Comparative and Superlative Adjectives

English Grammar (/node/1263) > Adjectives (/grammar/english-grammar-reference/adjectives) > Comparative and superlative adjectives
Comparative and superlative adjectives
Level: beginner
Comparative adjectives
We use comparative adjectives (/grammar/english-grammar-reference/adjectives) to show
change or make comparisons:
This car is certainly better, but it's much more expensive.

I'm feeling happier now.
We need a bigger garden.
We use than when we want to compare one thing with another:
She is two years older than me.

New York is much bigger than Boston.
He is a better player than Ronaldo.
France is a bigger country than Britain.
When we want to describe how something or someone changes we can use two comparatives with and:
The balloon got bigger and bigger.

Everything is getting more and more expensive.
Grandfather is looking older and older.
We often use the (/grammar/english-grammar-reference/definite-article) with comparative adjectives to show that one
thing depends on another:
The faster you drive, the more dangerous it is.

(= When you drive faster, it is more dangerous.)
The higher they climbed, the colder it got.

(= When they climbed higher, it got colder.)
Comparative adjectives 1
(http://gamedata.britishcouncil.org/d/Matching_MTQxNzI=.xml)
Grammar reference: Comparative adjectives 1

Match the phrases to make ten sentences.
10 items remaining
   
I prefer more modern music. more dangerous than flying. we need a larger table. bigger than Britain's.
   
the more frightened I became. smaller and smaller. older than me. more and more interesting.
 
the more tax I have to pay. your English will get better.
If you practise more,
We've invited six friends for dinner, so
The Beatles are not bad, but
My brother is ten years
Brazil's economy is now
Travelling by train is
Comparative adjectives 2
(http://gamedata.britishcouncil.org/d/GapFillTyping_MTQxNzM=.xml)
Grammar reference: Comparative adjectives 2

Can you remember the sentences from the last activity? Write the correct words.
21 items remaining
1. If you practise more, your English will get b .
2. We've invited six friends for dinner, so we need a l table.
3. The Beatles are not bad, but I prefer m m music.
4. My brother is ten years o t me.
5. Brazil's economy is now b t Britain's.
6. Travelling by train is m d t flying.
7. Computers these days are getting s and s .
8. As the story went on, it became m and m i .
9. The h I work, the m tax I have to pay.
10. The f the boat went, the m f I became.
 Finish  Try again
Superlative adjectives
We use the with superlative adjectives:
It was the happiest day of my life.

Everest is the highest mountain in the world.
That’s the best film I have seen this year.
I have three sisters: Jan is the oldest and Angela is the youngest.
Superlative adjectives 1
(http://gamedata.britishcouncil.org/d/MultipleChoice_MTk4Njg=.xml)
Grammar reference: Superlative adjectives 1

Choose the correct superlative adjective form to complete each sentence.
8 items remaining
What's ___ time of year to visit your city?
best
the best
 
Superlative adjectives 2
(http://gamedata.britishcouncil.org/d/GapFillTyping_MTQxNzU=.xml)
Grammar reference: Superlative adjectives 2

Can you remember the questions from the last activity? Write the correct words. There are two or three words in each gap.
11 items remaining
1. What's time of year to visit your city?
2. What are things to see and do?
3. What's way to travel around? What's ?
4. What do you think is area?
5. Are there any areas which are not safe? Which are ?
6. What's building? What's ?
7. What are cafés and restaurants?
8. What's supermarket? What's ?
How to form comparative and superlative adjectives

We usually add –er and –est to one-syllable words to make comparatives and superlatives:
old older oldest
long longer longest
If an adjective ends in –e, we add –r or –st:
nice nicer nicest
large larger largest
If an adjective ends in a vowel and a consonant, we double the consonant:
big bigger biggest

fat fatter fattest
If an adjective ends in a consonant and –y, we change –y to –i and add –er or –est:
happy happier happiest
silly sillier silliest
We use more and most to make comparatives and superlatives for most two syllable adjectives and for all adjectives
with three or more syllables:
careful more careful most careful
interesting more interesting most interesting
However, with these common two-syllable adjectives, you can either add –er/–r and –est/–st or use more and
most:
common narrow
cruel pleasant
gentle polite
handsome simple
likely stupid
He is certainly handsomer than his brother.

