In this lesson, we will examine different degrees of comparison to compare nouns and indicating inequality in Palestinian-Jordanian Levantine Arabic. We will study comparatives of inequality and superlatives.
Table of Contents
Comparatives of Inequality
There are three forms used to express comparatives of inequality in Palestinian-Jordanian Arabic:
Form #1: أَفْــعَــل مِــــن (’af‘al min)
The pattern أَفْـعَـل (’af‘al) is used with simple, underived adjectives:
| أَفْــعَـــل مِــــن | ’af‘al min | more … than |
For example:
| كْـــبِـــيْـــر kbīr | big | أَكْـــبَـــر مِـــن ’akbar min | bigger than |
| زْغِـــيْـــر zghīr | small | أَزْغَـــــر مِـــن ’azghar min | smaller than |
| طَـــوِيْـــل ṭawīl | tall | أَطْـــوَل مِـــن ’aṭwal min | taller than |
| قَــصِــيْــر qaṣīr | short | أَقْــصَــر مِـــن ’aqṣar min | shorter than |
| جْـــدِيْـــد jdīd | new | أَجْــــدَد مِـــن ’ajdad min | newer than |
| وَاسِــــع wāsi‘ | spacious | أَوْسَـــع مِـــن ’awsa‘ min | more spacious than |
Here are some examples in context:
| .هِـــيِّ أَطْـــوَل مِـــن أُخْـــتْـــهَـــا hiyye ’aṭwal min ’ukht-ha She (is) taller than her sister. |
| .مَــدِيْــنِــتْــنَــا أَقْــــدَم مِـــن اِلْــعَــاصْــمِــة madīnitna ’aqdam min il-‘āṣmeh Our city (is) older than the capital. |
| .أَخُــــوْي أَكْـــبَـــر مِـــنّــيْ ’akhūy ’akbar minni My brother (is) older (Lit.bigger) than me. |
The comparative of the adjectives مْــنِــيْــح (mnīḥ) and كْـــوَيِّـــس (kwayyis), both meaning ‘good,’ is the irregular أَحْـــسَـــن مِــــن (’aḥsan min) ‘better than.’
Form #2: أَكْـثَـر مِـن (’akthar min)/ أَقَــلّ مِـن (’aqall min) + adjective
The following patterns can be used to express inequality:
| أَكْـثَـر مِـن + adjective | adjective + ’akthar min | more … than |
| أَقَــلّ مِـن + adjective | adjective + ’aqall min | less… than |
For example:
| كْـــبِـــيْـــر kbīr | big | كْـــبِـــيْـــر أَكْــثَــر مِــن kbīr ’akthar min | bigger than |
| زْغِـــيْـــر zghīr | small | زْغِـــيْـــر أَكْــثَــر مِــن zghīr ’akthar min | smaller than |
| وَاضِـــح wāḍiḥ | clear | وَاضِـــح أَقَـــــلّ مِــن wāḍiḥ ’aqall min | less clear than |
| نْــظِــيْــف nẓīf | clean | نْــظِــيْــف أَقَـــــلّ مِــن nẓīf ’aqall min | less clean than |
Derived adjectives, such as active and passive participles, use Form #2 instead of Form #1, which is often used with simple, underived adjectives.
Note that to express the meaning of ‘less … than …,’ Form #1 cannot be used even with simple, underived adjectives.
| مَـــشْـــغُـــوْل mashghūl | busy | مَـــشْـــغُـــوْل أَكْــثَــر مِــن mashghūl ’akthar min | busier than |
| مِــتْــسَــامِـــح mitsāmiḥ | tolerant | مِــتْــسَــامِــح أَقَـــــلّ مِــن mitsāmiḥ ’aqall min | less tolerant than |
We will learn more about active participles and passive participles in Level V, Lessons 3 and 4.
Here are some examples:
| .هِـــيِّ طَـــوِيْــلِــة أَكْـــثَـــر مِـــن أُخْـــتْـــهَـــا hiyye ṭawīleh ’akthar min ’ukht ha She (is) taller than her sister. |
| .مَــدِيْــنِــتْــنَــا قَـــدِيْــمِــة أَكْـــثَـــر مِـــن اِلْــعَــاصْــمِــة madīnitna qadīmeh ’akthar min il-‘āṣmeh Our city (is) older than the capital. |
| .اِلْـــكُــرْسِــيْ نْــظِــيْــف أَقَـــــلّ مِـــن اِلــطَّــاوْلِـــة il-kursi nẓīf ’aqall min iṭ-ṭāwleh The chair (is) less clean than the table. |
Form #3: مِـن (verbal noun) أَقَــلّ/أَكْـثَـر
This form is considered formal and is rarely used in daily speech.
It belongs to MSA and requires the use of the verbal noun. We will study verbal nouns in more detail in Level V, Lesson 2.
| مِـن (verbal noun) أَكْـثَـر | ’akthar (verbal noun) min | more … than |
| مِـن (verbal noun) أَقَــلّ | ’aqall (verbal noun) min | less … than |
Like Form #2, Form #3 is often used with derived adjectives, such as active and passive participles. Many simple, underived adjectives can use any of the three forms.
