Page:A grammar of the Bohemian or Cech language.djvu/79

 ﻿-ko, -eko, and -oko being the final syllables of the adverb, they are entirely omitted, as h'roko, broad; sire, more broadly; daleko, far, ddl(e)'.

These latter comparatives can also end in -Iji, but the one- syllabled termination is the most common. The superlative is formed by the prefixing of the syllable nej- to the comparative, as lépe, better; nejlépe, in the best way.

The following are quite irregular:—

dobře, well; lépe or lip. zle, badjy ; hůř(é). . málo, little ; méne or miň. mnoho, much; vide), dlouho, long; déle.

brzy or brzo, soon; dřiv(é) or spís(e).

Adverbs are formed from various cases of adjectives with or without a preposition.

(a) With the genitive, as do cela, entirely;, z řídká, seldom.

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(b) The locative, v nove, newly (and to this case may be assigned all the adverbs in -I used without a preposition).

(c) The accusative without a preposition. Here belong all the adverbs in -o, as Haslo, frequently; vysoko, high. These correspond to the Latin adverbs in -urn ; e.g. parum.

(d) With the instrumental: mnohem, by much ; malem, soon, in a little time. Cf. bez mala, almost, within a little. .

Adverbs of manner end sometimes in -ský and -cký, and are sometimes preceded by po; but the latter is more often omitted. The case here is really the dative which has been weakened from -u, thus: mluvili po lesku or po lesky oř lesky, to speak Čech ; and the same with other adjectives relating to countries2.

1 The k of the positive is merely a letter used in the formation of adjectives.

. 2 For a parallel instance in Bulgarian see Morrill's Grammar, p. 65.