Free Grammar Resources | Comparative and Superlative Adjectives

We use comparative adjectives to show change or make comparisons

➧ This car is certainly better, but it's much more expensive.

➧ I'm feeling happier now.

➧ We need a bigger garden.

We use than when we want to compare one thing with another

➧ She is two years older than me.

➧ New York is much bigger than Boston.

➧ He is a better player than Ronaldo.

➧ France is a bigger country than 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 getting more and more expensive.

➧ Grandfather is looking older and older.

We often use the 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.

We use the with superlative adjectives

➧ It was the happiest day of my life.

➧ Everest is the highest mountain in the world.

➧ That’s the best film I have seen this year.

➧ I have three sisters, Jan is the oldest and Angela is the youngest.

How to form comparative and superlative adjectives

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

➧ old

➧ older

➧ oldest

➧ long

➧ longer

➧ longest

If an adjective ends in -e, we add -r or -st

➧ nice

➧ nicer

➧ nicest

➧ large

➧ larger

➧ largest

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

➧ big

➧ bigger

➧ biggest

➧ fat

➧ fatter

➧ fattest

If an adjective ends in a consonant and -y, we change -y to -i and add -er or -est

➧ happy

➧ happier

➧ happiest

➧ silly

➧ sillier

➧ silliest

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

➧ careful

➧ more careful

➧ most careful

➧ interesting

➧ more interesting

➧ most interesting

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

common

cruel

gentle

handsome

likely

narrow

pleasant

polite

simple

stupid

➧ He is certainly handsomer than his brother.

➧ His brother is handsome, but he is more handsome.

➧ She is one of the politest people I have ever met.

➧ She is the most polite person I have ever met.

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

➧ good

➧ better

➧ best

➧ bad

➧ worse

➧ worst

➧ far

➧ farther/further

➧ farthest/furthest

More Lessons ➧ Here

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