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Working Group on Comparative Constructions

A prototypical comparative construction involves a quality or property whose extent is compared, the entity being compared, and the standard of comparison. Thus in [en] Stephan is taller than Joakim, Stephan is the entity compared, Joakim represents the standard of comparison to which Stephan is compared, and the adjective taller denotes the quality that is compared, i.e., tallness.

Adverbs can be compared as well, e.g. in [cs] Michal mluví lépe než Miloš “Michal speaks better than Miloš”, the word lépe is an adverb and it denotes the quality of Michal’s speaking rather than of his personality in general.

Finally, we can also compare quantities, as in Melanie has more money than Sue, or in There is more than one way of doing it; in the latter example, the standard of comparison is conflated with the entity counted. Similarly, there are sentences where both the standard of comparison and the new value are hidden in the verb: The prices of homes have more than doubled.

The syntax of comparative constructions poses various challenges for linguistic theory. For English, many of these are discussed in Bresnan (1973) and Huddleston and Pullum (2002, chapter 13). A cross-linguistic survey of equality comparison is provided in Haspelmath (2017).

There are no UD relations designed specifically to mark comparative constructions. This page documents what regular UD means are used to analyze these constructions and how they are applied.

Equality, Direction and Degree

Coding Strategies across Languages

Morphological Gradation of Adjectives and Adverbs

Adjectives in some languages have an inflectional category that expresses degree of comparison. Special forms are used when the adjective appears in an inequality scalar comparison: A form called comparative is used when the modified noun has a greater degree of the quality denoted by the adjective than the standard of comparison. A form called superlative is used when the modified noun has a greater degree of the quality denoted by the adjective than all entities in a certain set. In UD, morphological comparatives and superlatives are tagged using the Degree feature: Degree=Cmp and Degree=Sup, respectively. If a language has morphological comparative and/or superlative, then the base forms of ajdectives should be tagged as the positive degree (Degree=Pos). Note that the positive degree should not be confused with the positive Polarity. Even negative adjectives can be compared, therefore they can also have the positive (basic) degree.

Czech:

1	Martin	Martin	PROPN	_	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	Gloss=Martin
2	je	být	AUX	_	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin|Voice=Act	3	cop	_	Gloss=is
3	inteligentní	inteligentní	ADJ	_	Case=Nom|Degree=Pos|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing	0	root	_	Gloss=intelligent|SpaceAfter=No
4	.	.	PUNCT	_	_	3	punct	_	Gloss=.


1	Martin	Martin	PROPN	_	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	Gloss=Martin
2	je	být	AUX	_	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin|Voice=Act	3	cop	_	Gloss=is
3	inteligentnější	inteligentní	ADJ	_	Case=Nom|Degree=Cmp|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing	0	root	_	Gloss=more-intelligent
4	než	než	SCONJ	_	_	5	case	_	Gloss=than
5	Vojta	Vojta	PROPN	_	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing	3	obl	_	Gloss=Vojta|SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	_	_	3	punct	_	Gloss=.


1	Martin	Martin	PROPN	_	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	Gloss=Martin
2	je	být	AUX	_	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin|Voice=Act	3	cop	_	Gloss=is
3	nejinteligentnější	inteligentní	ADJ	_	Case=Nom|Degree=Sup|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing	0	root	_	Gloss=most-intelligent
4	ze	z	ADP	_	_	5	case	_	Gloss=of
5	všech	všechen	PRON	_	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Plur|PronType=Tot	3	obl	_	Gloss=all|SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	_	_	3	punct	_	Gloss=.


1	Vyšetření	vyšetření	NOUN	_	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|VerbForm=Vnoun	3	nsubj	_	Gloss=exam
2	je	být	AUX	_	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin|Voice=Act	3	cop	_	Gloss=is
3	nepříjemné	příjemný	ADJ	_	Case=Nom|Degree=Pos|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Polarity=Neg	0	root	_	Gloss=unpleasant|SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	_	_	8	punct	_	Gloss=,
5	ale	ale	CCONJ	_	_	8	cc	_	Gloss=but
6	operace	operace	NOUN	_	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	Gloss=surgery
7	je	být	AUX	_	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin|Voice=Act	8	cop	_	Gloss=is
8	nepříjemnější	příjemný	ADJ	_	Case=Nom|Degree=Cmp|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Polarity=Neg	3	conj	_	Gloss=more-unpleasant|SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	_	_	3	punct	_	Gloss=.

Similarly, the degree morphology also applies to Czech adverbs:

1	Martin	Martin	PROPN	_	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	Gloss=Martin
2	běhá	běhat	VERB	_	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin|Voice=Act	0	root	_	Gloss=runs
3	rychle	rychle	ADV	_	Degree=Pos|Polarity=Pos	2	advmod	_	Gloss=fast|SpaceAfter=No
4	.	.	PUNCT	_	_	2	punct	_	Gloss=.


1	Martin	Martin	PROPN	_	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	Gloss=Martin
2	běhá	běhat	VERB	_	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin|Voice=Act	0	root	_	Gloss=runs
3	rychleji	rychle	ADV	_	Degree=Cmp|Polarity=Pos	2	advmod	_	Gloss=faster
4	než	než	SCONJ	_	_	5	case	_	Gloss=than
5	Vojta	Vojta	PROPN	_	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing	3	obl	_	Gloss=Vojta|SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	_	_	2	punct	_	Gloss=.


1	Martin	Martin	PROPN	_	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	Gloss=Martin
2	běhá	běhat	VERB	_	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin|Voice=Act	0	root	_	Gloss=runs
3	nejrychleji	rychle	ADV	_	Degree=Sup|Polarity=Pos	2	advmod	_	Gloss=fastest
4	ze	z	ADP	_	_	5	case	_	Gloss=of
5	všech	všechen	PRON	_	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Plur|PronType=Tot	3	obl	_	Gloss=all|SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	_	_	2	punct	_	Gloss=.

