At the simplest level:

comparatives are adjectives and adverbs that end in er

e.g. bigger, richer, faster,
superlatives are adjectives and adverbs that end in est
e.g. the biggest, the richest, the fastest,

However, we also need to know when they CANNOT be used and what to use
instead;
more or less followed by nouns, adjectives and adverbs (e.g. more time,
more successful, less attentively);
the most or the least followed by nouns, adjectives and adverbs (e.g. the
most time, the most successful, the least attentively);

How they are formed? BRIEFLY

Long adjectives & adverbs: use more or the most.
Short adjectives & adverbs: use er or est.
Despite these rules, we sometimes have to use more and the most with one-syllable
adjectives e.g. with adjectives that are also past participles, Im getting more and more
drunk.

Irregular Forms

good (adj) _____________ _____________

well (adv) _____________ _____________

_____________ worse

_____________ _____________ the farthest

further _____________

N.B.! Comparatives are followed by than London is bigger than New York.

Exercises
London / New York / dangerous ___________________________________________________

John / speak English / slowly / Mary _______________________________________________

Mary / work / hard / John ________________________________________________________

Italians / friendly / British people _________________________________________________

F:\Word\Material\Grammar\comparisons.doc
Source: Grammar for English Language Teachers, Parrot, (CUP 2000)
Expressions of quantity
We use more and the most, fewer and the fewest, and less and the least to make
statements about quantity, in which case they clearly refer to something we can count or
measure. This is usually expressed by a noun.
e.g. There are fewer people in British prisons than there were in 1990.
We can think of these words as the comparative and superlative forms of quantifiers:

a lot/much/many _____________ the most

_______________ fewer ______________

a little _____________ ______________

Exercises
London 10,000,000 inhabitants / New York 8,500,000 inhabitants

London ________________________________________________________________________

150 Design students / 300 Economics students / at the FUB

There _________________________________________________________________________

Mary $5.00 / John $500.00

Mary __________________________________________________________________________

Basic Rules
The more you eat, the more you want.

e.g. ............................................................................................................

So Paulo is the largest city in South America.

e.g. ............................................................................................................

The largest of all South American cities.

e.g. ............................................................................................................

Hes not as drunk as I am.

e.g. ............................................................................................................

He is as tall as his brother.

e.g. ............................................................................................................

The quality of English food is exactly the same as Italian food.

e.g. ............................................................................................................

F:\Word\Material\Grammar\comparisons.doc
Source: Grammar for English Language Teachers, Parrot, (CUP 2000)