Template:en-adj
en-adj (comparative more en-adj, superlative most en-adj)
- The following documentation is located at Template:en-adj/documentation. [edit]
- Useful links: subpage list • links • redirects • transclusions • errors (parser/module) • sandbox
This template generates a headword line for an English adjective. It shows the headword in bold and its comparative and superlative inflections, if any.
This template contains the necessary meta-data to allow users who are using accelerated editing to create any grammatical forms semi-automatically.
Parameters
|1=- Comparative form(s). Separate multiple forms with a comma (with no space following). Individual forms can be followed by inline modifiers to add qualifiers, labels and references. The default is to generate a periphrastic comparative using more before the term. Use
+ormoreto explicitly request this. See below for more information. |sup=- Superlative form(s). Separate multiple forms with a comma (with no space following). Individual forms can be followed by inline modifiers to add qualifiers, labels and references. The default is to generate the superlative equivalent(s) of the comparative form(s) specified, or use
+to explicitly request this (useful along with additional superlatives). See below for more information. |def=1or|the=1- Specify that the term is normally preceded the definite article the (e.g. devil's own). When given, the will appear at the beginning of the headword.
|def=~or|the=~- Specify that the term is optionally preceded the definite article the. When given, two headwords will be generated, one with the and one without.
Comparative forms
The comparative form(s) should be specified in |1=, separated by a comma (with no space following) if there is more than one. (For compatibility purposes, comparatives can also be specified in higher positional/numbered parameters, but this is deprecated.) By default, the superlative is automatically generated from each of the comparative forms. The following special comparative values are recognized:
more- The comparative is formed with more. For the first comparative form, this is the default.
further- The comparative is formed with further and farther (two comparatives are generated).
better- The comparative is formed with better.
er- The comparative is formed by adding -er to the base term. This is done "smartly", and some changes are made to the base term if necessary:
- For terms ending in -e, it is removed before the ending is added.
- For terms ending in -(e)y preceded by a consonant, it is replaced by -i- before the ending is added.
+first- The first word in a multiword expression (separated from the remainder of the words by a space or hyphen) is made into an -er comparative, and the remainder are left alone. See below for more information.
+first-last- The first and last word in a multiword expression (separated from the remainder of the words by a space or hyphen) are made into -er comparatives, and the remainder are left alone. See below for more information.
+first-second,+second,+each- The first and second words in a multiword expression (respectively, the second word only, or all words) are made into -er comparatives, and the remainder (if any) are left alone. See below for more information.
- (anything else)
- The comparative is taken as given. A
~occurring in this value will be replaced by the lemma.
Non-comparable adjectives
If an adjective is not comparable, give its first parameter as just -. This will display "not comparable". However, you can also specify one or more comparative forms after the -, and it will then show "not generally comparable" along with the given forms. Note that in this case, the first comparative does not default to more, so you need to give it explicitly.
If you do not know what the comparative and superlative form are, or if you're not sure if the adjective is comparable at all, give the first parameter as ?. This will omit the comparative and superlative forms altogether.
Superlative forms
Most of the time, you do not explicitly need to specify the superlatives, and they will be derived from the specified (or defaulted) comparatives: for each comparative, a superlative is generated, as follows:
- In place of more in a comparative, use most.
- In place of further and farther in a comparative, use furthest and farthest.
- In place of better in a comparative, use best.
- If the comparative was specified as
er, the superlative will be generative as if specified asest(see below), which adds -est to the lemma, using similar rules to those used to add -er. - If the comparative was specified using any of the directives beginning with a
+, such as+first,+first-last,+second, etc., the appropriate word or words in a multiword expression are made into -est superlatives. - If the comparative was specified explicitly, the superlative is generated by replacing final -er with -est. An error results if the explicit comparative does not end in -er.