There are also languages with morphologically expressed equative degree, used in equality comparisons. One such language is Hiligaynon [hil] (Philippinic; Wolfenden 1971:103) Haspelmath (2017):

“Pedro is handsome.”

1	Si	si	ADP	_	_	2	case	_	Gloss=TOPIC
2	Pedro	Pedro	PROPN	_	_	3	nsubj	_	Gloss=Pedro
3	gwapo	gwapo	ADJ	_	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	Gloss=handsome|SpaceAfter=No
4	.	.	PUNCT	_	_	3	punct	_	Gloss=.

“Pedro is as handsome as Juan.”

1	Si	si	ADP	_	_	2	case	_	Gloss=TOPIC
2	Pedro	Pedro	PROPN	_	_	3	nsubj	_	Gloss=Pedro
3	kasinggwapo	gwapo	ADJ	_	Degree=Equ	0	root	_	Gloss=as-handsome
4	ni	ni	ADP	_	_	5	case	_	Gloss=of
5	Juan	Juan	PROPN	_	_	3	obl	_	Gloss=Juan|SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	_	_	3	punct	_	Gloss=.

Periphrastic Gradation

Other languages, like English, have a mixed system. Some English adjectives have morphological degrees like in Czech, e.g., smart – smarter – smartest. Other adjectives must be compared periphrastically with the help of the words more, most, less and least. These function words provide the degree feature and they can be viewed themselves as (irregular) degree forms of two basic adverbs: much – more – most; little – less – least.

1	Martin	Martin	PROPN	_	Gender=Masc|Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	_	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
3	more	much	ADV	_	Degree=Cmp	4	advmod	_	_
4	intelligent	intelligent	ADJ	_	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
5	than	than	SCONJ	_	_	6	case	_	_
6	Donald	Donald	PROPN	_	Gender=Masc|Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	_	_	4	punct	_	_


1	Martin	Martin	PROPN	_	Gender=Masc|Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	_	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
3	the	the	DET	_	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
4	most	much	ADV	_	Degree=Sup	5	advmod	_	_
5	intelligent	intelligent	ADJ	_	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	guy	guy	NOUN	_	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
7	of	of	ADP	_	_	8	case	_	_
8	all	all	PRON	_	PronType=Tot	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	_	_	6	punct	_	_

The comparative and superlative represent increasing degrees of the quality compared. Decreasing degrees can also be expressed, e.g., instead of saying that Martin is more intelligent than Donald, we could say that Donald is less intelligent than Martin. The coding of decreasing degrees is periphrastic even in Czech:

1	Vojta	Vojta	PROPN	_	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	Gloss=Vojta
2	je	být	AUX	_	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin|Voice=Act	4	cop	_	Gloss=is
3	méně	málo	ADV	_	Degree=Cmp|Polarity=Pos	4	advmod	_	Gloss=less
4	inteligentní	inteligentní	ADJ	_	Case=Nom|Degree=Pos|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing	0	root	_	Gloss=intelligent
5	než	než	SCONJ	_	_	6	case	_	Gloss=than
6	Martin	Martin	PROPN	_	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing	4	obl	_	Gloss=Martin|SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	_	_	4	punct	_	Gloss=.

Other languages, e.g. Spanish, lack the morphological degree almost entirely; except for a few irregular forms, such as mejor “better” and mayor “bigger”, all adjectives are compared periphrastically:

1	Miguel	Miguel	PROPN	_	Gender=Masc|Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	Gloss=Miguel
2	es	ser	AUX	_	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	Gloss=is
3	más	mucho	ADV	_	Degree=Cmp	4	advmod	_	Gloss=more
4	inteligente	inteligente	ADJ	_	_	0	root	_	Gloss=intelligent
5	que	que	SCONJ	_	_	6	case	_	Gloss=than
6	Martín	Martín	PROPN	_	Gender=Masc|Number=Sing	4	obl	_	Gloss=Martín|SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	_	_	4	punct	_	_

Unmarked Degree

Finally, there are languages where the compared adjective is neither marked morphologically, nor modified by a degree adverb. The base form of the adjective is used and the fact that it is being compared must be derived from the coding of the other participants, e.g., the standard of comparison.

Chinese [zh]: “Zhangsan is fatter than him.”

1	张三	张三	PROPN	_	_	4	nsubj	_	Translit=zhāngsān|Gloss=Zhangsan|SpaceAfter=No
2	比	比	ADP	_	_	3	case	_	Translit=bǐ|Gloss=than|SpaceAfter=No
3	他	他	PRON	_	_	4	obl	_	Translit=tā|Gloss=he|SpaceAfter=No
4	胖	胖	ADJ	_	_	0	root	_	Translit=pàng|Gloss=fat|SpaceAfter=No
5	。	。	PUNCT	_	_	4	punct	_	Translit=.|Gloss=.|SpaceAfter=No

Japanese [ja]: “English is easier than Japanese.”

1	日本語	日本語	NOUN	_	_	5	obl	_	Translit=nihongo|Gloss=Japanese|SpaceAfter=No
2	より	より	ADP	_	_	1	case	_	Translit=yori|Gloss=than|SpaceAfter=No
3	英語	英語	NOUN	_	_	5	nsubj	_	Translit=eigo|Gloss=English|SpaceAfter=No
4	の方が	の方が	ADP	_	_	3	case	_	Translit=nohouga|Gloss=direction|SpaceAfter=No
5	易しい	易しい	ADJ	_	_	0	root	_	Translit=yasashii|Gloss=easy|SpaceAfter=No
6	。	。	PUNCT	_	_	5	punct	_	Translit=.|Gloss=.|SpaceAfter=No

Coding of the Standard of Comparison

The standard of comparison can be a nominal or a clause. If it is a clause, it may be marked by a subordinating conjunction: either one whose primary function is comparison (English than, Czech než) or a more general one (Spanish que). It is not uncommon that different conjunctions are used in inequality comparisons (than, než, que) and in equality comparisons (as, jako, como).

