Rules for single-word comparatives and superlatives





“More clear” vs “Clearer”, when to use “more” instead of “-er”



Are there any rules for which words are allowed to have -er and -est endings? Being a native speaker, I do it by ear, but what distinguishes free/freer/freest, calm/calmer/calmest, and speedy/speedier/speediest from watchful/*watchfuller/*watchfullest or creative/*creativer/*creativest ?



Answer



IIRC, one-syllable adjectives or two-syllable adjectives words ending on "y" have comparatives with -"er", all other adjectives use "more/most". Let's see if I can find a source for that though....



Hmmm does English SE count as a source? :)


"More clear" vs "Clearer": when to use "more" instead of "-er"?


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