# data[].attributes.body
Learn English

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Thu, 01/09/2014 - 07:13 - Chris McCarthy

Comparative adjectives compare two things. Superlative adjectives compare more than two things.

Forming comparatives and superlatives:

One syllable (part)

Adjectives that have only one syllable (part) or adjectives that end in 'y' use 'er' to form comparatives and 'est' to form superlatives. For adjectives that end in 'y' change the 'y' to 'i' before adding 'er' or 'est'.

Old older (the) oldest
Young younger (the) youngest
Pretty prettier (the) prettiest
Long longer (the) longest
Short shorter (the) shortest
Happy happier (the) happiest
Close closer (the) closest

Two syllables or more

Adjectives with two syllables or more than two syllables do not change but instead have more in front of comparatives and most in front of superlatives.

Beautiful more beautiful (the) most beautiful
Amazing more amazing (the) most amazing
Horrible more horrible (the) most horrible
Expensive more expensive (the) most expensive
Delicious more delicious (the) most delicious

Different forms

Some adjectives have very different forms of comparatives and superlatives.

Good better (the) best
Bad worse (the) worst
Little less (the) least
Much/many more (the) most
Far further (the) furthest

Than

We can use 'than' to compare two things.
Sarah is more intelligent than Peter.
Danny is quicker than his brother.
I have less free time than you do.

Using superlatives

Superlatives are usually used with 'the'

That was the best holiday I've ever had.
Paris is the most romantic city in Europe.
Peter is the oldest in our group.
You have the most beautiful eyes.
We took the shortest route to the station.
Lesson by Tristan, teacher at EC Malta English school Now choose the correct form for the following:

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Thu, 01/09/2014 - 07:13 - Chris McCarthy Comparative adjectives compare two things. Superlative adjectives compare more than two things. Forming comparatives and superlatives: Adjectives that have only one syllable (part) or adjectives that end in 'y' use 'er' to form comparatives and 'est' to form superlatives.

# data[].attributes.body
English Exercises

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
English Exercises: Comparative - Superlative

# data[].attributes.headline
ONLINE PRACTICE - COMPARATIVES AND SUPERLATIVES

# data[].attributes.subject
ONLINE PRACTICE - COMPARATIVES AND SUPERLATIVES

# data[].attributes.body
AgendaWeb

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Comparison : comparative and superlative exercises

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Comparative and superlative exercises. Positive, comparative and superlative adjectives. Comparison : lower intermediate level exercises. Esl exercises

# data[].attributes.headline
VIDEO (PODCAST) - SIX-MINUTE GRAMMAR: COMPARATIVES AND SUPERLATIVES

# data[].attributes.subject
VIDEO (PODCAST) - SIX-MINUTE GRAMMAR: COMPARATIVES AND SUPERLATIVES

# data[].attributes.body
BBC Learning English

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Comparatives and superlatives - 6 Minute Grammar

# data[].attributes.headline
VIDEO - THE GRAMMAR GAMESHOW - SUPERLATIVES

# data[].attributes.subject
VIDEO - THE GRAMMAR GAMESHOW - SUPERLATIVES

# data[].attributes.body
BBC Learning English

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Superlatives: The Grammar Gameshow Episode 21

# data[].attributes.headline
VIDEO - THE GRAMMAR GAMESHOW - COMPARATIVES

# data[].attributes.subject
VIDEO - THE GRAMMAR GAMESHOW - COMPARATIVES

# data[].attributes.body
BBC Learning English

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Comparatives: The Grammar Gameshow Episode 15

# data[].attributes.headline
EXERCISE - COMPARATIVES AND SUPERLATIVES

# data[].attributes.subject
EXERCISE - COMPARATIVES AND SUPERLATIVES

# data[].attributes.body
SpeakSpeak

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
English grammar practice exercise, for pre-intermediate and intermediate level.

In this exercise you will practise comparative and superlative adjectives, including their spelling and irregularities.

Exercise instructions

Choose the correct answer in the following sentences.