If the same conjunction is used with bare nominals, we still tag it SCONJ (but we use dependency relations that are reserved for nominals, see below). However, if a language has a function word that is primarily used with nominal standards of comparison, it will be tagged ADP.

Nominal standards of comparison can also be marked morphologically by a comparative Case, as in Nepali [ne]:

“This flower is beautiful.”

1	यो	यो	DET	_	PronType=Dem	2	det	_	Translit=yo|Gloss=this
2	फूल	फूल	NOUN	_	Case=Nom|Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	Translit=phūl|Gloss=flower
3	राम्रो	राम्रो	ADJ	_	_	0	root	_	Translit=rāmro|Gloss=beautiful
4	छ	छुनु	AUX	_	_	3	cop	_	Translit=cha|Gloss=is|SpaceAfter=No
5	।	।	PUNCT	_	_	3	punct	_	Translit=.|Gloss=.

“This flower is more beautiful than that flower.”

1	यो	यो	DET	_	PronType=Dem	2	det	_	Translit=yo|Gloss=this
2	फूल	फूल	NOUN	_	Case=Nom|Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	Translit=phūla|Gloss=flower
3	त्यो	त्यो	DET	_	PronType=Dem	4	det	_	Translit=tyo|Gloss=that
4	फूलभन्दा	फूल	NOUN	_	Case=Cmp|Number=Sing	5	obl	_	Translit=phūlabhandā|Gloss=flower-than
5	राम्रो	राम्रो	ADJ	_	_	0	root	_	Translit=rāmro|Gloss=beautiful
6	छ	छुनु	AUX	_	_	5	cop	_	Translit=cha|Gloss=is|SpaceAfter=No
7	।	।	PUNCT	_	_	5	punct	_	Translit=.|Gloss=.

“This is the most beautiful flower of all.”

1	यो	यो	DET	_	PronType=Dem	2	det	_	Translit=yo|Gloss=this
2	फूल	फूल	NOUN	_	Case=Nom|Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	Translit=phūla|Gloss=flower
3	सबैभन्दा	सबै	PRON	_	Case=Cmp|PronType=Tot	4	obl	_	Translit=sabaibhandā|Gloss=all-than
4	राम्रो	राम्रो	ADJ	_	_	0	root	_	Translit=rāmro|Gloss=beautiful
5	छ	छुनु	AUX	_	_	4	cop	_	Translit=cha|Gloss=is|SpaceAfter=No
6	।	।	PUNCT	_	_	4	punct	_	Translit=.|Gloss=.

A few languages also have an equative case that marks the standard in equality comparisons. One example is East Greenlandic [kl] (Eskimo; Mennecier 1995:460) Haspelmath (2017):

“He is as tall as me.”

1	Taanna	_	PRON	_	PronType=Dem	3	nsubj	_	Gloss=that-one
2	uattut	_	PRON	_	Case=Equ|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	3	obl	_	Gloss=as-I
3	attiivuq	_	VERB	_	Degree=Equ	0	root	_	Gloss=is-as-tall|SpaceAfter=No
4	.	.	PUNCT	_	_	3	punct	_	Gloss=.

In other languages, the standard of comparison may be marked morphologically by a case that is not dedicated specifically to comparison, such as the genitive in Russian [ru]:

“My father is older than yours.”

1	Мой	мой	DET	_	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Number[psor]=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	det	_	Translit=Moj|Gloss=my
2	отец	отец	NOUN	_	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	Translit=otec|Gloss=father
3	старше	старый	ADJ	_	Degree=Cmp	0	root	_	Translit=starše|Gloss=older
4	твоего	твой	DET	_	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Number[psor]=Sing|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	3	obl	_	Translit=tvoego|Gloss=of-yours|SpaceAfter=No
5	.	.	PUNCT	_	_	3	punct	_	Translit=.|Gloss=.

Other Coding Strategies

Some languages need a verb to compare degrees of properties, e.g., instead of saying John is taller than Tom, they say John surpasses Tom in height, and instead of John is as tall as Dan, they say John reaches Dan’s height. Such constructions do not differ significantly from normal clauses and we do not discuss them further on this page.

A rather unique equative construction exists in Persian [fa] (Mace 2003:52) Haspelmath (2017):

“This is as fast as that.” (Lit. “This is to the speed of that.”)

1	این	_	PRON	_	PronType=Dem	3	nsubj	_	Translit=in|Gloss=this
2	به	_	ADP	_	_	3	case	_	Translit=be|Gloss=to
3	تندی	_	NOUN	_	_	0	root	_	Translit=tondī-ye|Gloss=speed-EZ
4	آن	_	PRON	_	PronType=Dem	3	nmod	_	Translit=ān|Gloss=that
5	است	_	AUX	_	_	3	cop	_	Translit=ast|Gloss=is|SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	_	_	3	punct	_	Translit=.|Gloss=.

Relations in Equality Comparison

In constructions of the form as X as Y or the same X as Y, X and Y can be of a range of syntactic types, leading to surface forms such as those exemplified below:

We note that the head of the whole construction appears to be the head of the X phrase, i.e., the property whose degree is compared. We can simply say:

We then say that the first as is an independent modifier in the comparative, modifying something in the X phrase, in part because the following as Y is fairly optional:

However, this first as may not modify the head of X, it may modify an existing modifier of the head of X. Its role is adverbial (advmod), consistent with other kinds of degree modification:

1	Commitment	commitment	NOUN	_	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	_	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
3	as	as	SCONJ	_	_	4	advmod	_	_
4	important	important	ADJ	_	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
5	as	as	SCONJ	_	_	9	case	_	_
6	a	a	DET	_	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	player	player	NOUN	_	Number=Sing	9	nmod	_	_
8	's	's	PART	_	_	7	case	_	_
9	talent	talent	NOUN	_	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	_	_	4	punct	_	_


