Irregular comparative adverbs (betur, meira)

Just like adjectives, adverbs—words that describe how an action is performed—have comparative and superlative forms. Some of the most common ones are irregular.

Better and Best: betur and best

The adverb vel (well) changes to betur (better) when comparing two actions, and best (best) for the highest degree.

The boy scored a goal and played better than the man.
Strákurinn skoraði mark og spilaði betur en maðurinn.
She always swims best of all.
Hún syndir alltaf best af öllum.

Worse and Worst: verr and verst

The adverb illa (badly) becomes verr (worse) and verst (worst).

The girls scored a point, but they played worse.
Stelpurnar skoruðu stig, en þær spiluðu verr.
I played worst, but we still got the cup!
Ég spilaði verst, en við fengum samt bikarinn!

More and Most: meira and mest

To express doing an action to a greater degree, use meira (more) and mest (most). These are the comparative and superlative forms of mikið (much / a lot).

You need to practice more for the competition.
Þú þarft að æfa meira fyrir keppnina.
The boys ran most today.
Strákarnir hlupu mest í dag.

Less and Least: minna and minnst

The opposites of meira and mest are minna (less) and minnst (least), stemming from lítið (little).

The dog ran less and did not get a point.
Hundurinn hljóp minna og fékk ekki stig.
The team scored least at the tournament.
Liðið skoraði minnst á mótinu.

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