Question

Choose the appropriate word:
I am _______ than my elder brother.
A) Youngest
B) Young
C) Most young
D) Younger

Answer 1

Hint: An adjective is a word that modifies a noun or noun phrase or describes its referent. For example: words like small, blue, beautiful, adorable etc.

Complete step by step answer:
Here, the sentence requires us to compare the ages of two brothers. Comparative form of adjectives is best suited in this case. Let us look at the options
Option A) Youngest – is an incorrect answer because it is in a superlative degree. Superlative degree compares more than two things to show which has the least or greatest degree of the quality. Thus, this is an incorrect answer.
Option B) Young – is an incorrect answer because young is an adjective and this is the positive form of the adjective. Thus, this is an incorrect answer.
Option C) Most young – is an incorrect answer because the word ‘most’, which is the superlative prefix for words having more than one syllable. But, since the young has only one syllable, it is sufficient to add the suffix "er" preceded by the word "than", used as a preposition, introducing the second element of the comparison, which is the elder brother. Thus, this is an incorrect answer.
Option D) Younger – is the correct answer because the required degree of comparison is supposed to be in the comparative degree. Comparative degree is used to to compare two things and this is achieved by adding the suffix "er" to the base form of the word. Thus, this is the most appropriate answer and this is the correct answer.

So, the correct answer is “Option D ”.

Note:
Young is an adjective, which has its degrees of comparison. In the given statement, the comparison is between two people. So, we will take a comparative degree instead of a superlative degree because comparative is used for comparing two things or people. Thus, younger is the correct option as compared to the other options. Superlative form could be used as “Rahul is the youngest in the entire family.”