You can also explicitly specify the superlative form(s) using |sup=, separated by a comma (with no space following) if there is more than one. (For compatibility purposes, superlatives can also be specified using |sup2=, |sup3=, etc. but this is deprecated.) The following special comparative values are recognized:
+- Substitute the default superlative(s) corresponding to the specified (or defaulted) comparatives, according to the above algorithm. There will be as many superlatives substituted in as there are comparatives. Inline modifiers can be specified on the
+; if so, all substituted comparatives will have these modifiers on them. most- The superlative is formed with most.
furthest- The superlative is formed with furthest and farthest (two superlatives are generated).
best- The superlative is formed with best.
er- The superlative is formed by adding -est to the base term. This is done "smartly", and some changes are made to the base term if necessary:
- For terms ending in -e, it is removed before the ending is added.
- For terms ending in -(e)y preceded by a consonant, it is replaced by -i- before the ending is added.
+first- The first word in a multiword expression (separated from the remainder of the words by a space or hyphen) is made into an -est superlative, and the remainder are left alone. See below for more information.
+first-last- The first and last word in a multiword expression (separated from the remainder of the words by a space or hyphen) are made into -est superlatives, and the remainder are left alone. See below for more information.
+first-second,+second,+each- The first and second words in a multiword expression (respectively, the second word only, or all words) are made into -est superlatives, and the remainder (if any) are left alone. See below for more information.
- (anything else)
- The superlative is taken as given. A
~occurring in this value will be replaced by the lemma.
Comparative-only and superlative-only adjectives
If an adjective is already in the comparative form, use |componly=1. This will display "comparative form only" and add the adjective to Category:English comparative-only adjectives. You can still specify superlatives for these types of adjectives.
If an adjective is already in the superlative form, use |suponly=1. This will display "superlative form only" and add the adjective to Category:English superlative-only adjectives.
Additional parameters
The following parameters are additionally supported on all English headword templates, including {{en-adj}}:
|head=- Override the headword display; used to add links to individual words in a multiword term. Separate multiple forms with a comma (with no space following). (If the term itself has a comma in it that is not followed by a space, such as 1,000 meter or 1,6-Cleves acid, and you need to specify a value for
|head=, put a backslash before the embedded comma or commas.) Individual forms can be followed by inline modifiers to add qualifiers, labels and references. |abbr=- Abbreviation(s) of the term. Separate multiple forms with a comma (with no space following). Individual forms can be followed by inline modifiers to add qualifiers, labels and references.
|id=- Sense ID for linking to this headword. See
{{senseid}}for more information. |nolinkhead=1,|splithyph=1,|nosplithyph=1,|hyphspace=1- Control how multiword terms are linked. See Module:en-headword/documentation for more information.
|nosuffix=1- Prevent terms beginning with a hyphen from being interpreted as suffixes. See Module:en-headword/documentation#Suffix handling for more information.
|nomultiwordcat=1- Prevent multiword terms (those with spaces or with hyphens in the middle) from being added to Category:English multiword terms.
|pagename=- Override the page name used to compute default values of various sorts. Useful when testing, for documentation pages, etc.
|sort=- Sort key. Rarely needs to be specified, as it is normally automatically generated.
Examples
Quick start
| Term | Wikicode | Result | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| evident | {{en-adj}} |
evident (comparative more evident, superlative most evident) | Basic adjective compared using more, which is the default. |
| hard | {{en-adj|er}} |
hard (comparative harder, superlative hardest) | Basic adjective compared using -er. |
| avid | {{en-adj|more,avider<l:less common>}} |
avid (comparative more avid or (less common) avider, superlative most avid or (less common) avidest) | Adjective compared both ways, with an inline modifier. |
| royal | {{en-adj|er,~ler}} |
royal (comparative royaler or royaller, superlative royalest or royallest) | American vs. British spelling. |
| German | {{en-adj|more|sup=most,Germanest}} |
German (comparative more German, superlative most German or Germanest) | Override the superlative, which is by default computed from the comparative. |
| coal | {{en-adj|-|sup=coalest<l:rare>}} |
coal (no comparative, superlative (rare) coalest) | No comparative; rare superlative. |
| first | {{en-adj|-|sup=firstmost}} |
first (no comparative, superlative firstmost) | No comparative; common superlative. |
| far | {{en-adj|farther,further|sup=+,farthermost,furthermost}} |
far (comparative farther or further, superlative farthest or furthest or farthermost or furthermost) | + requests the default superlative, computed from the comparative.
