Adjective Degrees
Adjectives in Arcadia can express different degrees of comparison: positive, comparative, and superlative.
Positive Degree
The positive degree is the base form of the adjective, used to describe a quality without any comparison.
- save marias juvi.
- translation: Maria is young.
Comparative Degree
The comparative degree is used to compare two nouns. In Arcadia, we have a positive, a neutral and a negative form.
-
Positive:
- meaning: The first noun has the quality to a greater extent than the second noun.
- synthetic:
-eli - analytic: veli
-
Neutral:
- meaning: The first noun has the quality to the same extent as the second noun.
- synthetic:
-ali - analytic: vali
-
Negative:
- meaning: The first noun has the quality to a lesser extent than the second noun.
- synthetic:
-oli - analytic: voli
| Form | Arcadia Synthetic | Arcadia Analytic | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| Positive | save marias juveli to adamos | save marias veli juvi to adamos | Maria is younger than Adam |
| Neutral | save marias juvali to adamos | save marias vali juvi to adamos | Maria is as young as Adam |
| Negative | save marias juvoli to adamos | save marias voli juvi to adamos | Maria is older than Adam |
Superlative Degree
The superlative degree is used to describe the highest (or lowest) degree of a quality amongst a group. Both of them have a synthetic and an analytic form.
-
Positive:
- meaning: The noun has the quality to the greatest extend.
- synthetic:
-ili - analytic: vili
-
Negative:
- meaning: The noun has the quality to the lowest extend.
- synthetic:
-uli - analytic: vuli
The superlative degree can be used to indicate that the noun has the quality to the greatest or least extent, in an absolute form, without comparison to other nouns. This is formed by using the superlative as a predicate, without any articles.
| Form | Arcadia Synthetic | Arcadia Analytic | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| Positive (relative) | save marias la juvuli in sek classe | save marias la veli juvi in sek classe | Maria is the youngest in her class |
| Negative (relative) | save marias la juvoli in sek classe | save marias la voli juvi in sek classe | Maria is the least young in her class |
| Positive (absolute) | save marias juvuli | save marias veli juvi | Maria is the youngest possible |
| Negative (absolute) | save marias juvoli | save marias voli juvi | Maria is the least young possible |