His brother is handsome, but he is more handsome.
She is one of the politest people I have ever met.
She is the most polite person I have ever met.
The adjectives good, bad and far have irregular comparatives and superlatives:
good better best
bad worse worst
far farther/further farthest/furthest
How to form comparative and superlative adjectives

(http://gamedata.britishcouncil.org/d/GapFillTyping_MTQyMzc=.xml)
Grammar reference: How to form comparative and

superlative adjectives
These are some of the most common adjectives used in English advertisements. Form the comparative and superlative forms
of each adjective.
24 items remaining
1. big, ,
2. bright, ,
3. clean, ,
4. delicious, ,
5. easy, ,
6. fine, ,
7. fresh, ,
8. good, ,
9. new, ,
10. safe, ,
11. special, ,
12 d f l
Average
Average: 3.9 (329 votes)
‹ Adjective order (/grammar/english-grammar-reference/adjective-order)
Up (/grammar/english-grammar-reference/adjectives)
Intensifiers › (/grammar/english-grammar-reference/intensifiers)
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Submitted by Khangvo2812 on Thu, 25/01/2024 - 08:47
Permalink (/comment/196882#comment-196882)
Could you check this sentence for me please?

The maintenance cost of electric buses are lower than diesel buses.
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Submitted by Peter M. on Sat, 27/01/2024 - 06:02

Hello Khangvo2812,
You can say 'The maintenance cost... is' or 'The maintenance costs... are'. Other than that, the sentence is
fine.
Please note that we generally don't just check sentences. The site focuses on explaining usage and rules
rather than proof-reading.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team

Submitted by Paulinecwy on Thu, 16/11/2023 - 03:47

Is 'more naughty than' correct?

Submitted by Peter M. on Thu, 16/11/2023 - 07:12

Hello Paulinecwy,
Yes it is. Naughty is one of those adjectives where more than one form is possible: more naughty and
naughtier.
Peter

Submitted by Khangvo2812 on Mon, 23/10/2023 - 16:35

Hello,
Could you check this sentence for me pls?
Vietnamese national football team is the strongest team among Asean countries.

Submitted by Jonathan R on Tue, 24/10/2023 - 03:31

Hi Khangvo2812,
It's good but a correction is needed: either add "the" (The Vietnamese national football team ...) or change
the first word: Vietnam's national football team ...
I hope that helps.
Jonathan
LearnEnglish team

Submitted by Karen130203 on Mon, 19/06/2023 - 16:30

These exercises were helpful for me, I didn't find them so difficult

Submitted by ArantzaSiles on Mon, 19/06/2023 - 07:06

Hi sir, I'm grateful for this lesson, actually it was interesting and useful to me, thanks!

Submitted by Emiliano425621 on Mon, 19/06/2023 - 01:27

Dear Sir,
I hope this message finds you well. I wanted to reach out to express my satisfaction with the exercises that
were assigned. I am pleased to inform you that I have successfully completed them and found them to be
incredibly comprehensive and beneficial. They have provided me with valuable opportunities to apply and
reinforce the concepts explained in our sessions.

Submitted by Kirk Moore on Mon, 19/06/2023 - 06:33

Hello Emiliano,
We're very pleased to hear that you found the explanation and exercises useful!
Thanks for letting us know.
Best wishes,
Kirk
LearnEnglish team

Submitted by juliNn on Mon, 19/06/2023 - 07:01

I wanted to express my gratitude for the exercises you assigned. I have completed them and found them
to be incredibly helpful in reinforcing the concepts we discussed. They provided me with a valuable
learning experience and I feel more equipped as a result.
Thank you for offering such comprehensive exercises that allowed me to put theory into practice. The
knowledge gained from these exercises will undoubtedly benefit me in the future.

