Comparative and superlative form

Adjectives with one syllable

Usually if an adjective has only one syllable, we add 'er' to make the comparative form. We add
'est' to make the superlative form.

• clean → cleaner / the cleanest

• cold → colder /the coldest
• small → smaller / the smallest
• young → younger / theyoungest
• tall → taller /the tallest

There are some spelling changes. If there is one vowel followed by one consonant at the end of
the adjective, we often double the consonant.

• wet → wetter / the wettest

• big → bigger / the biggest
• hot → hotter / the hottest
• thin → thinner / thinnest

EXCEPTIONS

W- Y

NEW NEWER THE NEWEST

COY COYER THE COYEST

If the adjective ends in 'y', this often changes to 'i'.

• dry → drier / the driest

• happy happier / the happiest

Adjectives with two syllables that end in 'y' usually can add 'er' or 'est' (y generally changes to i).

• dirty → dirtier / dirtiest

• pretty → prettier / the prettiest
• happy → happier / the happiest
• ugly → uglier / the ugliest

If the adjective ends in 'e', we don't add another 'e', just 'r'.

• nice → nicer / the nicest

• large → larger / the largest

Even when the adjective has only one syllable, it's still not wrong to use 'more' or 'most'. It's
possible to say 'more wet' or 'most tall'. This isn't incorrect.

Adjectives with two syllables

For adjectives with two syllables we generally use 'more' or 'most'.
 • careful → more careful / the most careful
• bored → more bored /the most bored

Adjectives with more than two syllables

Adjectives with more than two syllables can only make their comparative by using 'more' and
their superlative by using 'most'.

• beautiful → more beautiful / the most beautiful

• intelligent → more intelligent / the most intelligent
• interesting → more interesting / the most interesting
• expensive → more expensive / most expensive

Irregular adjectives
There are also some irregular adjectives. We just need to learn these forms.

• good → better → the best

• bad → worse → the worst
• far → further → the furthest

Juan is taller than Albert.

Marco is the tallest student in my school.

Arequipa is bigger than Tacna.

Lima is the biggest city in Peru.

But some two syllable adjectives can take 'er' or 'est'. It's also fine to use 'more' (for the
comparative) or 'most' (for the superlative).

• clever → cleverer / the cleverest

• simple → simpler / the simplest
• narrow → narrower /the narrowest
• quiet → quieter /the quietest
•

Adjectives with two syllables that end in 'y' usually can add 'er' or 'est' (y generally changes to i).
It's also fine to use 'more' or 'most'.

• dirty → dirtier / the dirtiest

• pretty → prettier / the prettiest
• happy → happier /the happiest
• ugly → uglier /the ugliest

Japan is more modern than Korea.

Dudai is the most modern city in the world.

Student Name: Juan Carlos Chambi CHoque

Comparative form practice

I .Complete the sentences with the correct comparative adjective
1.- Mary’s hair is _longer_ (long) than Elizabeth’s hair.
2.- Daniel’s shoes are __cheaper__ (cheap) than Alice’s shoes.
3.- Your eyes are __bigger__(big) than mine.
4.- The cinema is __nearer__ (near) than the hospital.
5.- My room is __more modern__(modern) than her room.
6.-The school bus is __newer__(new) than my mom’s car.
7.-Frederick is __richer__ (rich) than Richard.
8.-My grandmother is __more intelligent__ (intelligent) than my grandfather.
9.-Sonia’s drawings are __better__ (good) than Julio’s
10.- Planes are __faster__ (fast) than trains.
11.-Yesterday was __colder__ (cold) than today.
12.-Magazines are __more entertaining__(entertaining) than school books.
13.- Tortoises are __slower__ (slow) than hares.
14.- Chinese is __more difficult__(difficult) than French.
15.- Your hair is __darker__ (dark) than my hair.
16.-The kid is __shorter__ (short) than the girl.
17.- Fruit and vegetables are __ healthier__ (healthy) than fast food.

SUPERLATIVE FORM
Fill in the blanks below to complete the sentences. Study the boxes above.
1. I (tall) _am the tallest__ person in my family.
2. Jupiter (big) _is the biggest_ planet in our solar system.
3. Elephants (large) _are the largest_ land animals on earth.
4. We bought (expensive) __the most expensive_ TV in the store.
5. Which sports do you think (dangerous) _the most dangerous_?
6. My cat (lazy) _is the laziest_ animal I know.
7. This restaurant serves (good) __is the best_ food in town.
8. I think math (difficult) __is the most difficult_ subject.
9. What (long) _ is the longest _ word in English that you know?
10. He (strange) _ is the strangest _ man in the story.
11. Last week, I had (bad) _ the worst __ time of my life!
12. Which place (hot) __ is the hottest _ place on earth?
13. I think it (funny) _ is the funniest _ show on television.
14. My friend (interesting) _ is the most interesting_ person I know.
15. Who (famous) _is the most famous__ person in your country

Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the adjectives in brackets:
comparative vs superlative
1. Brad is by far _the most attractive__(attractive) boy in town.
2. My friends arrived _earlier than_ (early) we expected.
3. My dad is _the most hard-working _(hard-working) person that I know.
4. Who is _the richest_ (rich) man in the world?
5.Travelling by plane is _faster_ (fast) and _safer than_(safe) travelling by train.
6. Jennifer Aniston is __the more good-looking than__ (good-looking) Angelina
Jolie.
7. His mother is much __older than__ (old) I thought.
8. Ben is _the worst_ (bad) golfer in the world.
9. Tom is __shorter_ (short) and _fatter than_(fat) his brother.
10. His new novel is __the most exciting__ (exciting) his previous one.
11. London is_further than__ (far) Paris, but Moscow is _the furthest_ (far)
12. Do you think that money is __more important than_ (important) love?
13. In my opinion, John is one of __luckiest_ (lucky) men in the world.
14. These Maths exercises are __more difficult than_ (difficult) yours.
15. ‘Romeo and Juliet’ is _the most romantic__ (romantic) play we have ever
read.
16. Your sister is __the youngest__ (young) in your family.
17. I am __worse_ (bad) at Geography than my sister, but I am __best__ (good)
at History.
18. He thinks that Italian food is _more delicious than_(delicious) Spanish food.
19. Helen’s clothes are __more fashionable than__ (fashionable) Susan’s.
20. Sam’s grandmother is _the most helpful_(helpful) person I’ve ever met.