1	I	I	PRON	_	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	put	put	VERB	_	Mood=Ind|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	in	in	ADP	_	_	2	compound:prt	_	_
4	as	as	SCONJ	_	_	5	advmod	_	_
5	much	much	ADV	_	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	flour	flour	NOUN	_	Number=Coll	2	obj	_	_
7	as	as	SCONJ	_	_	10	mark	_	_
8	the	the	DET	_	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	recipe	recipe	NOUN	_	Number=Sing	10	nsubj	_	_
10	called	call	VERB	_	Mood=Ind|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	advcl	_	_
11	for	for	ADP	_	_	10	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	_	_	2	punct	_	_

We then take the complement of the comparative (that is, the standard of comparison) as an oblique dependent of the first part. It is clear that the material in the complement as Y can be clausal. It is also usually optional, as indicated above. For that reason, we usually make the complement an advcl, with the second as analyzed as mark. That gives us:

1	I	I	PRON	_	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
2	do	do	AUX	_	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
3	n't	not	PART	_	Polarity=Neg	4	advmod	_	_
4	hear	hear	VERB	_	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
5	from	from	ADP	_	_	7	case	_	_
6	my	my	DET	_	Number[psor]=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	7	det	_	_
7	brother	brother	NOUN	_	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	_
8	as	as	SCONJ	_	_	9	advmod	_	_
9	often	often	ADV	_	Degree=Pos	4	advmod	_	_
10	as	as	SCONJ	_	_	13	mark	_	_
11	I	I	PRON	_	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	13	nsubj	_	_
12	previously	previously	ADV	_	Degree=Pos	13	advmod	_	_
13	heard	call	VERB	_	Mood=Ind|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	9	advcl	_	_
14	from	from	ADP	_	_	15	case	_	_
15	him	he	PRON	_	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	13	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	PUNCT	_	_	4	punct	_	_

We take the as Y clause as a dependent of the content word whose degree is being assessed (here often). We take its head to be the head of the clause, here heard. An initially plausible alternative analysis would be to make the clausal dependent headed by as as a dependent of the comparative modifier as, more, or less, and indeed this is the analysis which Huddleston and Pullum (2002) argue for in English. However, there are several reasons to doubt this analysis. One is the general principles of UD in favoring content words as heads. A second argument is motivated by a desire for crosslinguistic adequacy: in languages such as Finnish and Japanese, this functional element is not present.

Since the first as is a functional element, the dependent can be understood to modify the whole phrase as often, and therefore is attached to the head of that phrase. Additionally, it might be noted that comparatives without a comparative word occur in certain varieties of English. For example in Indian English you find usages such as So don’t worry if you think that you have a girlfriend, who is intelligent than you. One further argument is that morphological comparatives will receive an analysis parallel to the periphrastic ones.

Inequality Scalar Comparison

More often than not, inequality scalar comparative structures are similar to equative structures in the same language. In English periphrastic comparatives, more and less are parallel to the first use of as in equality comparison, except that more can also directly modify a noun (comparing quantity). In such cases the relation of more to the noun is amod, and the standard of comparison depends directly on more, roughly seeing it as elliptical for more numerous. In general, the standard of comparison always depends on an adjective or adverb, and is usually an advcl or obl.

1	more	much	ADV	_	Degree=Cmp	2	advmod	_	_
2	important	important	ADJ	_	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
3	than	than	SCONJ	_	_	5	mark	_	_
4	you	you	PRON	_	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj	_	_
5	thought	think	VERB	_	Mood=Ind|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	advcl	_	_


1	more	much	ADV	_	Degree=Cmp	2	advmod	_	_
2	rapidly	rapidly	ADV	_	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
3	than	than	SCONJ	_	_	5	mark	_	_
4	you	you	PRON	_	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj	_	_
5	thought	think	VERB	_	Mood=Ind|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	advcl	_	_


1	more	much	ADV	_	Degree=Cmp	2	amod	_	_
2	problems	problem	NOUN	_	Number=Plur	0	root	_	_
3	than	than	SCONJ	_	_	5	mark	_	_
4	you	you	PRON	_	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj	_	_
5	thought	think	VERB	_	Mood=Ind|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	1	advcl	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	_	_	5	obl	_	_
7	last	last	ADJ	_	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	week	week	NOUN	_	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	_


1	a	a	DET	_	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
2	more	much	ADV	_	Degree=Cmp	3	advmod	_	_
3	difficult	difficult	ADJ	_	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	problem	problem	NOUN	_	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
5	than	than	SCONJ	_	_	7	mark	_	_
6	you	you	PRON	_	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	7	nsubj	_	_
7	thought	think	VERB	_	Mood=Ind|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	advcl	_	_

In addition to crosslinguistic adequacy, we can see here another possible advantage of not attaching the than clause to more: This analysis then means that the dependency structure is more parallel between cases with a periphrastic comparative like more intelligent and a morphological comparative like smarter.

1	smarter	smart	ADJ	_	Degree=Cmp	0	root	_	_
2	than	than	SCONJ	_	_	4	mark	_	_
3	you	you	PRON	_	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
4	thought	think	VERB	_	Mood=Ind|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	1	advcl	_	_

Finnish [fi]:

“smarter than you thought”

1	fiksumpi	_	ADJ	_	Degree=Cmp	0	root	_	Gloss=smarter
2	kuin	_	SCONJ	_	_	3	mark	_	Gloss=than
3	luulit	_	VERB	_	Mood=Ind|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	1	advcl	_	Gloss=you-thought


1	a	a	DET	_	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	smarter	smart	ADJ	_	Degree=Cmp	3	amod	_	_
3	boy	boy	NOUN	_	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
4	than	than	SCONJ	_	_	6	mark	_	_
5	you	you	PRON	_	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	_
6	thought	think	VERB	_	Mood=Ind|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	advcl	_	_

An optional oblique argument may quantify the difference between the comparee and the standard of comparison:

Czech [cs]:

“Pavel is taller than Klára by ten centimeters.”