Submitted by Vale_12 on Sun, 18/06/2023 - 23:46

Example: México is the best country of the world

Submitted by Brandon Ramirez on Mon, 19/06/2023 - 14:22

For example: México is better than Venezuela

Submitted by Karla Minor O on Sun, 18/06/2023 - 02:40

Hello, Sir
I have already done the exercises and I find them very complete and very helpful to put into practice what is
explained.
I take with me a great experience and a new learning experience.

Submitted by thatha. on Fri, 14/04/2023 - 21:00

If we learnt that adjectives ending in a CVC pattern must be doubled the last consonant and then added with
-er, why isn't "slowwer" or "newwer" correct?

Submitted by Jonathan R on Sat, 15/04/2023 - 00:16

Hi thatha.,
It's because although these adjectives end in "w" (a consonant), the "w" is actually part of the vowel sound
("ow" in "slow", and "ew" in "new").
Jonathan
LearnEnglish team

Submitted by Iris Yuste Pér… on Sun, 18/06/2023 - 05:36

Thaks yo this page, the subject became clearer to me, with the excercises what I new was reinforced.

Submitted by m4400 on Sat, 01/04/2023 - 02:17

Hello!
I am trying to figure out why, in an English sentence, if there are multiple adjectives used for one noun, and
one of those adjectives is superlative, it seems that all of them must be superlative.
For example, my student wrote the following: I bought the three large freshest looking cabbages to make
Korean Kimchi.
I couldn't explain why that was incorrect, I just knew that I would say 'three of the largest, freshest-looking
cabbages...'.
Could one of you provide an explanation?

Thanks in advance!

Submitted by Jonathan R on Sun, 02/04/2023 - 04:23

Hi m4400,
I'm not sure if there's a grammatical explanation for this! It might be more about the conventional ideas
that we tend to express. The student is saying that there were only three large cabbages in the shop, and
they were also the freshest-looking ones, but this might be a bit unclear for listeners/readers to understand
and your suggestion sounds clearer and more natural.
Jonathan
LearnEnglish team

Submitted by Iryna_hn on Wed, 22/03/2023 - 10:33

Good day, dear experts!

Please, help me to understand why there is "elder" in the name of the game "The Elder Scrolls" when we
know that the comparative of "old" is "older". Is there a mistake in this name?
Thank you in advance!

Submitted by Kirk Moore on Thu, 23/03/2023 - 07:22

Hello Iryna_hn,
I don't know much about this game, but I suspect 'elder' refers to an important or respected person in a
group rather than being a comparative form of 'old'. Have a look at the Longman entry for 'elder'
(https://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/elder) and scroll down to line 2 of the second meaning and you'll
see what I mean.
All the best,

Kirk
LearnEnglish team

Submitted by leo15722 on Tue, 21/03/2023 - 22:04

Hello! Can I ask you a question? So, I know that we can use the definite article with comparative adjectives
for showing that one thing depends on another as it's written in this website too. But, what about this
sentence "the farther side of the mountain"? What's the explanation for it since there are no things
depending one another in that sentence? Maybe when we have an implied comparison we can use the
definite article too?
Thank you in advance. :)

Submitted by Peter M. on Wed, 22/03/2023 - 06:40

Hello leo15722,
I don't think this is a question of two things being related in the way described above. I think this is simply
an identified and specific item. Just as we would say 'the side of the mountain' (we know which side of
which mountain we are talking about), so we say 'the farther side of the mountain'. You could use other
articles if you conceive other contexts:
a farther side of the mountain > we know which mountain; it has several farther sides and we are talking
about one of them but not saying which one. For example: "This side looks easy to climb. Now I don't
know the mountain well, but I've heard that there's a farther side of the mountain which is harder to climb."
the farther side of a mountain > we are imagining that there are only two sides (rather like we say 'the dark
side of the moon') and are talking about any mountain. For example: "The farther side of a mountain is
always tempting to a mountaineer."
Peter

Submitted by howtosay_ on Sat, 04/02/2023 - 22:14

Hello!
Could you please clarify the following:
Should we always use "the" with superlatives forms? Is it a mistake to say "She is most beautiful woman in
this city", "He is smartest boy in the class?" or "They bought most delicious cake"?
I'm very very grateful for the work you are doing, thank you for your important help, and thank you for
answering this post beforehand!!!

