Comparative of 3rd declension adjectives
These take the same endings -ior and -ius but,
as would be expected, are added to the stem of the adjective which is indicated
by the genitive case. Sometimes that makes no difference but often the stem has
changed from the nominative:
[i] fēlix: happy
> genitive singular: fēlīc¦is
> comparative: fēlīcior, fēlīcius (happier)
[ii] ingēns (huge)
> genitive singular: ingent¦is
> comparative: ingent¦ior, ingent¦ius (more
enormous)
[iii] fortis, forte (brave; strong)
> genitive singular: fort¦is
> comparative: fort¦ior, fort¦ius
[iv] ācer, ācris, ācre: sharp
> genitive singular: ācr¦is
> comparative: ācr¦ior, ācr¦ius (sharper)
magis + adjective
There is one brief footnote which applies to a
small group of adjectives which end in a vowel + -us, for example:
ānxi¦us, -a, -um: anxious
assidu¦us, -a, -um: constant; regular
dubius, -ā, -um: doubtful
ēgregius, -a, -um: distinguished
idōneus, -ā, -um: suitable
necessārius, -a, -um: necessary
pius, -a, -um: loyal
strēnuus, -a, -um: active
To form the comparative of these adjectives would
involve the addition of -ior / -ius to a stem ending in a vowel which leads to
difficulties in pronunciation. Therefore, with these adjectives the word magis
(more) is used; a similar
construction is used with the superlative which we’ll cover when the
superlative is discussed. However, this is not consistent among all Roman
writers and some of these – sometimes – are found with the usual comparative endings.
It is not a matter over which you should lose sleep; just look out for magis
when you’re reading in Latin.
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