Language/Indonesian/Grammar/Comaratives-and-Superlatives

Comparative

When you want to express your opinion about something is better or worse at quality from anything else or comparative in English, then you use these forms. These forms are:

Noun A + lebih + adjective + daripada + Noun B => The same as in English form "-er ending for adjective" or "more".
Noun A + kurang + adjective + dari + Noun B => The same as in English form "less".

Those are the patterns that we use for the positive statement. When we want to express the negative one, just put a word "tidak" before "lebih" on the patterns. Notice that we don't usually put that word before the "kurang" form because it sounds weird. For example is Kucing itu tidak lebih besar daripada seekor rubah--That cat is not bigger than a fox.

Example

• Albert lebih pintar daripada Benny -- Albert is smarter than Benny.
• Willy kurang tinggi dari Cassie -- Willy is less tall than Cassie.
• Rumah itu tidak lebih indah daripada rumah Amy -- That house is not more beautiful than Amy's house.

For information

Unlike in English that has two common ways to express the comparative, there are "-er/more" form and "less" form. In Indonesia, we usually use the first pattern which we told above, it is lebih .... daripada than second one although it also makes sense.