|
| fallen | {{en-adj|-,more|sup=+,est<l:uncommon>}} |
fallen (not generally comparable, comparative more fallen, superlative most fallen or (uncommon) fallenest) | Use - followed by a comparative for not generally comparable adjectives.
|
| right | {{en-adj|further,more,er|sup=furthest,most,rightmost,est}} |
right (comparative further right or farther right or more right or righter, superlative furthest right or farthest right or most right or rightmost or rightest) | Note that further and furthest as inputs generate two outputs each.
|
| old | {{en-adj|er,elder|sup=+,oldermost<l:US,dialectal>}} |
old (comparative older or elder, superlative oldest or eldest or (US, dialectal) oldermost) | |
| dumbass | {{en-adj|more,dumberass|sup=most,dumbestass}} |
dumbass (comparative more dumbass or dumberass, superlative most dumbass or dumbestass) | |
| little | {{en-adj|less,lesser,littler|sup=least,littlest}} |
little (comparative less or lesser or littler, superlative least or littlest) | |
| best | {{en-adj|er<l:nonstandard,humorous>}} |
best (comparative (nonstandard, humorous) bester, superlative (nonstandard, humorous) bestest) | Inline modifiers on the comparative are by default carried over to the superlative. |
| trace | {{en-adj|more|sup=most,est}} |
trace (comparative more trace, superlative most trace or tracest) | |
| mimsy | {{en-adj|er}} |
mimsy (comparative mimsier, superlative mimsiest) | |
| easy peasy | {{en-adj|er,+first-last}} |
easy peasy (comparative easy peasier or easier peasier, superlative easy peasiest or easiest peasiest) | |
| low-end | {{en-adj|more,+first}} |
low-end (comparative more low-end or lower-end, superlative most low-end or lowest-end) | |
| loose-fitting | {{en-adj|+first}} |
loose-fitting (comparative looser-fitting, superlative loosest-fitting) | |
| well off | {{en-adj|+first,more}} |
well off (comparative better off or more well off, superlative best off or most well off) | |
| well-known | {{en-adj|+first,more}} |
well-known (comparative better-known or more well-known, superlative best-known or most well-known) | |
| good-looking | {{en-adj|more,+first}} |
good-looking (comparative more good-looking or better-looking, superlative most good-looking or best-looking) | |
| wide open | {{en-adj|+first,more}} |
wide open (comparative wider open or more wide open, superlative widest open or most wide open) | |
| charming | {{en-adj|more,er<l:nonstandard>|sup=+,charmest<l:nonstandard>}} |
charming (comparative more charming or (nonstandard) charminger, superlative most charming or (nonstandard) charmingest or (nonstandard) charmest) | |
| darned | {{en-adj|darneder<l:rare>,darnder<l:rare>|sup=darnedest,darndest}} |
darned (comparative (rare) darneder or (rare) darnder, superlative darnedest or darndest) | |
| bad-tempered | {{en-adj|+first,more}} |
bad-tempered (comparative worse-tempered or more bad-tempered, superlative worst-tempered or most bad-tempered) | |
| unfree | {{en-adj|more,er,unfree-er}} |
unfree (comparative more unfree or unfreer or unfree-er, superlative most unfree or unfreest or unfree-est) | |
| quick and dirty | {{en-adj|more,+first-last}} |
quick and dirty (comparative more quick and dirty or quicker and dirtier, superlative most quick and dirty or quickest and dirtiest) | |
| loosey-goosey | {{en-adj|more,+first-last,er}} |
loosey-goosey (comparative more loosey-goosey or loosier-goosier or loosey-goosier, superlative most loosey-goosey or loosiest-goosiest or loosey-goosiest) | |
| l8 | {{en-adj|~r|sup=est}} |
l8 (comparative l8r, superlative l8est) | |
| ultradry | {{en-adj|er,~er}} |
ultradry (comparative ultradrier or ultradryer, superlative ultradriest or ultradryest) | |
| easy as falling off a log | {{en-adj|easier than falling off a log|sup=-}} |
