2407: Alternative Comparatives & Superlatives Jul 24, 2021

Comparative and superlative adjectives are in some languages are used for purposes outside of comparison. For instance, comparatives are used in English to convey tendency, such as "Bob is the more humorous type" which does not compare between people as might be assumed with this subject, but between his other characteristics. Likewise, superlatives are often used emphatically: "he's the dumbest"; "she's the prettiest" which has the effective meaning of "very dumb/pretty".