Klallam Grammar

16 Comparison

Every language must allow for some way of comparing two things with respect to some quality. In comparing two things, the relationship between the things can be the same, as in ‘the cat is as big as the dog,’ or one item can be more than the other, as in ‘the cat is bigger than the dog.’ A grammatical construction that expresses that two things are the same or that equates two things is called equative. A construction that expresses the idea that one thing is more in some quality than another is called comparative.
In English the equative construction uses this formula: 
                                    X           is as  QUALITY as       Y
For example:           The cat  is as      big          as   the dog.
The English comparative construction basically uses this formula:
                                      X          is   QUALITYer    than     Y
For example:           The cat   is      bigger           than   the dog.
In addition to equative and comparative constructions, languages have a way of comparing one thing to a whole group of things, as in ‘my dog is the biggest of the dogs.’ This kind of construction is called the superlative.
In English the superlative uses this formula:
                                  X             is the  QUALITYest   of       Y
For example:          My dog    is the     biggest         of   the dogs.
In this section you will learn the formulas Klallam uses in expressing equative, comparative, and superlative constructions.
 

This page has paths:

Contents of this path: