Comparative and Superlative Adjectives

Comparative adjectives compare two things. Superlative adjectives compare

more than two things
Commonly, adjectives that contain only one syllable or end in 'y' use 'er' to
form comparatives and 'est' to form superlatives. For adjectives ending in y,
change the 'y' to 'i' before adding the 'er' or 'est'.

old older oldest

young younger youngest
pretty prettier prettiest
long longer longest
short shorter shortest
bright brighter brightest
close closer closest
happy happier - happiest
Adjectives with two or more syllables do not change but instead add more to
form comparatives and most to form superlatives.

respectable more respectable most respectable

beautiful more beautiful most beautiful
preferable more preferable most preferable
hardworking more hardworking most hardworking

Some adjectives have different forms of comparatives and superlatives.

good better best

bad worse worst
little less least
much (many) more most
far further furthest

The word than typically appears in comparative sentences.

Amy is smarter than Betty.

Chad is stronger than Dan.
Greg is more diligent than his brother.
I have more apples than he.
She likes him more than me.

Superlatives are typically accompanied by the word the.

Tom is the oldest man in town.

Paul is the tallest boy in the neighborhood.
That shade of blue is the most beautiful color.
This is the longest song that I have ever heard.
List of irregular adjectives:
Adjective

Comparative

Superlative

Good

better

best

Bad

worse

worst

Little

less

least

Much

more

most

Far

further / farther

furthest / farthest

REMEMBER!
Short Adjectives

Consonant + Vowel

Simons shirt is as clean as Michaels.

Spain is as hot as Greece.

Richards shirt is cleaner than Johns.

Australia is hotter than Thailand.

Marks shirt is the cleanest.

Mali is the hottest.

Long Adjectives

Irregular Adjectives

Naomi is as beautiful as Scarlett.

good

better

the best

Maribel is more beautiful than Penelope.

bad

worse

the worst

Maribel is the most beautiful woman in Spain.

far

further the furthest

A. Fill the gaps using the adjectives in brackets in the correct form.
1. The distance from Sydney to Madrid is ______________ than the distance
from New York to London. (far)
2. Davids kitchen is very dirty. Mine is much ______________. (clean)
3. That film was terrible. In fact, its ______________ film Ive ever seen. (bad)
4. Generally speaking, the coffee in Spain and Italy is ______________ than
the coffee you get in Britain. (good)
5. Riding a motorbike is ______________ than driving a car. (dangerous)
6. Clares apartment is just as ______________ as Michaels. (big)
7. One night in The Ritz is ______________ than a week in The Holiday Inn.
(expensive)
8. Rolls Royce make some of ______________ cars in the world. (luxurious)
9. If you buy ______________, you wont get the best. (cheap)
10. The aquarium in Valencia is ______________ in Europe. (big)
11. Saras ______________ than Carmela. (tall)
12. Rapun has ______________ taste than Marta. (bad)
13. Physics exams are as ______________ as Maths exams. (difficult)
14. King Kong as the ______________ monkey ever. (big)
15. I think English is ______________ than German. (easy)
16. Chinese is ______________ language to learn to write. (hard)
17. Who is ______________ person in your family? (intelligent)

B. Now make up some examples of your own.

1. ______________________________________________________________
2. ______________________________________________________________
3. ______________________________________________________________

4. ______________________________________________________________