Short adjectives (one syllable)

old, long

older, longer

the oldest, the longest

Two-syllable adjectives ending in - y

ugly, noisy, messy

uglier, noisier, messier

the ugliest, the noisiest, the messiest

Longer adjectives (with two or more syllables)

careful, expensive, beautiful

more careful, more expensive, more beautiful

the most careful, the most expensive, the most beautiful

With some two-syllable adjectives both - er and - est endings and more / most are possible.

polite, common

more polite / politer, more common / commoner

the most polite / the politest, the most common / the commonest

With some two-syllable adjectives only an - er or - est ending is possible.

narrow, simple, clever

narrower, simpler, cleverer

the narrowest, the simplest, the cleverest

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Intermediate grammar exercise: comparatives and superlatives

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
English grammar practice exercise, for pre-intermediate and intermediate level. In this exercise you will practise comparative and superlative adjectives, including their spelling and irregularities. Choose the correct answer in the following sentences.

# data[].attributes.headline
FORMING THE COMPARATIVE AND SUPERLATIVE - EXPLANATIONS, EXAMPLES, AND EXERCISES

# data[].attributes.subject
FORMING THE COMPARATIVE AND SUPERLATIVE - EXPLANATIONS, EXAMPLES, AND EXERCISES

# data[].attributes.body
EFLNet

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
One-syllable adjectives.

Form the comparative and superlative forms of a one-syllable adjective by adding -er for the comparative form and -est for the superlative.

If the one-syllable adjective ends with an e, just add -r for the comparative form and -st for the superlative form.

If the one-syllable adjective ends with a single consonant with a vowel before it, double the consonant and add -er for the comparative form; and double the consonant and add -est for the superlative form.

Two-syllable adjectives.

With most two-syllable adjectives, you form the comparative with more and the superlative with most.

If the two-syllable adjectives ends with -y, change the y to i and add -er for the comparative form. For the superlative form change the y to i and add -est.

Two-syllable adjectives ending in -er, -le, or -ow take -er and -est to form the comparative and superlative forms.

The roads in this town are narrower than the roads in the city.

This road is the narrowest of all the roads in California.

Big dogs are gentler than small dogs.

Of all the dogs in the world, English Mastiffs are the gentlest.

Adjectives with three or more syllables.

For adjectives with three syllables or more, you form the comparative with more and the superlative with most.

Exceptions.

Irregular adjectives.

Italian food is better than American food.

My dog is the best dog in the world.

My mother's cooking is worse than your mother's cooking.

Of all the students in the class, Max is the worst.

Two-syllable adjectives that follow two rules. These adjectives can be used with -er and -est and with more and most.

Big dogs are gentler than small dogs.

Of all the dogs in the world, English Mastiffs are the gentlest.

Big dogs are more gentle than small dogs.

Of all the dogs in the world, English Mastiffs are the most gentle.

Test your knowledge

Directions: Choose the best answer. (10 problems)

More Activities on this Topic

About

We are dedicated to creating and providing free, high-quality English language learning resources.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Forming Comparative and Superlative Adjectives

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Form the comparative and superlative forms of a one-syllable adjective by adding -er for the comparative form and -est for the superlative. If the one-syllable adjective ends with an e, just add -r for the comparative form and -st for the superlative form.

# data[].attributes.body
Grammarly

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.provider_name
Comparative and Superlative Adjectives: Rules | Grammarly Blog

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Adjectives can compare two things or more than two things. When we make these comparisons, we use comparative and superlative forms of adjectives.

Comparative adjectives definition

One way to describe nouns (people, objects, animals, etc.) is by comparing them to something else. When comparing two things, you're likely to use adjectives like smaller, bigger, taller, more interesting, and less expensive. Notice the ‑er ending, and the words and . A mistake that both native speakers and non-native speakers make is using incorrectly formed comparative adjectives . See the sentences below for an illustration of this common error:

Write with Grammarly

So what makes the first example wrong and the second right? There are a few rules that explain this:

For adjectives that are just one syllable, add -er to the end (this explains the above example).

For two-syllable adjectives not ending in -y and for all three-or-more-syllable adjectives, use the form "more + adjective."

For two-syllable adjectives ending in -y, change the -y to -i and add -er.

These simple rules make it easy to tell when you should add -er or -ier and when you should use "more + adjective."

Here are a few more examples:

Notice the spelling change for adjectives ending in ‑y: the comparative ends in ‑ier.

