Comparison of Regular Adverbs

Remember two simple rules and you’ll have this mastered in no time:

1. A comparative adverb is always the neuter singular accusative of the corresponding comparative adjective. (ex. clārius)
2. The superlative adverb is just the superlative stem of the corresponding superlative adjective with –ē. (ex. clārissimē)

Here are some additional examples:

• carē, cārius, cārissimē, dearly, more dearly, most dearly
• miserē, miserius, miserrimē, wretchedly, more wretchedly, most wretchedly
• leviter, levius, levissimmē, lightly, more lightly, most lightly
• audācter, audācius, audācissimē, boldly, more boldly, most boldly
• bene, melius, optimē, well, better, best
• male, peius, pessimē, poorly, worse, worst

The Essential AG: 218

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Comparison of Adjectives

There are a variety of ways to hide the stem of a adjective in its nominative form.

• baburrus, -a, -um (stem barburo-) silly
• levis, -e (stem levi-) fickle
• fēlīx (stem fēlīc-) blessed
• hebes (stem hebet-) dull

However, the majority of adjectives of all stem formations become comparatives and superlatives in the same way: with the addition of -ior (m/f) / ius (n) for comparatives, and the addition of -issimus, -a, -um for superlatives.

• baburrus, -a, -um / baburrior, -ius / barburrissimus, -a, -um
• levis, -e / levior, -ius / levissimus, -a, -um
• fēlīx / fēlīcior, -ius / fēlīcissimus, -a, -um
• hebes / hebetior, -ius / hebetissimus, -a, -um

There are a few things to note here. If an adjective is compared regularly,

• It’s case ending will always have two options (m/f or n) for the comparative and three options (m or f or n) for the superlative, regardless of how many it had for the positive.
• Stress accents will always appear on the penultimate vowel (for comparatives) or the ultimate vowel (for superlatives) of the stem.

babúrrior, baburríssimus / lévior, levísssimus / fēlícior, fēlīcíssimus / hebétior, hebetíssimus

Of course, it can always shift further forward, but never further back. The comparatives declines like so:

(photo credit, Wiktionary)

The superlatives decline like a regular first/second declension adjectives, regardless of how their positives decline:

(photo credit, Wiktionary)

The Essential AG: 120, 123-4

Faciō

The essential verb faciō, facere, fēcī, factum, is generally regular, though features a few variant forms you may not have known, and a distinct set of rules for compounds which you may have always ‘sensed’ but never understood.

Exceptional Features

The two exceptional features of faciō are its imperative singular (just the fac, ma’am—not face, which sounds like a Canadian swearing), and its passive forms, derived from fīō (to be discussed in a later post).

Faciō also features a variant future perfect faxō (in place of the more common fēcerō) and a variant perfect subjunctive faxim (in place of the more common fēcerim).

Compound Rules

Compounds of faciō (i) replace a with i and (ii) replace the supine -actum with –ectum, and while retaining the -iō declension, sometimes they feature passive forms that are not derived from fīō.

• cōnficiō, cōnficere, cōnfēcī, cōnfectum (finish)
• cōnficior, cōnficī, cōnfectus sum (die) [but note that ‘ficior’ is not a word!]

• afficiō, afficere, affēcī, affectum (affect)
• afficior, afficī, affectus sum (be affected

• inficiō, inficere, infēcī, infectum (dye, poison)
• inficior, inficī, infectus sum (be poisoned)

Relation to PIE

For those interested in the topic discussed in the last post, the Latin faciō is derived from the PIE dʰeh₁, which also produced τίθημι, do, and (the German) tun.

The Essential AG: 204, 204a