stupid And stupidest are real words in good condition. Although there are many (often conflicting) rules about superlative and superlative adjectives, there is no rule against it. stupid And stupidestand words that have a long history of use.
If we want to describe a person who has bet that he can eat a bunch of particularly hot chili peppers, we can call him rash, mendicant more than most, or most hasty who we know. We can also say that he is more recklessor most daring who we have seen. But if we want to describe him as silly? he will be more stupid or stupid? Welcome to the next episode of Usage Questions with no satisfying answers.
Also do not ask us for home improvement advice.
Soft rule of superlatives
The rules that govern the proper way to form the superlative and superlative degrees of adjectives are messy things. At first glance the problem seems simple; Students are often advised that one-syllable adjectives are modified with –Hey or –estimatewords with three or more syllables modified with than or most ofand two-syllable words modified with -er or -est if they end in a vowel or vowel sound (such as Pretty or narrow), but modified with than or most of if they end with some consonant (such as light) and modified with either –er/est or more/most for words ending in some other consonant. That is not simple at all.
There are also obvious exceptions to the above rules. Some single-syllable adjectives are not modified in any way, due to irregularity (good/better/best) or by convention (sick usually not modified with -er or -est, unless you’re a Beastie Boy). And some three-syllable words work well with -er And –estimate end, if they have a cancel– The Beginning (more unhappy). However, most people have mastered how to modify adjectives by one or more syllables. It’s the middle ground that creates the problem.
“Reality” by Stupider and Stupidest
Some people find stupid And stupidest deprecated, for reasons that are not entirely clear. Both have been widely used for hundreds of years, there is no manual that we know of that prohibits their use, and there are many words that share the same characteristics. sillysuch as polite (both are syllables ending in an alveolar stop), which can end with -er or –estimate without disturbing anyone. One possibility is that non-homonymous adjectives end in a voiceless alveolar stop (polite) sounds fun when it ends with -erbut the alveolar sound stops (silly) do not. Even if this is true, it seems a bit unwieldy to add to the chapter ‘how to make your adjective happy and healthy’.
we list stupid And stupidest is the comparative and superlative forms of silly, because that’s what they are. They are honest words, one hundred percent, grade A, real words. In case anyone tries to tell you otherwise, here is a small example of them used in edited prose through the ages.
…parts and partners roamed the earth independently in the stupidest way for a while, until it was too late.— Thomas Hardy, Tess of D’Urbervilles1891
“I suppose all ladies like them,” said Miss Macnulty, the dumbest and most stubborn of modest friends.—Anthony Trollope, The Eustace Diamond1873
Death, dementia/suicidal degeneration, that is, the older you get, the more stupid you become— Ezra Pound, Cantos by Ezra Pound1972
Joe suspects, as well as the woman next door who gives the film an amusing fairy-tale quality when her dog is stolen in the opening scene, that for some reason people are becoming more and more should be more stupid.— Janet Maslin, New York TimesFebruary 27, 1998
If stupid And stupidest grateful for your ears, you can simply use than or most of instead of. Looking further from the matter, if you find yourself faced with a two-syllable adjective and need to modify it, don’t panic, as adjectives can smell fear. Let your ears and your audience’s reactions guide you. If the reader hisses or starts squeaking after you press –Hey you might want to consider modifying this word with than next time you use it. But as far as modifying most two-syllable adjectives is concerned, the only advice we can give with absolute certainty is to never bet on hot peppers.
Categories: Usage Notes
Source: vothisaucamau.edu.vn