1	Pavel	Pavel	PROPN	_	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	Gloss=Pavel
2	je	být	AUX	_	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin|Voice=Act	6	cop	_	Gloss=is
3	o	o	ADP	_	Case=Acc	5	case	_	Gloss=by
4	deset	deset	NUM	_	Case=Acc	5	nummod:gov	_	Gloss=ten
5	centimetrů	centimetr	NOUN	_	Case=Gen	6	obl	_	Gloss=centimeters
6	vyšší	vysoký	ADJ	_	Case=Nom|Degree=Cmp|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing	0	root	_	Gloss=taller
7	než	než	SCONJ	_	_	8	case	_	Gloss=than
8	Klára	Klára	PROPN	_	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing	6	obl	_	Gloss=Klára|SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	_	_	6	punct	_	Gloss=.

Note that the quantification is not necessarily definite and numerical; for example, one could say that John is significantly more intelligent than Martin. Like with the standard of comparison, one has to decide where the quantifying phrase is attached in periphrastic comparatives. Again, it might be appealing to attach it to the degree adverb; elsewhere adverbs do modify other adverbs, as in The prices are dropping very rapidly. Nevertheless, if the degree adverb modifies an adjective, we attach the quantifying adverb or phrase directly to that adjective, for the same reasons as those we listed for the standard of comparison: structures will be parallel between periphrastic and morphological comparative, which includes parallelism across languages. Moreover, it would be counterintuitive to attach one modifier of the comparative (the standard of comparison) to the adjective and the other modifier (the quantifying phrase) to the degree adverb.

Interestingly enough, some quantified inequality comparisons use function words that are otherwise used with equality comparisons, as in this English example:

1	John	John	PROPN	_	Gender=Masc|Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	_	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
3	twice	twice	ADV	_	NumType=Mult	5	advmod	_	_
4	as	as	SCONJ	_	_	5	advmod	_	_
5	tall	tall	ADJ	_	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
6	as	as	SCONJ	_	_	7	case	_	_
7	Peter	Peter	PROPN	_	Gender=Masc|Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	_	_	5	punct	_	_

Ellipsis in Comparative Constructions

Very commonly the complement clause in a comparative undergoes various amounts of partial reduction or ellipsis, sometimes to a quite extreme extent. If the head is elided, then the functional element can be promoted:

1	Wheat	wheat	NOUN	_	Number=Coll	2	nsubj	_	_
2	raises	raise	VERB	_	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	blood	blood	NOUN	_	Number=Coll	4	nmod	_	_
4	sugar	sugar	NOUN	_	Number=Coll	2	obj	_	_
5	even	even	ADV	_	_	6	advmod	_	_
6	more	much	ADV	_	Degree=Cmp	2	advmod	_	_
7	than	than	SCONJ	_	_	9	mark	_	_
8	sugar	sugar	NOUN	_	Number=Coll	9	nsubj	_	_
9	does	do	AUX	_	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	_	_	2	punct	_	_

“Wheat raises blood sugar even more than how much sugar raises it.”

In general, we treat whatever remnant that remains as still an advcl:

1	I	I	PRON	_	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	put	put	VERB	_	Mood=Ind|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	in	in	ADP	_	_	2	compound:prt	_	_
4	as	as	SCONJ	_	_	5	advmod	_	_
5	much	much	ADV	_	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	flour	flour	NOUN	_	Number=Coll	2	obj	_	_
7	as	as	SCONJ	_	_	10	mark	_	_
8	the	the	DET	_	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	recipe	recipe	NOUN	_	Number=Sing	10	nsubj	_	_
10	called	call	VERB	_	Mood=Ind|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	advcl	_	_
11	for	for	ADP	_	_	10	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	_	_	2	punct	_	_

“I put in as much flour as for how much flour the recipe called.”

1	He	he	PRON	_	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	plays	play	VERB	_	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	better	well	ADV	_	Degree=Cmp	2	advmod	_	_
4	drunk	drunk	ADJ	_	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	1	acl	_	_
5	than	than	SCONJ	_	_	6	mark	_	_
6	sober	sober	ADJ	_	Degree=Pos	3	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	_	_	2	punct	_	_

“He plays better when he is drunk than how he plays when he is sober.”

1	Your	your	PRON	_	Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	det	_	_
2	hair	hair	NOUN	_	Number=Coll	4	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	_	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
4	pinker	pink	ADJ	_	Degree=Cmp	0	root	_	_
5	than	than	SCONJ	_	_	6	mark	_	_
6	ever	ever	ADV	_	_	4	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	_	_	4	punct	_	_

“Your hair is more pink than how pink it ever was.”

In the following Russian [ru] example, the standard of comparison is missing completely and the partially reduced adverbial clause quantifies the difference:

“the bigger surface, the bigger friction”

# 2011Nano.xml 71
# text = При уменьшении размера растет отношение площади поверхности к объему, а чем больше поверхность, тем больше трение.
# sent_id = 28605
1	чем	чем	SCONJ	_	_	2	mark	_	Translit=čem|Gloss=the
2	больше	большой	ADJ	_	Degree=Cmp	6	advcl	_	Translit=bol'še|Gloss=bigger
3	поверхность	поверхность	NOUN	_	Animacy=Inan|Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	Translit=poverxnost'|Gloss=surface|SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	_	_	2	punct	_	Translit=,|Gloss=,
5	тем	тем	SCONJ	_	_	6	mark	_	Translit=tem|Gloss=the
6	больше	большой	ADJ	_	Degree=Cmp	0	root	_	Translit=bol'še|Gloss=bigger
7	трение	трение	NOUN	_	Animacy=Inan|Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	Translit=trenie|Gloss=friction|SpaceAfter=No

However, a limiting case of this is that only a nominal is present:

