Abstrak
This research aimed to analyze the ninth-grade students’ ability in using degrees of comparison at SMPN 2 Bukittinggi and to identify the most difficult type faced by the students. Grammar is an important component in English learning because it helps students construct meaningful and accurate sentences. However, many students still experienced difficulties in using comparative and superlative forms correctly, such as omitting “than,” misusing “-er” and “-est,” and incorrectly applying “more” and “most” in sentences. These problems indicated that students still had limited grammatical control in using degrees of comparison accurately. This research employed a descriptive quantitative design. The population of this research consisted of all ninth-grade students of SMPN 2 Bukittinggi in the academic year 2025/2026. The sample was class IX.8, consisting of 30 students selected through purposive sampling. The instrument used in this research was a grammar test consisting of multiple- choice, completion, and sentence-making items related to positive, comparative, and superlative degrees. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The findings showed that the students’ overall ability in using degrees of comparison was categorized as extensive with a mean score of 70.46. Positive degree obtained the highest mean score (83.33), while superlative degree obtained the lowest mean score (64.86). The findings also revealed that superlative degree was the most difficult type for students. In conclusion, most students demonstrated relatively good ability in using degrees of comparison, although some students still experienced difficulties in applying more complex comparison structures accurately.