With gradable adjectives, three types of comparison are possible: comparison to (i) a higher degree, (ii) the same degree, and (iii) a lower degree. We will make the following terminological distinction for both higher and lower degree comparison: equative, comparative and superlative degree. However, to avoid cumbersome descriptions such as “comparative to a higher degree”, we will also use the notations in the third column of Table 1, some of which are new coinages. When it is irrelevant whether the comparison refers to a lower or a higher degree, we continue to use the traditional terms comparative and superlative.

degree description	name		example
	traditional	this study
no comparison	positive	positive	groot ‘big’
comparison to a higher degree	comparative	majorative	groter ‘bigger’
	superlative	maximative	grootst ‘biggest’
comparison to the same degree	equative	equative	even groot ‘as big’
comparison to a lower degree	comparative	minorative	minder groot ‘less big’
	superlative	minimative	minst groot ‘least big’

The forms in Table 1 are shown again in Table 2 for the adjective kleinsmall. This table also shows that majoratives and minoratives can be followed by a comparative dan/als-phrase, that equatives can be followed by an als-phrase, and that maximatives and minimatives can be followed by a prepositional van-phrase. These phrases indicate which entities are involved in the comparison, i.e. they refer to the comparison set or the standard of comparison.

	example	translation
Positive	Jan is klein.	Jan is small.
Majorative	Jan is kleiner dan/als Marie.	Jan is smaller than Marie.
Maximative	Jan is het kleinst van de klas.	Jan is the smallest of the group.
Equative	Jan is even klein als Peter	Jan is as small as Peter.
Minorative	Jan is minder klein dan/als Peter.	Jan is less small than Peter.
Minimative	Jan is het minst klein van de klas.	Jan is the least small of the group.

This section is organized as follows. Section 26.1.1 begins with a discussion of the semantic properties and the derivation of the degrees of comparison in Table 1. We will show that majoratives and maximatives are usually derived by affixation with -er and -st, although in some cases a periphrastic form can or must be used; the conditions under which this is the case are discussed in Section 26.1.2. Section 26.1.3 deals with the properties of the als/dan/van-phrases of comparison. Finally, Section 26.1.4 discusses examples in which the comparison does not pertain to the entities of which the adjectives are predicated, but to the properties they denote; cf. Deze tafel is even lang als breedThis table is as long as it is wide.