~8 min · 11 exercises

Part of the unit “Weather: warmer, colder, better”

Poređenje prideva

comparison-of-adjectives

Overview

Adjectives have three degrees: positive, comparative (more/-er) and superlative (most/-est). Comparative and superlative follow their own formation rules.

The regular comparative - -ији

Add -ији to most adjective stems: паметан → паметнији (drop the fleeting а) and стар → старији. Some adjectives change a consonant or use -ши; see the next section.

The comparative agrees in gender like the positive, but with its own fixed endings - -и masculine, -а feminine, -е neuter - regardless of which pattern the positive followed: паметнији/паметнија/паметније.

Irregular comparatives - memorize as a set

A handful of very common adjectives have irregular comparatives that must be learned individually, the same way you'd memorize English good/better or bad/worse: добар (good) → бољи, лош (bad) → гори, велик (big) → већи, мали (small) → мањи. For лош there are two standard options: the regular лошији (superlative најлошији) and the common alternative гори (superlative најгори); neither is colloquial or wrong. Superlatives normally follow the regular нај- rule like everything else.

A few frequent adjectives take -ши instead of plain -ији, such as мек (soft) → мекши, леп (nice) → лепши, лак (easy) → лакши - learn them individually rather than deriving them from a rule. A separate group instead softens its final consonant and adds -ји: млад (young) → млађи is built this way, not with -ши.

The superlative - нај-

Form the superlative with нај- + comparative: јефтин → јефтинији → најјефтинији. Write it as one word. It keeps the comparative’s gender endings, including irregular forms: бољи → најбољи.

Two things follow. It's written as one word - нај- is a prefix, never separate (нај јефтинији) or hyphenated (нај-јефтинији): the superlative of јефтин is најјефтинији. And it agrees in gender exactly like the comparative it's built on - најпаметнији/најпаметнија/најпаметније - including irregulars, whose superlative is simply нај- plus their own comparative: бољи → најбољи.

Comparing two things: него and од

Than has two correct translations. Него pairs with the same case as the first thing compared - usually nominative: Он је старији него ја. (He is older than I am.) Од instead takes the genitive: Он је старији од мене. (He is older than me.) Don't mix the two in one sentence.

Case marking still applies as before - од is the same genitive preposition from the lesson on the genitive, and the comparative still agrees in gender and case with the noun it describes.

Tables

Regular comparative in -iji: pametan
Gender	Positive	Comparative	Superlative
masculine	pametan	pametniji	najpametniji
feminine	pametna	pametnija	najpametnija
neuter	pametno	pametnije	najpametnije

Examples

Marko je pametniji od Ane.

Marko is smarter than Ana.

Regular -ији comparative + од + genitive.

Ona je najpametnija u razredu.

She is the smartest in the class.

Superlative agrees in gender: feminine -а.

Ovo vino je bolje nego ono.

This wine is better than that one.

Irregular боље (neuter) + него + nominative.

On je stariji nego ja.

He is older than I am.

него pairs with the nominative ја.

Danas je hladnije nego juče.

Today is colder than yesterday.

Impersonal neuter comparative, same construction as the је from the lesson on telling time.

Ovo je najgora ideja.

This is the worst idea.

Irregular superlative најгора, feminine to agree with идеја.

Tvoj brat je mlađi od mog brata.

Your brother is younger than my brother.

млађи - a consonant-softening -ји-type form, not a regular -ији and not the -ши type (мек/леп/лак).

Ana je lepša od Milice.

Ana is prettier than Milica.

Special comparative лепша + од + genitive.

Compared with…

English splits comparison by syllable count - short adjectives take -er/-est, long ones take more/most - a distinction Serbian does not make: паметнији works exactly like бољи regardless of length, because the normal Serbian comparative changes the adjective's own ending rather than adding a separate word. The irregular set (добар/бољи, лош/гори) maps directly onto English's own irregulars (good/better, bad/worse), so that part transfers perfectly.

Serbian

Ona je pametnija nego što sam mislio.

One comparative mechanism regardless of the adjective's length, unlike English's -er/more split.

English

She is smarter than I thought.

Common mistakes

Wrong

On je više pametan.

Right

On je pametniji.

The normal Serbian comparative is one word with its own ending (паметнији), not a separate word like English more in front of the adjective. Више + adjective is used only in special cases, for example when comparing two qualities of one person: „Он је више паметан него вредан.“ (He is more clever than hard-working.)

Wrong

On je bolji nego mene.

Right

On je bolji od mene.

него pairs with the same case as the subject (nominative ја), not the oblique мене; од is the construction that takes the genitive мене - don't mix the two.

Wrong

Najdobriji student.

Right

Najbolji student.

The neutral standard comparative/superlative of добар (good) is the suppletive бољи/најбољи; a form with the regular -ији ending is not the standard superlative of добар in the sense "good, of high quality".

Wrong

Ona je najpametniji u razredu.

Right

Ona je najpametnija u razredu.

The superlative still agrees in gender with the subject; a feminine subject needs the feminine ending -а, not the masculine -и.

Tips & exceptions

Tips

Whatever pattern the comparative follows, its own gender endings are always the same: -и masculine, -а feminine, -е neuter - паметнији/паметнија/паметније, бољи/боља/боље, alike.
The superlative needs no separate memorization: take the comparative you already know and add нај- in front - the regular pattern for the superlative.
Learn добар/бољи, лош/гори, велик/већи, мали/мањи together as one small vocabulary set from the very start, the same way you'd learn English good/better, bad/worse - resist the temptation to guess them by the regular pattern (for лош both the irregular гори and the regular лошији are in use).

Exceptions

Two small groups skip the regular -ији: a few frequent adjectives take -ши (мек → мекши, леп → лепши, лак → лакши), and a separate group instead softens a final consonant and adds -ји (млад → млађи); there is no simple rule that reliably predicts membership in either group, so treat each one as vocabulary.
Него and од are not interchangeable mid-sentence: него expects the same case as what it's compared to (typically nominative), од always takes the genitive regardless.
Comparatives and superlatives decline for case exactly like any other adjective (case agreement from the lesson on adjectives and the lesson introducing cases) - nothing extra to learn once you have the comparative stem.

Summary

Serbian marks comparison on the adjective itself: comparative -ији (паметнији) for most adjectives, four suppletive irregulars to memorize (добар/бољи, лош/гори, велик/већи, мали/мањи; лош also has the regular лошији), a few frequent adjectives with -ши (мек/мекши, леп/лепши, лак/лакши), and a separate consonant-softening -ји group (млад/млађи and similar). The superlative is normally нај- + comparative. Comparatives take the regular -и/-а/-е gender endings no matter their formation, and than is either него + the same case as the first item (usually nominative) or од + genitive.