Page:A grammar of the Bohemian or Cech language.djvu/41

 ﻿Comparison of Adjectives.

The comparative degree is formed by adding to the stem of the adjectives the terminations -ějši or -ejli, -si or -i.

1. The ending -ějsí' (-ejsf) is put after adjectives ending in -lý, -rý, -mý, -ný, as rychlý, quick, rychlejší; also after those in -výs -lý, -ský, -clý, and some in -bý, -pý; when hard, the termination of the stem being changed into a soft consonant.

2. The ending -ši, before which h goes into I and ch into š, is placed after the stem in adjectives in -by, -dý, -hý, -chý, as tichý, quiet, fišši; in the case of adjectives ending in -hý, -eký, -oký, the termination is cast aside in the comparative as in Russian (the k being a mere suffix to form the adjective), as hluboký, deep; hlubíi, deeper. There are, however, a few instances where the k is preserved in a modified form, as—

lehký, easy lehcí, easier

mlkký, soft měkčí, softer.

Some comparatives take both forms, as—

čistý, pure čistit, čistéjli, purer

tmavý, dark tmavší, tmavější, darker.

The following comparatives are altogether irregular:—

dobrý, good lepši, better

veliký, great větší, greater

zlý, bad horši, worse

mdlý, little menši, less

dlouhý, long delší, longer.

The superlative is formed by prefixing the syllable nej- to the comparative, as tvrdý, hard; tvrdší, harder: nejtvrdší, the hardest.

The comparative and superlative adjectives are declined like dnešní.

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