The analysis in this case is unclear: Should the comparative complement still be analyzed as an extremely reduced complement clause or analyzed simply as a nominal modifier? There are arguments for both positions. For English, there is a long discussion of the arguments in section 2.2 of chapter 13 of Huddleston and Pullum (2002). We err on the side of minimizing the postulation of unobserved structure and opt to treat these cases as just an oblique nominal complement. In consequence, the subordinating conjunction is attached as case rather than mark:

1	as	as	SCONJ	_	_	2	advmod	_	_
2	important	important	ADJ	_	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
3	as	as	SCONJ	_	_	7	case	_	_
4	a	a	DET	_	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	player	player	NOUN	_	Number=Sing	7	nmod	_	_
6	's	's	PART	_	_	5	case	_	_
7	talent	talent	NOUN	_	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_


1	more	much	ADV	_	Degree=Cmp	2	advmod	_	_
2	important	important	ADJ	_	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
3	than	than	SCONJ	_	_	7	case	_	_
4	a	a	DET	_	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	player	player	NOUN	_	Number=Sing	7	nmod	_	_
6	's	's	PART	_	_	5	case	_	_
7	talent	talent	NOUN	_	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_

This analysis is also used when the nominal itself is reduced, i.e., the head noun is elided and a modifying adjective, determiner or numeral is promoted. A Czech example:

“I like red wine more than white.”

1	Červené	červený	ADJ	_	Case=Acc|Degree=Pos|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Polarity=Pos	2	amod	_	Gloss=red
2	víno	víno	NOUN	_	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Coll	3	obj	_	Gloss=wine
3	mám	mít	VERB	_	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin|Voice=Act	0	root	_	Gloss=I-have
4	raději	rád	ADJ	_	Degree=Cmp|Polarity=Pos	3	advmod	_	Gloss=more-liking
5	než	než	SCONJ	_	_	6	case	_	Gloss=than
6	bílé	bílý	ADJ	_	Case=Acc|Degree=Pos|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Polarity=Pos	4	obl	_	Gloss=white|SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	_	_	4	punct	_	Gloss=.

“depends more on the state of the line than on the speed of the device”

# sent_id = cmpr9406-001-p4s5
# text = Ve skutečnosti to sice trvá zhruba minutu, protože doba přenosu více závisí na stavu telefonní linky než na rychlosti přístroje, ale i tak je přenos informace faxem zhruba třikrát rychlejší než řeč.
# orig_file_sentence cmpr9406_001#8
1	více	hodně	ADV	Dg-------2A----	Degree=Cmp|Polarity=Pos	2	advmod	_	Gloss=more
2	závisí	záviset	VERB	VB-S---3P-AA---	Aspect=Imp|Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Polarity=Pos|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin|Voice=Act	0	root	_	Gloss=depends
3	na	na	ADP	RR--6----------	AdpType=Prep|Case=Loc	4	case	_	Gloss=on
4	stavu	stav	NOUN	NNIS6-----A----	Animacy=Inan|Case=Loc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Polarity=Pos	2	obl:arg	_	Gloss=state
5	telefonní	telefonní	ADJ	AAFS2----1A----	Case=Gen|Degree=Pos|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Polarity=Pos	6	amod	_	Gloss=phone
6	linky	linka	NOUN	NNFS2-----A----	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Polarity=Pos	4	nmod	_	Gloss=line
7	než	než	SCONJ	J,-------------	_	9	case	_	Gloss=than
8	na	na	ADP	RR--6----------	AdpType=Prep|Case=Loc	9	case	_	Gloss=on
9	rychlosti	rychlost	NOUN	NNFS6-----A----	Case=Loc|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Polarity=Pos	1	obl	_	Gloss=speed
10	přístroje	přístroj	NOUN	NNIS2-----A----	Animacy=Inan|Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Polarity=Pos	9	nmod	_	Gloss=of-device|SpaceAfter=No

In some languages, ellipsis in comparative clauses may involve patterns similar to gapping in coordination. The literal translation of the following Swedish [sv] example would be Dan plays badminton better than Joakim tennis. Such comparative gapping is analyzed using the orphan relation, much like the more widespread coordinate gapping:

“Dan plays badminton better than Joakim does tennis.”

1	Dan	Dan	PROPN	_	Case=Nom|Gender=Com|Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	Gloss=Dan
2	spelar	spela	VERB	_	Mood=Ind|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin|Voice=Act	0	root	_	Gloss=plays
3	badminton	badminton	NOUN	_	Case=Nom|Definite=Ind|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing	2	obj	_	Gloss=badminton
4	bättre	bra	ADV	_	Degree=Cmp	2	advmod	_	Gloss=better
5	än	än	SCONJ	_	_	6	mark	_	Gloss=than
6	Joakim	Joakim	PROPN	_	Case=Nom|Gender=Com|Number=Sing	4	advcl	_	Gloss=Joakim
7	tennis	tennis	NOUN	_	Case=Nom|Definite=Ind|Gender=Com|Number=Sing	6	orphan	_	Gloss=tennis|SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	_	_	2	punct	_	Gloss=.

“Nathan gives more to you than (how much) Fran (gives) to me.”

1	Nathan	Nathan	PROPN	_	Gender=Masc|Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	gives	give	VERB	_	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	more	much	ADV	_	Degree=Cmp	2	obj	_	_
4	to	to	ADP	_	_	5	case	_	_
5	you	you	PRON	_	Person=2|PronType=Prs	2	obl	_	_
6	than	than	SCONJ	_	_	7	mark	_	_
7	Fran	Fran	PROPN	_	Gender=Masc|Number=Sing	3	advcl	_	_
8	to	to	ADP	_	_	9	case	_	_
9	me	I	PRON	_	Case=Acc|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	7	orphan	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	_	_	2	punct	_	_

“More than” as a Multi-Word Expression

In certain contexts the comparative complement combines both the action or adjective that is being compared and the standard of comparison:

In these cases we consider more than to be a fixed multi-word expression because the two words are inseparable. One cannot say *more percent than 90.