easy as falling off a log (comparative easier than falling off a log, no superlative) | |
| known | {{en-adj|better}} |
known (comparative better known, superlative best known) | |
| far-fetched | {{en-adj|more,+first<l:rare>}} |
far-fetched (comparative more far-fetched or (rare) further-fetched or (rare) farther-fetched, superlative most far-fetched or (rare) furthest-fetched or (rare) farthest-fetched) |
Extended discussion
For most adjectives, the comparative and superlative are just formed with more and most. This is the default, so for these adjectives you can just specify no parameters, but you can also give more, which is redundant but not wrong:
For example, for evident:
{{en-adj}}
which produces
evident (comparative more evident, superlative most evident)
If the adjective forms its comparative and superlative by adding -er and -est, specify that with er, e.g. for hard:
{{en-adj|er}}
which produces
hard (comparative harder, superlative hardest)
This also works for most adjectives ending in -(e)y (like happy) or in -e (like late), so you don't need to do anything special for them. For example, for happy:
{{en-adj|er}}
which produces
happy (comparative happier, superlative happiest)
It even works for single-syllable adjectives ending in a short vowel followed by a single consonant, which must double the consonant before -er and -est, such as hot:
{{en-adj|er}}
which produces
hot (comparative hotter, superlative hottest)
If the adjective has more than one way to form the comparative, provide them both as separate comma-separate values, in order. For example, on abject or shy:
{{en-adj|er,more}}
which produces
abject (comparative abjecter or more abject, superlative abjectest or most abject)
{{en-adj|er,shyer}}
which produces
shy (comparative shier or shyer, superlative shiest or shyest)
Adjectives with irregular forms
If the default superlative is not correct, give it with the sup= parameter. For example on good:
{{en-adj|better|sup=best}}
which produces
good (comparative better, superlative best)
This prevents the template from generating bettest which would be incorrect.
Multiword adjectives
Some adjectives with multiple words inflect as if they are a single word. For these, nothing special needs to be done, such as good faith:
{{en-adj}}
which produces
good faith (comparative more good faith, superlative most good faith)
However, other adjectives inflect the first word of several, or the first and last. Special codes are provided for these cases: +first to indicate that the first word inflects, and +first-last to indicate that the first and last word inflect. For example, short-lived normally forms its comparative as shorter-lived and its superlative as shortest-lived. Use +first for this, which specifies that the first word should be inflected with an -er comparative and an -est superlative:
{{en-adj|+first}}
which produces
short-lived (comparative shorter-lived, superlative shortest-lived)
This works whether the words are joined with hyphens or spaces. Another example is quick and dirty, which forms its comparative as either more quick and dirty or sometimes quicker and dirtier:
{{en-adj|more,+first-last}}
which produces
quick and dirty (comparative more quick and dirty or quicker and dirtier, superlative most quick and dirty or quickest and dirtiest)
As can be seen, the rule that converts -y after a consonant to -i before an ending automatically takes effect here.
The codes +first and +first-last have special handling for certain words with irregular comparatives. Notably:
- good and well are automatically given the comparative better and the superlative best.
- bad and badly are automatically given the comparative worse and the superlative worst.
