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Index A
- a
- a- (1)
- a- (2)
- AB
- ab-
- abbreviations: acronyms and initialisms
- abbreviations: ampersand
- abbreviations: business terms and symbols
- abbreviations: capitals and hyphens
- abbreviations: corporate names
- abbreviations: days and months
- abbreviations: degrees and distinctions
- abbreviations: general guidelines
- abbreviations: geographical names
- abbreviations: imperial system
- abbreviations: International System of Units (SI)
- abbreviations: latitude and longitude
- abbreviations: military abbreviations
- abbreviations: monetary units
- abbreviations: netspeak
- abbreviations: number symbols
- abbreviations: parts of a book or document
- abbreviations: periods
- abbreviations: plurals
- abbreviations: scientific and technical terms
- abbreviations: time zones
- abbreviations: titles with personal names
- abeyance
- abide
- abide by
- about
- above-mentioned
- abreast
- absolutely essential
- absolute phrases
- abstain
- abstain from
- abstain in
- abstain on
- accede to
- accordance
- according to
- according to our records
- accord (of one’s own)
- accountable for
- accountable to
- accuracy
- accurate
- acquiesce in
- acquiesce to
- acquiesce with
- action verbs
- active voice
- act on
- act upon
- acu-
- addresses: official languages
- addresses on envelopes and parcels (Linguistic recommendation from the Translation Bureau)
- adequate amount of
- adequate number of
- adjective
- adjective clause
- adjective comparison
- ADT
- adverb clause
- adverb comparison
- adverbs
- adverse
- adverse to
- advice
- advise
- aero-
- a few
- affect
- Afghan
- afghani
- aforementioned
- Afro-
- after
- again
- ageing
- agenda
- agendas
- aggravate
- aging
- agreeable
- agree on
- agree to
- agree with
- agro-
- Alberta
- Albertan
- alliteration
- allo-
- all over again
- allow for
- allow to
- all ready
- all right
- all-time record
- all together
- allude
- allusion
- almost without exception
- along these lines
- already
- alright
- Alta.
- alternate(ly)
- alternative(ly)
- altogether
- alumna
- alumnus
- a.m.
- a mari usque ad mare
- ambi-
- American dollar (symbol) (Linguistic recommendation from the Translation Bureau)
- Americo-
- amount
- an-
- an
- an abundance of
- analyse
- analyze
- and
- and/or
- and so as a result
- Anglo-
- Anglophone
- anniversary
- answer for
- answer to
- ante-
- anti-
- anticipate
- anxious about
- anxious at
- anxious for
- anxious to
- any
- apostrophe: contractions
- apostrophe: plurals
- apostrophe: possession
- apparent
- appear
- appositives
- appraise
- apprise
- approval of
- approval to
- approve
- approve of
- approximately
- approximately about
- apt
- aqua-
- aqui-
- Arabo-
- arch-
- Armeno-
- Armistice Day
- around (1)
- around (2)
- as a consequence of
- as a matter of fact
- as a result of
- as a result of the fact that
- ascend
- ascent
- as far as
- aspire after
- aspire to
- as regards
- assent
- associate to
- associate with
- as soon as
- assume
- assure
- AST
- asterisk at end of sentence
- astro-
- as well as
- Atlantic Daylight Time
- Atlantic provinces
- Atlantic Standard Time
- attention
- attentive
- attentiveness
- at that point in time
- at the present time
- at this point in time
- at variance among
- at variance with
- audit and derived terms (Linguistic recommendation from the Translation Bureau)
- Austro-
- authentic
- autumn
- auxiliary verbs
- avenge
- averse to
- avocation
- awards
- aware of
- Azerbaijani
- Azeri
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Search and Functionalities Area
adverb comparison
In English, adverbs fall into the category called modifiers. (A modifier is a word that either describes or limits the meaning of the word it refers to. There are two main classes of modifiers: adjectives and adverbs.)
Adverb forms
Adverbs have three forms: positive, comparative and superlative.
The positive form is the adverb itself:
- Eric worked hard at repairing the motorcycle.
- Julia walked slowly along the path.
The comparative form is used to compare two actions:
- Eric worked harder than Samantha.
- Julia walked more slowly than Georg.
The superlative form is used to compare three or more actions:
- Of the group of motorcyclists, Eric worked the hardest.
- Julia walked the most slowly of all.
Rules for forming the comparative and superlative
The comparative is formed in the following ways:
- For short adverbs (one syllable), add the ending ‑er: faster, harder.
- For longer adverbs, use more before the adverb: more happily, more often.
The superlative is formed in the following ways:
- For short adverbs (one syllable), add the ending ‑est: fastest, hardest.
- For longer adverbs, use most before the adverbs: most happily, most often.
Note: The adverb early is an exception. Although it is longer than one syllable, it forms its comparative and superlative forms by adding ‑er and ‑est: early, earlier, earliest.
Irregular comparative and superlative forms
The following table shows five common adverbs with irregular comparative and superlative forms:
Positive | Comparative | Superlative |
|---|---|---|
badly | worse | worst |
far | farther | farthest |
little | less | least |
much | more | most |
well | better | best |
Mistakes to avoid in using comparative and superlative adverbs
Don’t combine the two forms for the comparative or superlative. Use either more or ‑er (or most or ‑est), but not both:
- better (not more better)
- fastest (not most fastest)
Don’t use the superlative when comparing only two persons or things:
- Who threw the ball farther, Jacob or Myriam? (not farthest)
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