Comparison
• The comparative degree of adverbs and adjectives is formed with the help of the words 'pyu' more ('... kem' ... than) and 'meno' less ('... kem' ... than); the superlative degree is formed with the help of the words 'zuy' most and 'minim' least.
hao — good; well
pyu hao — better
zuy hao — the best
meno hao — less good
minim hao — least good
bade — bad
pyu bade — worse
zuy bade — the worst
meno bade— less bad
minim bade — least bad
Es zuy muhim kwesta. — It's the most important question.
Sey kamisa es pyu hao kem toy-la. — This shirt is better than that one.
Pyu hao tardem kem neva. — Better late than never.
Ela es meno atenta-ney kem lu. — She is less attentive than he.
minim long — the least long
Lu hev zuy shao mani. — He's got the least money.
Lo zuy hao es tu returni. — The best thing is to return.
• Equality of comparison:
sam… kom — as... as:
Lu es sam riche kom ela. — He is as rich as she is.
• Pyu, meno, zuy and minim are also adverbs meaning to a greater/lesser/the greatest/the least extent:
Me pri se pyu. — I like this more.
Me pri se meno. — I like this less.
Me pri se zuy. — I like this most.
Me pri se minim. — I like this least.
• The adverbs ‘mucho’ many, much and ‘shao’ few, little, besides regular comparative forms (pyu mucho, meno mucho, zuy mucho, minim mucho; pyu shao, zuy shao), have also short forms pyu, meno, maiste, minim:
Lu hev pyu. — He has more
Lu hev meno. — He has less.
Lu hev minim. — He has least. (=Lu hev zuy shao.)
Lu hev maiste. — He has most. (=Lu hev zuy mucho.)
‘Maiste’ is also an adjective meaning most, greatest in number/extent:
in maiste kasu — in most cases
maiste jen — most people
maiste parta — the most part
maiste taim — most of the time, the most time
• Expressions like “as soon as possible”, “as little as possible” are expressed by means of 'tanto... kom posible', 'zuy ... posible':
Lai tanto kway kom posible. (Lai zuy kway posible.) — Come as soon as possible.
Shumi zuy shao posible. — Make as little noise as possible.
Safara mus bi zuy lente posible. — The journey should be as slow as possible.
• The expressions "the more…, the more", "the less..., the less" — "kem pyu... tem pyu", "kem meno... tem meno":
Kem pyu lao, tem pyu stupide. — The older, the sillier.
Kem meno mani, tem meno problema. — Less money, less problems.
The word "tem" can also be used beyond the expression "tem...kem":
tem pyu hao — so much the better
Es tem pyu surprisive ke… — It's all the more surprising that…