Comparative and Superlative Forms in Ukrainian Language

In Ukrainian, adjectives and adverbs are often modified to express degrees of comparison: the comparative form (used to compare two things) and the superlative form (used to show the highest degree of a quality).

1. Comparative Form

The comparative form is used to indicate that one thing possesses a quality to a greater degree than another. It is formed in two main ways:

• By adding suffixes:
  • For adjectives, add -ший or -іший to the base (e.g., швидкий → швидший (faster), гарний → гарніший (more beautiful)).
  • For adverbs, use the -ше suffix (e.g., швидко → швидше (faster), добре → краще (better)).
• Using “більш” (more):
  • When the adjective does not take a suffix, add більш before it (e.g., цікавий → більш цікавий (more interesting)).

2. Superlative Form

The superlative form is used to indicate the highest degree of a quality. It is formed by adding най- before the comparative form:

• For adjectives:
  • швидший → найшвидший (the fastest).
  • більш цікавий → найбільш цікавий (the most interesting).
• For adverbs:
  • швидше → найшвидше (the fastest).
  • більш цікаво → найбільш цікаво (the most interesting).

Irregular Forms

Some common adjectives and adverbs have irregular comparative and superlative forms:

• добрий (good) → кращий (better) → найкращий (the best).
• поганий (bad) → гірший (worse) → найгірший (the worst).
• великий (big) → більший (bigger) → найбільший (the biggest).

Usage Notes

• Comparatives often take the word за or ніж (than) when making direct comparisons (e.g., Ця книга цікавіша за ту – This book is more interesting than that one).
• Superlatives can sometimes be emphasized with intensifiers like дуже (very) or зовсім (completely).

By mastering these forms, learners can create more descriptive and precise sentences in Ukrainian.