Comparison of Adjectives

In English, the adjectives are divided into short and long ones and it is considered
when we make comparisons using them.

These are examples of LONG adjectives:

- intelligent - expensive - important
- necessary - comfortable - outgoing
- difficult - interesting - beautiful

These are examples of SHORT adjectives:

- cold - poor - slow
- fast - close - young
- rich - tall - old

 Comparison of Superiority (mais... do que)

important shorter
more comfortable than longer than
expensive colder

- Is love more important than money?

- Is February shorter than March?

 Comparison of Equality (tão... quanto)

young
as tall as
comfortable

- Is Spanish as difficult as Portuguese?

- Is Nelson Ned as tall as Michael Jordan?

 Comparison of Inferiority (menos... do que)

difficult
less interesting than
intelligent

- Is Tiririca less interesting than Falcão?

- Is Japanese less difficult than German?

 NOTE: big  bigger happy  happier

good  better bad  worse far  farther
 Exercises

A. Follow the pattern:

A: Is the green book long too? (short)

B: No. It´s shorter.

1. A: Are those cars expensive too? (cheap)

B:
2. A: Is Terry young too? (old)
B:
3. A: Is French easy too? (difficult)
B:
4. A: Is the old guitar good too? (bad)
B:
5. A: Are these cigarettes bad too? (good)
B:
6. A: Is that dress clean too? (dirty)
B:

B. Follow the pattern:

a car / a motorcycle: necessary ( + )

A: Which is more necessary: a car or a motorcycle?
B: A car is more necessary than a motorcycle.

1. a piano / a guitar: expensive ( - )

A:
B:
2. an avenue / a street: wide ( + )
A:
B:
3. an English course / a German course: difficult ( - )
A:
B:
4. April / March: short ( + )
A:
B:
5. a dress / a skirt: comfortable ( + )
A:
B:

C. Answer:

1. Who is younger than the teacher in this class?

2. What is more expensive than your watch?

3. Who is less outgoing than you?

 4. What city is as good as your city, in your opinion?

D. Follow the pattern:

Matthew / Rick: tall ( + )

A: Isn´t Matthew taller than Rick?
B: No. Matthew is as tall as Rick.

1. Sarah / Lucy: thin ( + )

A:
B:
2. you / Nelson: old ( - )
A:
B:
3. Jim / Linda: intelligent ( - )
A:
B:
4. math / history: hard ( + )
A:
B:
6. a tape / a record: good ( + )
A:
B:
 Superlative
We usually compare things when we have two of them. In the case of the use of
Superlative, we usually have three or more items, stating which one is better or worse than
the others.

popular richest
the most important the shortest
outgoing smallest

- Who is the most popular – Gugu, Faustão or Xuxa?

- Which county is the biggest – Canada, Brazil or China?
- What is the nicest rock band in the world?

comfortable
the least difficult
expensive

- What is the least interesting program on TV?

 NOTE: good  the best bad  the worst far  the farthest

Exercises

A. Substitute the adjectives and make the necessary changes:

1. Bob is the calmest kid. (intelligent)

2. She doesn´t want to wear the least comfortable jacket. (expensive)

3. Jill is the most popular woman here. (tall)

4. They drove the fastest car. (good)

B. Follow the model:

C.
A: Is that actree beautiful? ( + )
B: She´s the most beautiful one.

1. A: Are these books interesting? ( + )

B:
2. Is he a good singer? ( + )
B:
3. Is this lesson important? ( - )
B:
4. Is that a bad idear? ( + )
B:
5. Are January and February hot months? ( + )
 B:
6. Are those paintings expensive? ( - )
B:
7. Is Portuguese a difficult language? ( + )
B:
8. Is that an ugly city? ( + )
B:

D. Follow the model:

dirty / room ( + ) Which is the dirtiest room?

the kitchen The kitchen is the dirtiest one.

important / person in the office ( + ) Who is the most important person in the office?
the boss The boss is the most important person in the office.

1. light / shirt ( + )
the blue shirt

2. comfortable / chair ( + )
that old chair

3. young / person here ( + )

Fred

4. fast / employee ( + )
Jane

5. hot / room in this house ( + )

the small bedroom

6. ambitious / students ( - )
Rick and Ed

7. good / soccer player at the club ( + )

Simon

8. bad / snack bar downtown ( + )

Fast And Cheap