In grammar the comparative is the form of an adjective or adverb which denotes the degree or grade by which a person, thing, or other entity has a property or quality greater or less in extent than that of another. It is in fact, one of the two inflections, together with the superlative, an adjective or adverb can have.

The structure of a comparative consists normally of the positive form of the adjective or adverb, plus the suffix -er, or (especially in the case of longer words) the modifier "more" (or "less") before the adjective or adverb. The form is usually completed by "than" and the noun which is being compared, e.g. "he is taller than his father", or "the village is less picturesque than the town near by".