Note that Form #3 can also be used to express the meaning of ‘less … than ….’
Here are some examples:
| مِــتْــسَــامِـــح mitsāmiḥ | tolerant | أَكْــثَــر تَــسَــامُــح مِــن ’akthar tasāmuḥ min | more tolerant than |
| أَقَـــلّ تَــسَــامُــح مِــن ’aqall tasāmuḥ min | less tolerant than | ||
| مَـــشْـــهُـــوْر mash–hūr | famous | أَكْــثَــر شُـــهْـــرَة مِـن ’akthar shuhrah min | more famous than |
| أَقَـــلّ شُـــهْـــرَة مِـن ’aqall shuhrah min | less famous than | ||
| سَـــهْـــل sahl | easy | أَكْــثَــر سُـــهُـــوْلِــة مِـن ’akthar suhūleh min | easier than |
| أَقَـــلّ سُـــهُـــوْلِــة مِـن ’aqall suhūleh min | less easy than |
Superlatives
There are two ways to express a high or extreme degree of an adjective:
Relative Superlatives
There are three forms to express relative superlatives in Palestinian-Jordanian Arabic:
Form #1: الْأَفْـعَـل (il-’af‘al)
The pattern الْأَفْـعَـل (il-’af‘al) is used with simple, underived adjectives:
| الْأَفْـعَـل | il-’af‘al | the most … |
For example:
| كْـــبِـــيْـــر kbīr | big | الْأَكْــبَـــر il-’akbar | the biggest |
| زْغِـــيْـــر zghīr | small | الْأَزْغَـــــر il-’azghar | the smallest |
| طَـــوِيْـــل ṭawīl | tall | الْأَطْــــوَل il-’aṭwal | the tallest |
| قَــصِــيْــر qaṣīr | short | الْأَقْــصَـــر il-’aqṣar | the shortest |
| جْـــدِيْـــد jdīd | new | الْأَجْـــدَد il-’ajdad | the newest |
| وَاسِــــع wāsi‘ | spacious | الْأَوْسَـــــع il-’awsa‘ | the most spacious |
| وَاضِـــح wāḍiḥ | clear | اِلْأَوْضَــــح il-’awḍaḥ | the clearest |
| نْــظِــيْــف nẓīf | clean | اِلْأَنْـــظَـــف il-’anẓaf | the cleanest |
Note that Form #1 can only be used to express the meaning of ‘the most ….’ To express the meaning of ‘the least…,’ we must use Form #2 or Form #3.
| .هِـــيِّ اِلْأَطْــــوَل فِــيْ الْــعِــيــلِــة hiyye il-’aṭwal fi -l-‘eyleh She (is) the tallest in the family. |
| .هَــاذَا الْـــكُــرْسِــيْ هُـــوِّ الْأَنْـــظَـــف hādha -l-kursi huwwe -l-’anẓaf This chair (is) the cleanest. |
| .هَــاذَا الْــبِــيــت اِلْأَقْـــدم فِــيْ الــشَّـــارِع hādha -l-beyt il-’aqdam fi -sh-shāri‘ This (is) the oldest house on the street. |
One could also replace the noun itself with the indefinite pronoun وَاحَـــد (wāḥad) for masculine or وَحْـــدِة (waḥdeh) for feminine, both meaning ‘one’:
| أَفْـعَـل وَاحَـــد/وَحْـــدِة | ’af‘al wāḥad/waḥdeh | the most … |
Here are the same examples rewritten using this form:
| .هِـــيِّ أَطْــــوَل وَحْـــدِة فِــيْ الْــعِــيــلِــة hiyye ’aṭwal waḥdeh fi -l-‘eyleh She (is) the tallest one in the family. |
| .هَــاذَا اِلْـــكُــرْسِــيْ هُـــوِّ أَنْـــظَـــف وَاحَـــد hādha -l-kursi ’anẓaf wāḥad This chair (is) the cleanest one. |
| .هَــاذَا الْــبِــيــت أَقْـــدم وَاحَـــد فِــيْ الــشَّـــارِع hādha -l-beyt’aqdam wāḥad fi -sh-shāri‘ This house (is) the oldest one on the street. |
Form #2: أَكْـثَـر (’akthar)/أَقَــلّ (’aqall)
The following patterns can be used to express inequality:
| adjective + noun + أَكْـثَـر | ’akthar + noun + adjective | the most + adj. |
| adjective + noun + أَقَــلّ | ’aqall + noun + adjective | the least + adj. |
One could also replace the noun itself with the indefinite pronoun وَاحَـــد (wāḥad) for masculine or وَحْـــدِة (waḥdeh) for feminine, both meaning ‘one’:
| adj. + أَكْـثَـر وَاحَـــد/وَحْـــدِة | ’akthar wāḥad/waḥdeh + adj. | the most + adj. |
| adj. + أَقَــــلّ وَاحَـــد/وَحْـــدِة | ’aqall wāḥad/waḥdeh + adj. | the least + adj. |
Derived adjectives, such as active and passive participles, use Form #2 instead of Form #1, which is often used with simple, underived adjectives.
