Comparative adverbs:

An adverb of degree is a modifier (it modifies a sentence) by telling us what is the intensity of something in a sentence.

There are some exceptions to the rule of placing them, but mostly they are placed before the adjective, adverb, or verb that they modify.

Here are a few examples of adverbs of degree “too”, “enough”, “very”, and “extremely”.

Adverbs of degree allow you to be highly detailed while writing. The adverbs of degree have been highlighted in the following examples to make them easier to understand.

Before the adjective:

The weather was extremely hot.

The lecture is quite boring.

Here, hot and boring are both adjectives, and extremely and quiet are the degrees of adverbs that explain the intensity of the adjectives in both sentences.

Before the Verb:

She was just cooking.

He has almost started.

Here, cooking and starting are both verbs, just and almost, which explain the intensity of the verbs in both sentences.

Before the adverb:

She is running very fast.

You are running fast enough.

You are walking too slowly.

Here very, too, and enough is the degree of adverbs. In sentence number 3 “too” explains the intensity of the adverb of manner (slowly).

The adverb of degree, also known as the adverb of comparison,

It is also called an adverb of comparison because the subordinating conjunctions “than,” “as…as,” “so…as,” or “the…the” are frequently used in an adverb of degree.

The degrees of comparison in grammar are related to adjectives and adverbs.

There are three degrees of expression for every adjective and adverb:

The Positive Degree

The Comparative Degree

The Superlative Degree

The Positive Degree: There is no comparison in the Positive Degree. It just tells us of the presence of quality. As an example,

adjectives: slow, angry, beautiful, calm, happy, wonderful
adverbs: slowly, angrily, beautifully, calmly, happily, wonderfully

The Comparative Degree: This compares two items to determine which has a lower or higher degree of quality. As an example,

adjectives: slower, angrier, more beautiful, calmer, happier, more wonderful
adverbs: more slowly, more angrily, more beautifully, more calmly, more happily, more wonderful

The superlative degree compares two or more objects to decide which has the lowest or best quality. As an example,

adjectives: slowest, angriest, most beautiful, calmest, happiest, most wonderful
adverbs: most slowly, most angrily, most beautifully, most calmly, most happily, most wonderfully

Consider the following scenario for a better understanding:

Here are the three degrees of comparison for the adjective “thirsty”:

I am thirsty. (positive degree)
I am thirstier than you. (comparative degree)
I am the thirstiest of all. (superlative degree)

Here are the three degrees of comparison for the adverb “dangerously”:

She played dangerously yesterday. (positive degree)
She played more dangerously than me. (comparative degree)
She played most dangerously. (superlative degree)