Submitted by Kirk Moore on Sun, 05/02/2023 - 15:40

Hello howtosay_
Yes, you should always use 'the' with superlative forms. It is definitely necessary when there is a phrase
like 'in this city', 'in the class', 'in the world, etc.
Your sentence about cake isn't actually a superlative construction. Instead, 'most' means 'very'.
It's also possible to see a sentence like 'They bought the most delicious cake'. There might be some rare
exceptions, but normally a sentence like this is superlative because of the context. For example, perhaps
in the previous sentences they were talking about all the different cakes in a bakery. So even though the
sentence doesn't explicitly mention the other cakes, it's clear from context that there are many cakes.
Hope this helps.
Best wishes,
Kirk
LearnEnglish team

Submitted by howtosay_ on Mon, 06/02/2023 - 02:15
Hello, Kirk!
Yes, it does help. I haven't known before that "most" also means "very".
Thank you very much indeed for your precious help!!!

Submitted by AydaChan2003 on Fri, 20/01/2023 - 09:30

Hello. Good morning sir/ma'am. This question has been bugging me lately.. Which one is correct? 1.he's the
cleverest of *all the other* students.
2.he's the cleverest of *the other students*
Or are they both correct??

Submitted by Kirk Moore on Fri, 20/01/2023 - 15:27

Hello AydaChan2003,
They're both OK, though I think people would probably say 1 more often than 2.
All the best,

Kirk

Submitted by AydaChan2003 on Sat, 21/01/2023 - 05:13

Hello, Kirk
Thanks a lot!! You're a life saver


Hello AydaChan2003,
Both are grammatically correct and any difference would depend on the context in which they are used.
Peter

Submitted by AydaChan2003 on Sat, 21/01/2023 - 20:30

Hello sir!
Could you please elaborate on what types of context? Also I have a vocabulary question.. I'm fairly new
here and I don't know whether there's a separate page for asking vocabulary questions; is there really
one? If there's not, then I might as well ask it here (sorry I know this isn't related to the subject but I got
to know this) what's the difference between deadly, lethal, and fatal?

Submitted by Peter M. on Sun, 22/01/2023 - 09:13

Hello AydaChan2003,
It's really a question of emphasis. 'All' adds rhetorical emphasis so if you want to make your statement
stronger (e.g. when making a speech or trying to persuade someone of something) then it might be
useful.
The main difference in the words is that fatal means someone died. Deadly and lethal can also
describe potential - in other words they can also describe something is extremely dangerous. Thus, I
could say 'It was a truly deadly situation and I was lucky to escape alive' but I could not use the word
'fatal' there.
There are some other differences in use, so you can talk about a deadly/lethal poison, for example, or
use the words metaphorically to mean that someone is very good at performing a task: a footballer can
be lethal in front of goal, or a lawyer can be deadly during cross-examination.
For differences like this, which are really about use rather than meaning, the best thing is to look each
word up in an online dictionary, where you'll be able to compare the different entries.
Peter

Submitted by AydaChan2003 on Wed, 25/01/2023 - 10:31

Hello sir! Oh my God that was the BEST explanation I've ever seen; thanks a lot!!! I had looked up
their differences before but still couldn't distinguish each separately but now with your awesome
explanation, I can! Once again, thanks a lot! May God bless you 🙏
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Submitted by cooler48 on Mon, 26/12/2022 - 11:55

Hi Jonathan
Fewer and smaller are comparative (forms)of inferiority ,aren't they?

