(Grammar)Comparsions+of+Regular+Adverbs

= Comparisons of Regular Adverbs = = = Just like with adjectives, adverbs can also go through degrees of difference. One difference between adjectives and adverbs, besides their function, is that there are two kinds of adverbs, which applies to this discussion:

1) Adverbs that come from adjectives- Examples of this are "quickly" from "quick" and "highly" from "high." When we talk about degrees of adverbs, we are primarily talking about these.

2) Adverbs that are always adverbs- these are words like "very," "now," and "ever." These don't normally go through degrees, though in Latin there are a few that do; //diu// (for a long time) and //sero// (later) are examples of these and we'll deal with them at the end.

One other difference is that, with adverbs that come from adjectives, we have to form the positive degree. The rules for this differ based on the declension of the adjective.


 * Positive Degree for 1st/2nd Declension Adjectives:** Take the stem of the adjective and add a long "e" to the end. Thus, the adjective //altus// (high), with the stem of //alt//, turns into //alte// (highly).


 * Positive Degree for 3rd Declension Adjectives that Don't End in //ns//:** Take the stem of the adjective and add "iter" to the end. Thus, the adjective //gracilis// (simple), with the stem of //gracil//, turns into //graciliter// (simply).


 * Positive Degree for 3rd Declension Adjectives that End in //ns//:** Take the stem (which always ends in "nt") and add "er." Thus, the adjective //vehemens// (violent), with the stem //vehement//, becomes //vehementer// (violently).

Once we're past the positive degree, the rules stay the same no matter what declension the adjective is.


 * Comparative Degree:** Take the stem of the adjective and add //-ius//. Thus, //alte// becomes //altius//, //graciliter// becomes //gracilius//, and //vehementer// becomes //vehementius//. Another way to look at this is that you are using the nominative neuter singular form of the comparative adjective. Yeah, that was a mouthful, but use whichever you'd like.


 * Superlative Degree:** Take the stem of the adjective's superlative form and change the ending to long "e." This makes sense, because the superlative is always a 1st/2nd declension adjective, and this is how we make 1st/2nd declension adjectives into adverbs. So, //altissimus// becomes //altissime//, //gracillimus// becomes //gracillime//, and //vehementissimus// becomes //vehementissime//.


 * Degrees for //diu// and //sero//**


 * **Positive** || **Comparative** || **Superlative** ||
 * //diu// (for a long time) || //diutius// (for a longer time) || //diutissime// (for the longest time) ||
 * //sero// (late) || //serius// (later) || //serissime// (latest) ||

For adverbs that come from adjectives like //magnus// and //bonus//, check here.