Comparatives and Superlatives

What is an Adjective?
An adjective is a word that tells us more about a noun. It "describes" or
"modifies" a noun (The big dog was hungry). In these examples, the
adjective is in bold and the noun that it modifies is in italics.

An adjective often comes BEFORE a noun:

 a green car
 a dark sky
 an interesting story

And sometimes an adjective comes AFTER a verb:

 My car is green.
 The sky became dark.
 His story seemed interesting.

But adjectives can also modify pronouns (She is beautiful). Look at these
examples:

 They were empty.

 I thought it seemed strange.
 Those are not expensive

Comparative, Superlative
Most adjectives can be comparative or superlative.
We use the ‘comparative‘ when we compare two things.

We use the ‘superlative‘ when we speak about something of the highest order, quality
or degree.

Learn how to use comparatives and superlatives in English for “short”

adjectives!

When we have “short” adjectives, usually one or two syllables, we add “-er +
than“ to form the comparative and “the + -est“ to form the superlative.
 Examples of “short” adjectives are: big, small, large, hot, nice, cheap, long, tall…

Comparative: -ER + THAN Superlative: THE + -EST

The USA is bigger than France. Russia is the biggest country

France is big.
In the world.

A Mini Cooper is smaller than a

A Honda A Smart Car is the smallest.
Honda Civic.
Civic is small.
A double cheeseburger is larger A Big Mac is the largest item on the
A cheeseburger than a cheeseburger. menu.
is large.

Learn how to use comparatives and superlatives in English for “long”

adjectives!
When we have “long” adjectives, usually two or more syllables, we add “more +
than“ to form the comparative and “the + -most“ to form the superlative.
Examples of “long” adjectives are: fa/mous, ex/pen/sive, im/por/tant …

Comparative: MORE + THAN Superlative: THE + MOST

Michael Jackson is more famous Marilyn Monroe was the most

Berlusconi than Berlusconi. famous person in the 1960’s.
is famous.
A BMW is more expensive A Ferrari is the most expensive c
A car is expensive. than a Honda. the world.

A A senator is more important The president is the most

mayor is important. than a mayor in the USA. important person in the USA.

**EXCEPTIONS:

1. If a word ends with a y, replace it with –ier in the comparative form, and –iest in
the superlative form.
FOR EXAMPLE: Pretty = Prettier, Prettiest Easy = Easier, Easiest
 Below are some of the common exceptions that don’t follow the rules above.

Adjectives: Comparative: Superlative:

Good: My test Her test score is better

Ruth’s test score is the best in the class.
score is good. than mine.

Bad: The Yesterday, the weather

Two days ago, the weather was the worst.
weather is bad. was worse than today.

A little Less than The least

Many More than The most

Further than / Farther

Far The furthest / The farthest
than

Absolute Adjectives
You either have the quality or you don't. There is no comparison. Dead, perfect,
round...

You can't be deader than someone else who is only dead.

Some Absolute Adjectives:

absolute basic certain

complete empty entire
devoid excellent fatal
final dead perfect
square essential unique
full harmless immortal
meaningful obvious pure
superior ultimate universal

Comparative & Superlative Exercises and

Practice
Complete the sentences with the most appropriate comparative or superlative
phrase of the adjective given.

1. Mary is _______________________________ (lazy) student in the class.

2. Rob’s apartment is _______________________________ (nice) mine.
3. Elephants are _______________________________ (fat) camels.
4. Miami is _______________________________ (superficial) city in the U.S.
5. John is _______________________________ (small) of all my friends.
6. I think tornadoes are _______________________________ (bad) hurricanes
because they occur more often and are much more unpredictable.

7. Laura speaks English _______________________________ (good) Susan.

8. The clothes here are _______________________ (good) than in my town.

9. That’s my _______________________ (bad) mark ever!
10. It’s _______________________ (far) than I thought – I think we’re lost.
11. They’re _______________________ (happy) in their new school than in their
old one.
12. It’s the _______________________ (good) song on the album.
13. Your spaghetti sauce is _______________________ (tasty) than my mum’s.

Choose the correct answer:

a. Tom’s car is as big as / the biggest his friend’s.

b. Who is shorter than / the shortest person in your family?
c. Who is more independent than / the most independent person you know?
d. These sofas are more comfortable than / the most comfortable ours.
e. My brother is taller than / the tallest in the class.
f. Is Jason’s dog older than / the oldest yours?
g. Who is the best / better than singer in the world