1	That	that	PRON	_	PronType=Dem	5	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	_	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
3	more	much	ADV	_	Degree=Cmp	5	advmod	_	_
4	than	than	SCONJ	_	_	3	fixed	_	_
5	likely	likely	ADJ	_	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	_	_	5	punct	_	_

If the expression modifies a counted noun phrase, it attaches directly to the modified number:

1	more	much	ADV	_	Degree=Cmp	3	advmod	_	_
2	than	than	SCONJ	_	_	1	fixed	_	_
3	two	two	NUM	_	_	4	nummod	_	_
4	years	year	NOUN	_	Number=Plur	0	root	_	_
5	ago	ago	ADP	_	_	4	case	_	_

If there is no number (because the indefinite article functions as the number “one”), it attaches directly to the head noun:

1	more	much	ADV	_	Degree=Cmp	4	advmod	_	_
2	than	than	SCONJ	_	_	1	fixed	_	_
3	a	a	DET	_	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	year	year	NOUN	_	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
5	ago	ago	ADP	_	_	4	case	_	_

More Examples

French [fr] inequality: “Mathilde is kinder than you think.”

1	Mathilde	Mathilde	PROPN	_	Gender=Fem|Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	Gloss=Mathilde
2	est	être	AUX	_	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	Gloss=is
3	plus	plus	ADV	_	Degree=Cmp	4	advmod	_	Gloss=more
4	gentille	gentil	ADJ	_	Gender=Fem|Number=Sing	0	root	_	Gloss=kind
5	que	que	SCONJ	_	_	9	mark	_	Gloss=than
6	tu	tu	PRON	_	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=2|PronType=Prs	9	nsubj	_	Gloss=you
7	ne	ne	PART	_	Polarity=Neg	9	advmod	_	Gloss=not
8	le	il	PRON	_	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	9	obj	_	Gloss=it
9	penses	penser	VERB	_	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	advcl	_	Gloss=think|SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	_	_	4	punct	_	Gloss=.

French [fr] equality: “Patrick is as brave as Pierre.”

1	Patrick	Patrick	PROPN	_	Gender=Masc|Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	Gloss=Patrick
2	est	être	AUX	_	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	Gloss=is
3	aussi	aussi	ADV	_	Degree=Pos	4	advmod	_	Gloss=as
4	courageux	courageux	ADJ	_	Gender=Masc|Number=Sing	0	root	_	Gloss=brave
5	que	que	SCONJ	_	_	6	case	_	Gloss=as
6	Pierre	Pierre	PROPN	_	Gender=Masc|Number=Sing	4	obl	_	Gloss=Pierre|SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	_	_	4	punct	_	Gloss=.

Greek [el] morphological comparative: “Water is considered more important than oil.”

1	το	_	DET	_	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	Translit=to|Gloss=the
2	νερό	_	NOUN	_	Case=Nom	3	nsubj	_	Translit=nero|Gloss=water
3	θεωρείται	_	VERB	_	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	Translit=theôreitai|Gloss=is-considered
4	σημαντικότερο	_	ADJ	_	Degree=Cmp	3	xcomp	_	Translit=sîmantikotero|Gloss=more-important
5	από	_	ADP	_	_	7	case	_	Translit=apo|Gloss=from
6	το	_	DET	_	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	Translit=to|Gloss=the
7	πετρέλαιο	_	NOUN	_	_	4	obl	_	Translit=petrelaio|Gloss=oil

Greek [el] periphrastic comparative: “Water is considered more important than oil.”

1	το	_	DET	_	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	Translit=to|Gloss=the
2	νερό	_	NOUN	_	Case=Nom	3	nsubj	_	Translit=nero|Gloss=water
3	θεωρείται	_	VERB	_	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	Translit=theôreitai|Gloss=is-considered
4	πιο	_	ADV	_	Degree=Cmp	5	advmod	_	Translit=pio|Gloss=more
5	σημαντικό	_	ADJ	_	Degree=Pos	3	xcomp	_	Translit=sîmantiko|Gloss=important
6	από	_	ADP	_	_	8	case	_	Translit=apo|Gloss=from
7	το	_	DET	_	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	Translit=to|Gloss=the
8	πετρέλαιο	_	NOUN	_	_	5	obl	_	Translit=petrelaio|Gloss=oil

Greek [el] clausal standard of comparison: “He contributes more than he receives.”

1	εισφέρει	_	VERB	_	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin|Voice=Act	0	root	_	Translit=eisferei|Gloss=he-contributes
2	περισσότερα	_	ADV	_	Degree=Cmp	1	obj	_	Translit=perissotera|Gloss=more
3	από	_	ADP	_	_	5	mark	_	Translit=apo|Gloss=from
4	όσα	_	PRON	_	PronType=Rel	5	obj	_	Translit=osa|Gloss=how-much
5	εισπράττει	_	VERB	_	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin|Voice=Act	2	advcl	_	Translit=eisprattei|Gloss=he-receives

Russian [ru]: “Misha is smarter than his brother.”

1	Миша	Миша	PROPN	_	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	Translit=Miša|Gloss=Misha
2	умнее	умный	ADJ	_	Degree=Cmp	0	root	_	Translit=umnee|Gloss=smarter
3	брата	брат	NOUN	_	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing	2	obl	_	Translit=brata|Gloss=of-brother|SpaceAfter=No
4	.	.	PUNCT	_	_	2	punct	_	Translit=.|Gloss=.

Russian [ru]: “Misha is smarter than his brother.”

1	Миша	Миша	PROPN	_	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	Translit=Miša|Gloss=Misha
2	умнее	умный	ADJ	_	Degree=Cmp	0	root	_	Translit=umnee|Gloss=smarter|SpaceAfter=No
3	,	,	PUNCT	_	_	5	punct	_	Translit=,|Gloss=,
4	чем	чем	SCONJ	_	_	5	case	_	Translit=čem|Gloss=than
5	брат	брат	NOUN	_	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing	2	obl	_	Translit=brat|Gloss=brother|SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	_	_	2	punct	_	Translit=.|Gloss=.