Superlative adjectives definition

When comparing more than two things, you'll likely use words and phrases like smallest, biggest, tallest, most interesting, and least interesting. Notice the - ending and the words and . Make sure you use the proper ending or superlative adjective when forming these superlatives. The examples below illustrate the correct form:

If there were only two sisters, we could use the comparative elder here. Because there are four sisters, we need a superlative.

Here are a couple of other examples:

Forming comparative and superlatives of irregular adjectives

It's important to note that there are irregular adjectives (and adverbs) that you have to memorize because they don't follow the rules above. They are:

Here are some examples of these irregular words as comparatives and superlatives in context:

Comparative and superlative of

Besides the irregular words in the table above, one other unclear comparative/superlative choice is handsomer/more handsome and handsomest/most handsome . The rules call for and handsomest , but usage has changed over time. Modern speakers prefer more handsome to , and there is an even split between handsomest and most handsome. Preferred usage typically follows what native speakers say, and the trend seems to be moving toward the simpler construction of more + adjective and the most + adjective.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
What Are Comparative and Superlative Adjectives?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Adjectives can compare two things or more than two things. When we make these comparisons, we use comparative and superlative forms of adjectives. One way to describe nouns (people, objects, animals, etc.) is by comparing them to something else. When comparing two things, you're likely to use adjectives like smaller, bigger, taller, more interesting, and less expensive.

# data[].attributes.body
Perfect English Grammar

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
How to make and use comparative and superlative adjectives.

# data[].attributes.body
GoEnglish.tv

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Learn how to form comparatives and superlatives in English

# data[].attributes.headline
COMPARATIVES AND SUPERLATIVES - ONLINE EXERCISE

# data[].attributes.subject
COMPARATIVES AND SUPERLATIVES - ONLINE EXERCISE

# data[].attributes.body
Solutions, Oxford University Press

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.authors[].name
Oxford University Press, English Language Teaching - elt.enquiry@oup.com

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Exercise 1 - Comparatives and superlatives

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Students >Solutions >Pre-Intermediate >Grammar >Exercise 1 - Comparatives and superlatives

# data[].attributes.headline
THE COMPARATIVE AND SUPERLATIVE FORM OF ADJECTIVES

# data[].attributes.subject
THE COMPARATIVE AND SUPERLATIVE FORM OF ADJECTIVES

# data[].attributes.body
English First

# data[].attributes.body
British Council

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Comparative adjectives

We use comparative adjectives to show change or make comparisons:

This car is certainly better,but it's much more expensive.
I'm feelinghappier now.
We need abigger garden.

We use thanwhen we want to compare one thing with another:

She is two years older than me.
New York is much biggerthan Boston.
He is a better playerthan Ronaldo.
France is a bigger countrythan Britain.

When we want to describe how something or someone changes we can use two comparatives with and:

The balloon got bigger and bigger.
Everything is gettingmore and more expensive.
Grandfather is lookingolder and older.

We often use with comparative adjectives to show that one thing depends on another:

The faster you drive, the more dangerous it is.
(= When you drive faster, it is more dangerous.)

The higher they climbed, the colder it got.
(= When they climbed higher, it got colder.)

Superlative adjectives

We use the with superlative adjectives:

It was the happiest day of my life.
Everest isthe highest mountain in the world.
That'sthe best film I have seen this year.
I have three sisters: Jan isthe oldest and Angela is the youngest.

Superlative adjectives 1

MultipleChoice_MTk4Njg=

Superlative adjectives 2

How to form comparative and superlative adjectives

We usually add -er and -est to one-syllable words to make comparatives and superlatives:

If an adjective ends in a vowel and a consonant, we double the consonant:

We use more and most to make comparatives and superlatives for most two syllable adjectives and for all adjectives with three or more syllables:

However, with these common two-syllable adjectives, you can either add -er/ -r and -est/ -st or use more and most:

He is certainly handsomer than his brother.
His brother is handsome, but he ismore handsome.
She is one ofthe politest people I have ever met.
She isthe most polite person I have ever met.

The adjectives good, bad and far have irregular comparatives and superlatives:

How to form comparative and superlative adjectives

GapFillTyping_MTQyMzc=

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Learn about comparative and superlative adjectives and do the exercises to practise using them.