REVERSE COMPARISON IN MODERN ENGLISH
DOI: 10.23951/1609-624X-2017-3-38-41
The article deals with the peculiarities of the use of reverse comparison forms in Modern English. The category of adjectival comparison, constituted by three degrees and five forms, expresses the quantitative characteristic of the quality of a nounal referent. The synthetic forms of comparison in -er and -(e)st coexist with the analytical more/most-forms (direct comparison) on the one hand and the analytical forms effected by the auxiliaries less and least (reverse comparison) on the other. Linguists often point out the semantic and functional parallelism existing between the synthetic forms of comparison and the more/most-combinations while the less/least-combinations are regarded as completely opposite. But from grammatical point of view, the term ‘opposite meaning’ amounts to ascertaining the categorial equality of the forms compared. The basic form as the positive degree of comparison is quite often included in one and the same syntagmatic correlations with the other members of comparison scale. The reverse comparison forms are of lesser usage than the direct ones. Psychologically it is easier to follow the direct model of comparison based on the principle of addition than the reverse model based on the principle of subtraction, but in some cases the reverse comparison forms are indispensable. The reverse comparative and superlative forms can be found in syntagmatic correlations with the positive degree form and all the forms of direct comparison. The reverse comparison performs several significant functions. The most important of them are: subtraction of qualitative quantities without changing the nature of a quality, understatement as far as negative qualities are concerned, euphemistic usage, creating comic effect.
Keywords: adjective, degrees of comparison, reverse comparison forms, syntagmatic correlations, comparative semantics, euphemisms
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Issue: 3, 2017
Series of issue: Issue 3
Rubric: CURRENT PROBLEMS OF GERMANIC STUDIES
Pages: 38 — 41
Downloads: 1054