Lesson 12 Special Topic

The Degrees of an Adjective

Positive

• What is an positive adjective? In its purest sense, it is a normal, household, run of the mill adjective that one encounters every day.

• Example: He shot the round ball.• She is playing with great skill.

Comparatives

• This is a special adjective, comparing one thing to another. It uses either more or –er.

• I am larger than my cousin.• My jump shot is sweeter than yours.

Latin Comparatives

• In Latin, you must first find the base of the adjective. This is found by dropping off the feminine ending. Once the base is removed, add ior if the noun is masculine or feminine, or ius if it is neuter. The genitive of ior adjectives is ioris (true of neuter as well).

Latin Comparatives

• Facilis, facile- • The new form? Facil- is + ior = facilior= easier• Altus, alta, altum• New form? Altior - wider

English Superlatives

• In English, we simply use –est or most to convey a comparison of three or more items.

• Mountain Dew is the best drink.

• I am the fastest runner on my team.

Latin Superlatives

• In Latin, you must still find the base of the adjective.

• Then, you can add issimus, rimus, limus depending on what the word ends with…

• Fortis ….fortissimus• Liber…..liberrimus• Facilis…facillimus

Our story- lines 1-2

• Capua hoc tempore urbs amplissima atque pulcherrima erat, maxima omnium in hāc parte Italiae. In planissimo loco posita, vias latas optimasque habuit.

Lines 3-4

• meliorem enim cibum in nullā urbe invenietis.

• In hoc loco raedam reliquerunt navemque celeriter petiverunt, ne morā impedirentur et ut quam maturissime ad Graeciam veherentur.

• quam + maturissime (this is a superlative whose us has been chopped off and replaced with an adverbial e) is as _____ly as possible