Latin Comparatives and Superlatives: altior, optimus

English says taller for short words and more beautiful for long ones. Latin nearly always uses an ending, however long the word: stem plus -ior for the comparative, stem plus -issimus for the superlative.

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1. 1canis parvus
2. 2canis maior
3. 3canis maximus

Canis parvus, a small dog; canis maior, a bigger dog; canis maximus, the biggest dog. Magnus, big, is irregular: maior, maximus.

The main exceptions are adjectives with a vowel before -us (except -quus), such as idoneus, suitable, which say magis idoneus (more suitable) and maxime idoneus (most suitable).

The regular pattern

Take the stem from the genitive singular, then add the endings:

Felix shows why the stem comes from the genitive: felix, felicis, so felic-. And the plain adjective's family does not matter: altus declines like bonus, fortis is third-declension, and their comparatives are built the same way.

The neuter comparative ends in -ius:

• Mons altior est. - The mountain is higher.
• Templum altius est. - The temple is higher.

The superlative declines like bonus, bona, bonum: altissima (feminine), altissimum (neuter).

How the comparative declines

The comparative is a third-declension consonant stem, even when the plain adjective was an i-stem. Singular:

Plural:

The trap is a word like fortis, which has the i-stem endings in its plain form and the consonant-stem endings in its comparative:

• cum milite fortiore - with a braver soldier

Two spelling families

Adjectives in -er add -rimus to the masculine nominative, not to the stem. Their comparative is regular:

Six adjectives in -lis take -limus:

Six, not all of them. Utilis gives utilissimus and fidelis gives fidelissimus: the list is closed, and treating it as a rule about every -lis adjective produces Latin no Roman wrote.

The five irregular families

You know half of this table already as ordinary words: plus, minus, magis and maxime are comparatives and superlatives that became words in their own right, as English better and worst did. Spanish and French kept the irregulars: melior became mejor and meilleur.

Plus in the singular is a neuter noun that takes a partitive genitive, like nihil novi:

• plus vini - more wine (literally more of wine)

In the plural it is an ordinary adjective: plures homines, more people; genitive plural plurium.

Than: quam or the ablative

Both mean the same. The ablative is shorter and loved by poets; it works when the first thing is nominative or accusative, and quam is never wrong.

• Exegi monumentum aere perennius. - I have built a monument more lasting than bronze. (Horace, Odes 3.30)

The superlative with a genitive picks one out of a group:

• Horum omnium fortissimi sunt Belgae. - Of all these, the bravest are the Belgae. (Caesar, Gallic War 1.1)

Quam with a superlative means as ... as possible:

• quam celerrime - as fast as possible
• quam plurimos milites - as many soldiers as possible

How much more goes in the ablative too, the ablative of degree of difference:

• multo maior - much bigger
• paulo minor - a little smaller

Rather, too and very

A comparative with nothing to compare against does not mean taller. It means rather or too:

• Mons altior est. - The mountain is rather high. (or: too high)
• Verba graviora dixit. - He spoke rather harshly.

A superlative on its own usually means very:

• vir fortissimus - a very brave man

Context decides. Mons altior est means the mountain is higher when another mountain has just been mentioned.

The adverbs

The plain adverb ends in -e (alte, longe) or -iter (fortiter). The comparative adverb is the neuter comparative, in -ius; the superlative adverb ends in -issime:

The Olympic motto is three comparative adverbs:

• Citius, altius, fortius. - Faster, higher, stronger.

Mistakes English speakers make

What to do next

1. Learn the five irregular families: they are the commonest comparatives in Latin.
2. Run the drill below: build the forms, then complete the comparisons.
3. Then meet the passive voice and deponent verbs.