In negative numbers, it's basically the opposite of regular numbers.
Let's explain negative numbers as debts. Let's say you owe a friend 1 dollar, and another 2 dollars. In a sense, you'll have -1 dollars, and -2 dollars. Which one is the greater number? It'll be -1 as you're only losing 1 dollar. Same goes here. Although 1 is a greater number than 3/12, in negative form it isn't.
