vist aquest any és 'Parasite'." (The most interesting movie I've seen this year is 'Parasite'.)
• "El gat és l'animal més net de la casa." (The cat is the cleanest animal in the house.)
• "La meva mare és la persona que canta més bé de la família." (My mother is the person who sings the best in the family.)
• To form the superlative of an adverb, we use "més" before the adverb, followed by "de tots" (of all). For example:
• "La meva germana corre més ràpid de tots." (My sister runs the fastest of all.)

Irregular Comparatives and Superlatives

As with other languages, there are some irregular comparatives and superlatives in Catalan that do not follow the usual rules. Here are a few examples:

• "Bé" (good) - "millor" (better) - "el/la millor" (the best) "Molt" (much) - "més

Superlative

The superlative form is used when comparing one thing to everything else in the group. It is the highest degree of comparison. In Catalan, we form the superlative by adding the suffix "-íssim/-íssima/-íssims/-íssimes" to the end of the adjective.

Here are some examples of how to use the superlative:

• "El meu professor és el més intel·ligent de l'escola." (My teacher is the most intelligent in the school.)
• "Aquesta pel·lícula és la més emocionant que he vist mai." (This movie is the most exciting I've ever seen.)
• "El llibre que has escrit és el més interessant de tots." (The book you have written is the most interesting of all.)

Here are some common adjectives and their superlative forms:

Adjective	Superlative
Bó (good)	Boníssim/-íssima/-íssims/-íssimes (very good)
Dolent (bad)	Dolentíssim/-íssima/-íssims/-íssimes (very bad)
Alt (tall/high)	Altíssim/-íssima/-íssims/-íssimes (very tall/very high)
Baix (short/low)	Baixíssim/-íssima/-íssims/-íssimes (very short/very low)
Gran (big/large)	Graníssim/-íssima/-íssims/-íssimes (very big/very large)
Petit (small)	Petitíssim/-íssima/-íssims/-íssimes (very small)
Ràpid (fast)	Rapidíssim/-íssima/-íssims/-íssimes (very fast)
Lent (slow)	Lentíssim/-íssima/-íssims/-íssimes (very slow)

It's important to note that some adjectives have irregular superlative forms. Here are a few examples:

Adjective	Superlative
Bé (well)	Òptim/-a/-s/-es (optimal)
Malament (poorly)	Pèssim/-a/-s/-es (terrible)
Gran (great)	Màxim/-a/-s/-es (maximum)
Petit (little)	Menudet/-a/-s/-es (very small)

Exceptions

There are some adjectives that are irregular when making comparisons. These include "bon" (good) and "mau" (bad). Here's how you would use them:

Comparison	Bon	Mau
Comparative	Millor (better)	Pitjor (worse)
Superlative	Óptim/-a/-s/-es (optimal)	Pèssim/-a/-s/-es (terrible)

Examples

ENGLISH	CATALAN
MORE BEAUTIFUL (MASC)	MÉS BONIC
MORE BEAUTIFUL (FEMIN)	MÉS BONICA
BIGGER (MASC)	MAJOR
BIGGER (FEMIN)	MAJOR
LONGER (MASC)	MÉS LLARG
LONGER (FEMIN)	MÉS LLARGA
STRONGER (MASC)	MÉS FORT
STRONGER (FEMIN)	MÉS FORTA
EASIER (MASC)	MÉS FÀCIL
EASIER (FEMIN)	MÉS FÀCIL
SWITZERLAND IS MORE BEAUTIFUL THAN GERMANY	SUÏSSA ES MÉS BONICA QUE ALEMANYA
THIS CITY IS BIGGER THAN THIS COUNTRY	AQUESTA CIUTAT ÉS MAJOR QUE AQUEST PAÍS
MOST BEAUTIFUL OF THEM ALL (MASC)	MÉS BONIC D`ELLS
MOST BEAUTIFUL OF THEM ALL (FEMIN)	MÉS BONICA D`ELLES
BIGGEST OF THEM ALL (MASC)	MAJOR D`ELLS
BIGGEST OF THEM ALL (FEMIN)	MAJOR D`ELLES
LONGEST OF THEM ALL (MASC)	MÉS LLARG D`ELLS
LONGEST OF THEM ALL (FEMIN)	MÉS LLARGA D`ELLES
STRONGEST OF THEM ALL (MASC)	MÉS FORT D`ELLS
STRONGEST OF THEM ALL (FEMIN)	MÉS FORTA D`ELLES
EASIEST OF THEM ALL (MASC)	MÉS FÀCIL D`ELLS
EASIEST OF THEM ALL (FEMIN)	MÉS FÀCIL D`ELLES
HE IS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL MEN OF THEM ALL	ELL ÉS L`HOME MÉS BONIC D`ELLES
RUSSIA IS THE BIGGEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD	RÚSSIA ÉS EL MAJOR PÁIS DEL MÓN
THESE LANGUAGES ARE THE EASIEST	AQUESTES LLENGÜES SÓN LES MÉS FÀCILS

Conclusion

Comparatives and superlatives are used in Catalan to compare two or more things. By knowing how to use them correctly, you can describe things with more precision and detail. Remember to use the correct form of the comparative or superlative, and to be careful with irregular forms.

I hope this lesson was helpful and informative.

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to leave them below. Happy learning!

Other Lessons

• Pronouns
• Personal pronouns
• Locative Case in Catalan
• Indefinite Articles in Catalan
• Plurals
• Cardinal Numbers in Catalan
• Ablative Case in Catalan
• Definite Articles in Catalan
• Genitive Case in Catalan
• Instrumental Case in Catalan