Comparative and superlative adverbs

We can use comparative adverbs to show change or make comparisons:

I forget things more often nowadays.
She began to speak more quickly.
They are working harder now.

We often use than with comparative adverbs:

I forget things more often than I used to.
Girls usually work harder than boys.

We use these words and phrases as intensifiers with comparatives:



I forget things much more often nowadays.

We use these words and phrases as mitigators:


She began to speak a bit more quickly.

We can use superlative adverbs to make comparisons:

His ankles hurt badly, but his knees hurt worst.
It rains most often at the beginning of the year.

We use these words and phrases as intensifiers with superlatives:


When we intensify a superlative adverb, we often put the in front of the adverb:

In our office, Jill works by far the hardest.
Of the three brothers, Brian easily runs the fastest.