Russian [ru]: “Misha is the smartest of them all.”

1	Миша	Миша	PROPN	_	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	Translit=Miša|Gloss=Misha
2	самый	самый	ADJ	_	Case=Nom|Degree=Sup|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing	3	amod	_	Translit=samyj|Gloss=most
3	умный	умный	ADJ	_	Case=Nom|Degree=Pos|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing	0	root	_	Translit=umnyj|Gloss=smart
4	из	из	ADP	_	_	5	case	_	Translit=iz|Gloss=from
5	всех	все	DET	_	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Plur|PronType=Tot	3	obl	_	Translit=vsex|Gloss=all|SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	_	_	3	punct	_	Translit=.|Gloss=.

Russian [ru]: “Misha is as smart as his brother.”

1	Миша	Миша	PROPN	_	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	Translit=Miša|Gloss=Misha
2	так	так	ADV	_	PronType=Dem	4	advmod	_	Translit=tak|Gloss=so
3	же	же	PART	_	_	2	discourse	_	Translit=že|Gloss=then
4	умен	умный	ADJ	_	Case=Nom|Degree=Pos|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Variant=Short	0	root	_	Translit=umen|Gloss=smart|SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	_	_	9	punct	_	Translit=,|Gloss=,
6	как	как	ADV	_	PronType=Rel	9	case	_	Translit=kak|Gloss=how
7	и	и	CCONJ	_	_	9	cc	_	Translit=i|Gloss=also
8	его	его	DET	_	Gender[psor]=Masc|Number[psor]=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	9	det	_	Translit=ego|Gloss=his
9	брат	брат	NOUN	_	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing	4	obl	_	Translit=brat|Gloss=brother|SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	_	_	4	punct	_	Translit=.|Gloss=.

Finnish [fi]: “The kitchen is smaller than the living room.”

1	Keittiö	_	NOUN	_	Case=Nom	3	nsubj:cop	_	Gloss=kitchen
2	on	_	AUX	_	_	3	cop	_	Gloss=is
3	pienempi	_	ADJ	_	Degree=Cmp	0	root	_	Gloss=smaller
4	kuin	_	SCONJ	_	_	5	case	_	Gloss=than
5	olohuone	_	NOUN	_	Case=Nom	3	obl	_	Gloss=living-room|SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	_	_	3	punct	_	Gloss=.

Finnish [fi] non-projective: “Matti has a bigger car than Pekka.” The example also shows that comparative structures are often elliptical in some way. The sentence does not compare Matti and Pekka but rather their cars, and the car owned by Pekka is not explicitly present in the sentence.

1	Matilla	_	PROPN	_	Case=Ade	2	nmod:own	_	Gloss=at-Matti
2	on	_	AUX	_	_	0	root	_	Gloss=is
3	isompi	_	ADJ	_	Degree=Cmp	4	amod	_	Gloss=bigger
4	auto	_	NOUN	_	Case=Nom	2	nsubj	_	Gloss=car
5	kuin	_	SCONJ	_	_	6	case	_	Gloss=than
6	Pekalla	_	PROPN	_	Case=Ade	3	obl	_	Gloss=at-Pekka|SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	_	_	2	punct	_	Gloss=.

In Finnish, it is also possible to make comparisons without the comparative conjunction kuin: “The living room is bigger than the kitchen.”

1	Olohuone	_	NOUN	_	Case=Nom	4	nsubj:cop	_	Gloss=living-room
2	on	_	AUX	_	_	4	cop	_	Gloss=is
3	keittiötä	_	NOUN	_	Case=Par	4	obl	_	Gloss=than-kitchen
4	suurempi	_	ADJ	_	Degree=Cmp	0	root	_	Gloss=bigger|SpaceAfter=No
5	.	.	PUNCT	_	_	4	punct	_	Gloss=.

An equality comparison in Finnish [fi]: “I am reading the same book as Pekka.”

1	Luin	_	VERB	_	_	0	root	_	Gloss=I-read
2	saman	_	ADJ	_	_	3	amod	_	Gloss=same
3	kirjan	_	NOUN	_	Case=Gen	1	obj	_	Gloss=book
4	kuin	_	SCONJ	_	_	5	case	_	Gloss=as
5	Pekka	_	PROPN	_	Case=Nom	2	obl	_	Gloss=Pekka|SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	_	_	1	punct	_	Gloss=.

Finnish [fi] superlative: “Finland’s best cook”

1	Suomen	_	PROPN	_	Case=Gen	2	obl	_	Gloss=Finland's
2	paras	_	ADJ	_	Degree=Sup	3	amod	_	Gloss=best
3	kokki	_	NOUN	_	Case=Nom	0	root	_	Gloss=cook

A phrase headed by a superlative adjective can act as a noun phrase, e.g., the subject of the sentence: “The most beautiful of flowers was on the windowsill.”

1	Kukista	_	NOUN	_	Case=Ela	2	obl	_	Gloss=from-flowers
2	kaunein	_	ADJ	_	Degree=Sup	4	nsubj:cop	_	Gloss=most-beautiful
3	oli	_	AUX	_	Tense=Past	4	cop	_	Gloss=was
4	ikkunalaudalla	_	NOUN	_	Case=Ade	0	root	_	Gloss=on-windowsill|SpaceAfter=No
5	.	.	PUNCT	_	_	4	punct	_	Gloss=.

Egyptian [egy]: “the one who is older than me”

1	𓅮	_	PRON	_	PronType=Dem	0	root	_	Translit=pa|Gloss=the-one
2	𓉻𓏛	_	ADJ	_	_	1	acl	_	Translit=āa|Gloss=who-is-old
3	𓂋	_	ADP	_	_	4	case	_	Translit=er|Gloss=than
4	𓀀	_	PRON	_	Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	obl	_	Translit=ȧ|Gloss=I

References