Question

Change the degree of comparison to positive without changing the meaning of the sentence:
That is the oldest city in the country.
A. No other city in the country is as old as that one.
B. That is the city that is older than the others in the country.
C. That city is not younger than the others in the country.
D. That is the youngest city in the country.

Answer 1

Hint:A degree of comparison is the inflection of adjectives that is the description of the intensity of quality at three stages: positive, comparative and superlative. A positive degree of comparison is the simplest form which merely describes a quality without making any comparisons. Example: Mehul is a brave boy. The positive degree of comparison doesn’t have any ending like (-er or -est). We will look for an option with similar traits.

Complete answer:
Let us analyse each option individually in detail to figure out the correct answer with the help of the above stated hint.

No other city in the country is as old as that one. : The phrase ‘as old as’ suggests a positive degree of comparison. It merely describes the quality of a city. There, this is the correct option.

That is the city that is older than the others in the country. : The word ‘older’ in this sentence is a comparative degree of comparison which is comparing two cities. Therefore, this is not the correct option.

That city is not younger than the others in the country.: The word ‘younger’ in this sentence is a comparative degree of comparison which is comparing two cities. Therefore, this is not the correct option.

That is the youngest city in the country.: The word ‘youngest’ in this sentence is a superlative degree of comparison which is comparing two cities. Therefore, this is not the correct option.

Hence, the correct answer is option ‘A’.

Note:The three degrees of comparisons are positive, comparative and superlative. Let us understand all the three forms with the help of an example.
Example: Mary is a smart girl. ( Degree of comparison is positive where the quality is being highlighted).
Mary is smarter than the other girls of her age. ( Degree of comparison is comparative, where it denotes the quality exists in a higher intensity).
Mary is the smartest girl in her class ( Degree of comparison is superlative, where it denotes that the quality exists in the highest intensity).