Note that to express the meaning of ‘the least …,’ Form #1 cannot be used even with simple, underived adjectives.
Here are some examples:
| .هِـــيِّ أَكْـــثَـــر وَحْـــدِة طَـــوِيْــلِــة فِــيْ الْــعِــيــلِــة hiyye ’akthar waḥdeh ṭawīleh fi -l-‘eyleh She (is) the tallest one in the family. |
| .هَــاذَا اِلْـــكُــرْسِــيْ أَكْـــثَـــر وَاحَـــد نْــظِــيْــف hādha -l-kursi ’akthar wāḥad (i) nẓīf This chair (is) the cleanest one. |
| .هَــاذَا أَكْـــثَـــر بِــيــت مْــزَيَّــن فِــيْ الــشَّـــارِع hādha ’akthar beyt (i) mzayyan fi -sh-shāri‘ This (is) the most decorated house on the street. |
Form #3: الْأَكْـثَـر (il-’akthar)/الْأَقَـلّ (il-’aqall)
This form belongs to MSA and requires the use of the verbal noun.
It is considered formal and is rarely used in daily speech:
| (verbal noun) الْأَكْـثَـر | il-’akthar (verbal noun) | the most (verbal noun) |
| (verbal noun) الْأَقَـلّ | il-’aqall (verbal noun) | the least (verbal noun) |
Form #3 can also be used to express the meaning of ‘less … than ….’ This form is often used with derived adjectives, such as active and passive participles. Many simple, underived adjectives can use any of the three forms.
| .هَــاذَا اِلْـــكُــرْسِــيْ اِلْأَكْــثَــر نَـــظَـــافِـــة hādha -l-kursi il-’akthar naẓāfeh This chair (is) the cleanest. |
| .هَــاذَا الْــبِــيــت اِلْأَكْــثَــر تَـــزْيِــيْــن فِــيْ الــشَّـــارِع hādha -l-beyt il-’akthar tazyīn fi -sh-shāri‘ This house (is) the most decorated on the street. |
Absolute Superlatives
One can express an absolute superlative by simply following the adjective with the adverb كْـــثِـــيْـــر (kthīr) ‘very’ or عَ الْآخِــــر (‘a-l-’ākhir) ‘to the maximum.’
One can also use the adverb جِـــدًّا (jiddan) ‘very’ from MSA, which is used in more formal contexts.
Note that the final “an” sound in جِـــدًّا (jiddan), called تَـنْـويْـن فَـتْـح (tanwīn fatḥ) ‘double fatḥah,’ comes from MSA. This is found in only a few words in Palestinian-Jordanian Arabic.
For example:
| .اِلْــقَـــهْــــوِة سُـــخْـــنِــة كْـــثِـــيْـــر il-qahweh sukhneh kthīr The coffee (is) very hot. |
| .أَنَــــا تَـــعْـــبَــــان عَ الْآخِــــر ’ana ta‘bān ‘a-l-’ākhir I (am) extremely (Lit. to the maximum) tired. |
| .هَـــاذَا الْـــمَـــكَـــان بَــــارِد جِـــدًّا hādha -l-makān bārid jiddan This place (is) very cold. |
Summary
Consider the following example:
| .هَـــاذَا الْـــمَـــكَـــان بَــــارِد hādha -l-makān bārid This place (is) cold. |
The triliteral root of the adjective بَـــارِد (bārid) ‘cold’ is ب – ر – د (b – r – d).
| Adjective | Comparative | |
| فَــــاعِـــل fā‘il | ==> | أَفْـــعَـــل ’af‘al |
| بَــــارِد bārid cold | ==> | أَبْــــــرَد ’abrad colder |
Here is a summary of the different degrees of comparison using the adjective بَـــارِد (bārid) ‘cold’:
| Comparative | Relative Superlative | Absolute Superlative | |
.هَــاذَا الْــمَــكَــان ــــــــــــ مِــن اِلــثَّــلَّاجِــة ādha -l-makān ____ min ith-thallājeh This place (is) colder than the fridge. | .هَـــاذَا الْـــمَـــكَـــان ــــــــــــ ādha -l-makān ____ This place (is) the coldest. | . هَـــاذَا الْـــمَـــكَـــان ــــــــــــ hādha -l-makān ____ This place (is) very cold. | |
| Form #1 | أَبْــــرَد ’abrad | اِلْأَبْــــرَد il-’abrad | بَــــارِد كْــثِــيْـــر bārid kthīr |
| Form #2 | بَــــارِد أَكْــثَــر bārid ’akthar | أَكْــثَــر وَاحَـــد بَــــارِد ’akthar wāḥad bārid | بَــــارِد عَ الْآخِــــر bārid ‘a-l-’ākhir |
| Form #3 | أَكْــثَــر بُـــرُوْدِة ’akthar burūdeh | اِلْأَكْــثَــر بُـــرُوْدِة il-’akthar burūdeh | بَــــارِد جِـــدًّا bārid jiddan |
Other lessons in Level IV: