“Shy” – Comparative and Superlative Forms Explained

The comparative and superlative forms of adjectives have certain rules we need to follow. Most of those rules come from the number of syllables in the original adjective. This article will look at the comparative and superlative forms of “shy.”

“More Shy” Or “Shyer” – What Is The Comparative Form Of “Shy”?

“Shyer” is the correct comparative form of “shy.” We use it to say that somebody or something is comparatively “shyer” than someone or something else. “Shy” is only one syllable, meaning we cannot add “more” before it when using the comparative form.

This is the case for every one-syllable adjective. Whenever we use the comparative form, we must always add an “-er” ending (where we can). There is never a reason to use “more” as the comparative word.

However, “more shy” is technically correct, and there is nothing grammatically wrong with it. Still, no native speakers will use “more shy” when they have “shyer” as an option in place of it.

• Correct: He is much shyer than me.
• Incorrect: You are more shy than I was at your age.

“Most Shy” Or “Shyest” – What Is The Superlative Form Of “Shy”?

“Shyest” is the correct superlative form of “shy.” We use it to show that somebody or something is the most “shy” of all the things it is compared with (usually more than one). “Shy” is a one-syllable adjective, meaning the “-est” suffix is appropriate, while “most” is not used.

The superlative rules are identical to the comparative rules. The only difference is that we use “most” in place of “more.” When the adjective is originally one syllable long (like “shy”), we do not include the superlative word “most” before it.

Again, there is nothing grammatically wrong with “most shy,” but it’s not a common or favorable choice. Every native English speaker and writer will use “shyest” whenever they have to write in the superlative form.

• Correct: He was the shyest person in the room.
• Incorrect: I am the most shy person here.

What Are The Different Forms Of “Shy”?

It might help you to understand more of the forms of “shy” and when we can use them.

Adjective	Shy
Comparative	Shyer / Shier
Superlative	Shyest / Shiest

You may notice that we included two forms for the comparative and superlative forms. That’s because “shyer” and “shyest” have alternative spellings. They’re not the most common to come across, but “shier” and “shiest” are also correct.

Is It “Shyer” Or “Shier”?

Now that we’ve briefly touched on the different spellings, it’s time to look closer at them. We’ll start with the comparative form.

“Shyer” is the more traditional spelling of the comparative form for “shy.” “Shier” is an alternative spelling, where we replace the ending “Y” letter of “shy” with an “I.” It seems like it follows conventional English rules, but these do not apply to the comparative form of “shy.”

When we talk about conventional English rules, we can look at how we might change certain other words to the comparative form:

• Adjective: Happy
• Comparative: Happier

As you can see, we replace the “Y” at the end of “happy” when turning it to the comparative form.

The same applies when we look at certain verb forms:

• Verb: Shy
• Past tense: Shied

While the verb and adjective “shy” are identical in spelling, we remove the “Y” in the verb form to create the “-ied” ending in the past tense verb.

However, this idea of replacing “Y” with “I” doesn’t seem to apply as often to “shy” in the comparative form. There are no specific reasons for this. It’s just a conceptual idea that’s accepted by native speakers, and no one argues it.

Is It “Shyest” Or “Shiest”?

The same rules apply when we look at the superlative form.

“Shyest” is the most common spelling variation, but “shiest” is still correct. Again, common English rules teach us to replace the “Y” at the end with an “I” where appropriate, but this doesn’t seem to apply with the adjective “shy.”

We can use the same examples as above to explain this:

• Adjective: Happy
• Superlative: Happiest

The adjective form of “happy” ends with a “Y,” and we replace it with an “I” before using the superlative. Yet again, this doesn’t apply to “shy,” and it has no reason not to. It’s just a choice made by native speakers that has stuck throughout the years.

How Prevalent Is The Use Of “More Shy,” “Shyer,” And “Shier”?

To help you understand more about the different spellings and forms, you might benefit from the following graph.

According to Google Ngram Viewer, “shyer” is the most useful and popular option. It is the correct comparative form we can use because “shy” is one syllable. Interestingly, “more shy” is more popular than the alternative spelling “shier” as well.

How Prevalent Is The Use Of “Most Shy,” “Shyest,” And “Shiest”?

There are a few minor differences when we look at the superlative graph.

According to Google Ngram Viewer, “shyest” is the most popular option for the superlative form by a large margin. It is the correct superlative form to use. This time, both “most shy” and “shiest” are uncommon and almost identical on the graph.

Examples Of How To Use “More Shy,” “Shyer,” And “Shier” In A Sentence

1. You are shyer than I thought you would be.
2. I can not be shyer than her because she never speaks.
3. He is shyer than me, but that’s okay.
4. They are both a lot shyer than they were when I knew them.
5. We are shyer than we were when we first met them.
6. They are shyer than I thought they were going to be.
7. She is shyer than her brother, but she still talks to me.

Examples Of How To Use “Most Shy,” “Shyest,” And “Shiest” In A Sentence

1. I am the shyest in my family.
2. He is the shyest cousin in this family.
3. You are the shyest person I have ever met.
4. We have found the shyest person on this plant!
5. My dog is the shyest pet I’ve ever met!
6. They are the shyest couple I’ve come across.
7. You are the shyest person in this room, but there’s no shame in that.

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