Gradable and Absolute Adjectives

Gradable Adjectives

A gradable adjective can be used with "grading adverbs" that vary the adjective's grade or intensity. Look at these examples:

A gradable adjective can also have comparative and superlative forms:

• • big, bigger, the biggest

  • hot, hotter, the hottest

  • important, more important, the most important

Look at these example sentences:

• • My teacher was very happy with my homework.

  • That website is reasonably popular. But this one is more popular.

  • He said that Holland was a little cold and Denmark was rather cold. But Sweden was the coldest.

Absolute Adjectives

An absolute adjective cannot be used with grading adverbs:

• • It was rather freezing outside.

  • The dog was very dead.

  • He is investing in slightly nuclear energy.

Absolute adjectives do not normally have comparative and superlative forms:

• • freezing, more freezing, the most freezing

  • dead, deader, the deadest

  • nuclear, more nuclear, the most nuclear

Often, absolute adjectives are used alone:

• • It was freezing outside.

  • The dog was dead.

  • He is investing in nuclear energy.