One syllable adjectives with more than one vowel or ending with more than one consonant at the end can be made comparative by adding -er. Examples include rounder, sleeker, and blunter. For one syllable adjectives ending in e, -r alone is added, as in purer or lamer. Adjectives with exactly one vowel and one consonant at the end form the comparative by doubling the ending consonant, then adding -er, as in sadder or fatter.
Two syllable adjectives with the first syllable stressed and the second syllable an unstressed vowel sound can also form the comparative using -er, such as simpler. If these adjectives end in a y, the y is changed to an i. Some examples are lazier, friskier, and shakier.
Adjectives that do not fall into the aforementioned categories must be made comparative by adding "more" in front of them, as in more ovular, more dimorphic, and more iconoclastic. Additionally, comparatives meaning "less" cannot be formed with suffixes, and must be formed simply by adding "less" in front of the adjective, as in less sad, less yellow, and less wide.
All adverbs must be made comparative by adding "more" or "less" in front of them, as they also cannot take comparative suffixes. Examples are more deviously, less romantically, and more imperatively.