Comparative Adjectives

Comparative adjectives are used to compare two or more things or people. They allow us to express the degree of difference between them. In Hungarian, comparative adjectives are formed by adding specific suffixes to the base form of the adjective.

Forming Comparative Adjectives

To form the comparative degree of an adjective in Hungarian, we follow these rules:

1. Remove the ending of the base form of the adjective.
2. Add the appropriate suffix to the stem of the adjective.

The table below shows the different suffixes used for forming comparative adjectives in Hungarian:

| Comparison | Suffix | |------------|--------| | Comparative | -bb | | Superlative | -leg |

Examples

Let's see some examples of how to form comparative adjectives in Hungarian:

1. Big (Nagy)

   • Comparative: Nagyabb
   • Superlative: Legnagyobb

2. Small (Kicsi)

   • Comparative: Kisebb
   • Superlative: Legkisebb

3. Tall (Magas)

   • Comparative: Magasabb
   • Superlative: Legmagasabb

Using Comparative Adjectives

Once we've formed the comparative adjectives, we can use them to compare two or more objects or people. In Hungarian, the comparison is usually expressed using the word mint, which means "than" in English.

Here's the structure for making comparisons in Hungarian:

Subject + Verb + Comparative Adjective + mint + Object

Let's see some examples:

1. A kutya gyorsabb, mint a macska.

   • The dog is faster than the cat.

2. A ház nagyobb, mint a lakás.

   • The house is bigger than the apartment.

3. Péter idősebb, mint Anna.

   • Péter is older than Anna.

Exceptions

There are some adjectives in Hungarian that have irregular forms when forming the comparative degree. Here are a few examples:

• Good (Jó)

  • Comparative: Jobb
  • Superlative: Legjobb

• Bad (Rossz)

  • Comparative: Rosszabb
  • Superlative: Legrosszabb

• Many (Sok)

  • Comparative: Több
  • Superlative: Legtöbb

Conclusion

In this lesson, we've learned how to form comparative adjectives in Hungarian and how to use them to compare objects or people. Remember to pay attention to the specific suffixes used for comparative and superlative forms. With practice, you will become more confident in expressing comparisons in Hungarian using comparative adjectives.