- far is automatically given two comparatives further and farther (in that order, based on Google Ngrams, which shows that further is roughly 3x more common than farther), and two superlatives furthest and farthest.
For example, for well-known:
{{en-adj|+first,more}}
which produces
well-known (comparative better-known or more well-known, superlative best-known or most well-known)
And for far away:
{{en-adj|+first}}
which produces
far away (comparative further away or farther away, superlative furthest away or farthest away)
Incomparable adjectives
If the adjective is absolute and has no comparative forms, use - as the first comparative. For example, for annual:
{{en-adj|-}}
which produces
annual (not comparable)
If the adjective is not generally comparable but sometimes is, use - as the first comparative, with subsequent comparatives as above. For example, for downtown:
{{en-adj|-,further}}
which produces
downtown (not generally comparable, comparative further downtown or farther downtown, superlative furthest downtown or farthest downtown)
Some adjectives have no comparative but do have a superlative. For those, use - as the comparative and specify a superlative explicitly. For example, for first:
{{en-adj|-|sup=firstmost}}
which produces
first (no comparative, superlative firstmost)
Conversely, some adjectives have a comparative but no superlative. For those, use - as the superlative. For example, for easy as falling off a log:
{{en-adj|easier than falling off a log|sup=-}}
which produces
easy as falling off a log (comparative easier than falling off a log, no superlative)
When the inflection is unknown or uncertain, use a question mark (?) as the first parameter. Such information can still be added to the entry later, and this avoids having to give potentially false information:
{{en-adj|?}}
Comparative-only adjectives
If the adjective only has the comparative form, use |componly=1, e.g. for faster-than-light:
{{en-adj|componly=1}}
which produces
faster-than-light (comparative form only)
Inline modifiers
You can attach one or more inline modifiers to any given form to add qualifiers, labels and/or references. For example, for best:
{{en-adj|er<l:nonstandard,humorous>}}
which produces
best (comparative (nonstandard, humorous) bester, superlative (nonstandard, humorous) bestest)
Here, we attach labels nonstandard and humorous to the comparative form bester. As the superlative is unspecified, it automatically generates the corresponding superlative bestest, which inherits the properties of the comparative (in this case, the labels).
Another example is old:
{{en-adj|er,elder<l:formal>|sup=+,oldermost<l:US,dialectal>}}
which produces
old (comparative older or (formal) elder, superlative oldest or (formal) eldest or (US, dialectal) oldermost)
Here, we attach a label formal to the comparative elder, and explicitly use + to generate the superlatives from the comparatives so we can add an additional US dialectal form oldermost, labeled appropriately.
The recognized inline modifiers are:
q: qualifier, e.g.<q:in the plural>or<q:when referring to a card game>; this appears *BEFORE* the term, parenthesized and italicizedqq: qualifier, e.g.<qq:in the plural>or<qq:when referring to a card game>; this appears *AFTER* the term, parenthesized and italicizedl: comma-separated list of labels, e.g.<l:rare>or<l:dated,or,literary>; this appears *BEFORE* the term, parenthesized and italicizedll: comma-separated list of labels, e.g.<ll:rare>or<ll:dated,or,literary>; this appears *AFTER* the term, parenthesized and italicizedref: one or more references, in the format documented in Module:references and{{IPA}}id: sense ID; see{{senseid}}
Autosplitting
{{en-adj}}, as with all English headword-line templates, implements an intelligent, customized algorithm for automatically splitting and linking the components of a multiword term. See Module:en-headword/documentation#Autosplitting for more information.
Suffix handling
{{en-adj}}, as with all English headword-line templates, will normally interpret a term beginning with a hyphen as a suffix and handle it specially. See Module:en-headword/documentation#Suffix handling for more information.
Link modifications
{{en-adj}}, as with all English headword-line templates, has a special mechanism for overriding the default linking behavior of individual terms in a multiword expression without having to repeat the entire expression. See Module:en-headword/documentation#Link modifications for more information.