Identify the sentence that uses the positive degree of comparison.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
Explanation
Correct Answer
She is as intelligent as her classmates.
Explanation
The question asks to identify the sentence that uses the positive degree of comparison. To solve this quickly for an exam, recognize the distinct structural patterns used for each degree of an adjective.
Adjectives have three degrees of comparison: positive (base form), comparative (comparing two), and superlative (comparing three or more). The positive degree states a quality without making a higher or lower comparison, often using the structural pattern "as + adjective + as" to show equality.
In the sentence "She is as intelligent as her classmates," the base adjective "intelligent" is used without any comparative suffix (-er) or modifier (more/most). The other options are incorrect because "more intelligent" represents the comparative degree, and "most intelligent" represents the superlative degree. Therefore, Option 3 is the correct choice.
Key Points
Identifying degrees of comparison requires distinguishing the base form of an adjective from its modified comparative and superlative variations.
The "as + adjective + as" construction is a standard grammatical formula utilized strictly with the positive degree to denote equal comparison.