Comparing Adverbs
Adverbs compare exactly the way adjectives do, minus one step. The everyday comparative is the particle πιο in front of the unchanged adverb: πιο γρήγορα (“faster”), πιο εύκολα (“more easily”), πιο προσεκτικά (“more carefully”), and “than” is από, just as with adjectives: «Τρέχει πιο γρήγορα από μένα». A more formal synthetic comparative in -τερα also exists (γρηγορότερα, ευκολότερα), and it means the same thing. Four very common adverbs are SUPPLETIVE and must simply be learnt: καλά → καλύτερα (“better”), άσχημα → χειρότερα (“worse”), πολύ → περισσότερο (“more”), λίγο → λιγότερο (“less”). The step an adverb does NOT take is the article: an adjective becomes superlative by adding one (ο μεγαλύτερος), but an adverb never takes an article, so the superlative sense is carried by όσο πιο … γίνεται (“as … as possible”) or by από όλους (“of all”): «Γράφει πιο καθαρά από όλους».
The rule
Adverbs compare exactly the way adjectives do, minus one step. The everyday comparative is πιο in front of the unchanged adverb - πιο γρήγορα, πιο εύκολα, πιο καθαρά - and “than” is από, just as with adjectives. A more formal synthetic comparative in -τερα also exists (γρηγορότερα, ευκολότερα) and means the same thing. Four very common adverbs are suppletive and simply have to be learnt: καλά → καλύτερα, άσχημα → χειρότερα, πολύ → περισσότερο, λίγο → λιγότερο. The step an adverb does not take is the article. An adjective becomes superlative by taking one (ο μεγαλύτερος), but an adverb never takes an article at all, so the superlative sense has to be carried some other way - by όσο πιο … γίνεται (“as … as possible”) or by από όλους (“of all”).