Comparative Adverbs

Level 3Sounds Like vyšéjšaâ stupenʹ prysloŭâŭ

Гавары павольней, калі ласка. (Please speak more slowly.) Add -ей or -эй to the stem: павольна → павольней.

How It Works

An adverb like хутка (fast) or цёпла (warmly) has a comparative form meaning faster, warmer. The same form also works as a predicate without a subject: Сёння цяплей. (It is warmer today.) Adverbs themselves come from adjectives: see adverbs from adjectives.

Regular forms. Take the stem and add -ей: павольна → павольней, моцна → мацней, позна → пазней, гучна → гучней, цёпла → цяплей. After ж, ш, ч and р, which are always hard, the ending is spelled -эй: шырока → шырэй, прыгожа → прыгажэй. See always-hard consonants.

Stem changes. Some stems change before the ending: хутка → хутчэй, лёгка → лягчэй (к becomes ч), дорага → даражэй (г becomes ж), часта → часцей, высока → вышэй, нізка → ніжэй, блізка → бліжэй. In short adverbs the stress usually moves to the ending, so an о or ё before it changes in spelling: моцна → мацней, цёпла → цяплей. Longer adverbs can keep their stress: паво́льна → паво́льней (see akanye and yakanye).

Irregular forms. добра → лепш (or лепей), дрэнна → горш (or горай), многа → больш (or болей), мала → менш (or меней), далёка → далей. Both forms in each pair are correct.

Compound form. You can also put больш or менш in front of the plain adverb: больш цікава (more interestingly), менш выразна (less clearly). See больш and менш with adjectives.

Than. Add чым + nominative or за + accusative: Ён бегае хутчэй за мяне. or Ён бегае хутчэй, чым я. (He runs faster than me.) See than with чым and за.

Stronger comparisons. яшчэ лепш (even better), усё хутчэй (faster and faster). The comparative adjective is a different form: хутчэйшы, вышэйшы. See comparative adjectives.

Examples (6)

  1. Гавары павольней, калі ласка.

    Please speak more slowly.

    Word by Word: Speak more-slowly, please.

  2. Сёння цяплей, чым учора.

    It is warmer today than yesterday.

    Word by Word: Today warmer, than yesterday.

  3. Ён бегае хутчэй за мяне.

    He runs faster than me.

    Word by Word: He runs faster than me.

    За + accusative мяне means than me.

  4. Мне ўжо лепш.

    I feel better now.

    Word by Word: To-me already better.

  5. Трэба больш чытаць па-беларуску.

    You need to read more in Belarusian.

    Word by Word: Needed more to-read in-Belarusian.

  6. Яна спявае ўсё прыгажэй.

    She sings more and more beautifully.

    Word by Word: She sings all more-beautifully.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the Russian ending -ее.

    Гавары павольнее, калі ласка.
    Гавары павольней, калі ласка.

    The Russian ending -ее is not used in Belarusian. The comparative adverb ends in -ей or -эй.

  • Building a compound form for добра.

    Сёння я гавару больш добра.
    Сёння я гавару лепш.

    Добра has its own comparative, лепш (or лепей). Больш goes only in front of adverbs, usually long ones, that you want to compare with a separate word.

  • Using the comparative adjective to describe how someone acts.

    Ён бегае хутчэйшы за мяне.
    Ён бегае хутчэй за мяне.

    Хутчэйшы is an adjective, as in a faster runner. To say how someone runs, use the adverb хутчэй.

How It Connects

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Comparative AdverbsLevel 3

Learn This First

Comparative adverbs need adverbs and comparatives.

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Words in This Pattern

большменшдобрадрэнна