Submitted by Jonathan R on Mon, 26/12/2022 - 14:05

Hi cooler48,
Yes, right!
Jonathan

Submitted by paddyjosy on Thu, 24/11/2022 - 17:01

Hello Team .
The sentences
He can run faster than me .
or He can run faster than I .
Which is the correct usage?
I can run faster than he or

I can run faster than him .
Which is the correct usage?
Kindly guide. Thanks.

Submitted by Peter M. on Fri, 25/11/2022 - 07:51

Hello paddyjosy,
The standard use is 'me' and 'him'. After 'than' we use an object pronoun not a subject pronoun.
You may find some instances where some users prefer 'I' as they interpret the sentence to be 'He can run
faster than I can run', but this is very much a minority view.
Peter

Submitted by paddyjosy on Fri, 25/11/2022 - 08:31
Thank you Peter .

Submitted by snow_white2003 on Sun, 18/12/2022 - 12:53

Hello paddyjosy,
(than) actually considered as a proposition in modern English. As a result, we use after than a pronoun in
object form (for example: me, you, him, her, us, them, and whom)

Submitted by paddyjosy on Sat, 19/11/2022 - 01:18

Hi .
This is regarding the use of the adjective' late 'in the comparative and superlative degrees.
Some sources have mentioned it as later and latest (time)or latter and last (position).
Can u kindly explain it with example sentences.
Thanks.


Hello paddyjosy,
'Later' refers to time. It is often used as an adverb: See you later!
When used as an adjective it is the opposite of 'earlier': Do you want to go to the earlier performance or
the later one?
'Latest' means the most recent: Have you heard the latest news? / I just bought her latest novel. It's great!
As you say, 'latter' is most often used to refer to the second item when two are mentioned. Its opposite is
'former': Would you prefer tea or coffee? > The latter, please.
'Latter' can also refer to the something occurring nearer to the end of something than the beginning: The
latter part of the century was more stable / In his latter years he suffered from heart disease.
Peter

Submitted by paddyjosy on Sun, 20/11/2022 - 02:01
Thanks a lot Peter.

It was helpful.
But is there a comparative and superlative degree for the adjective 'late'?

Submitted by Peter M. on Sun, 20/11/2022 - 08:19

Hello again paddyjosy,
The comparative and superlative forms of 'late' are later and latest.
'Latter' does not have comparative or superlative forms. There is an adverb (latterly) which is a formal
synonym for recently.
Peter


Thanks once again for the prompt reply Peter.

It's really confusing though that 'later' means afterwards and 'latest' means the most recent ,hence a
change in meaning all together.


Hello Peter
Is this usage correct ?
No other programme is as late as ours.
Our performance is later than all other programmes .
Other programmes are the latest.

Submitted by Kirk Moore on Mon, 21/11/2022 - 06:41

Hello paddyjosy,
Yes, the use of the different forms of 'late' are all correct in these sentences. I might suggest 'The
latest programmes are other ones' for the last sentence because 'latest' meaning 'most recent' is
more common than the meaning that refers to time, but your sentence would be fine in context and
in any case is grammatically correct.
All the best,

Kirk

Submitted by paddyjosy on Mon, 21/11/2022 - 16:08

Thanks for the explanation.Indeed a wonderful resoirce for grammar . Keep up.the good work.

Submitted by paddyjosy on Mon, 21/11/2022 - 16:08

*resource

Submitted by Roman... on Sun, 23/10/2022 - 17:06

Hello. In this sentence

"Lisa is the........of the two sisters" the choices were "1.young 2.more young 3.as young as 4.younger" So I
believe there's no correct answer of them because that's a superlative case not comparative as the "two
sisters" is the whole group therefore "Lisa" isn't compared with the other sister but preferred over the whole
group "the other sister" and the usage of "the" before the adjective and "of" after it means it's superlative and
a colleague of mine think it's just comparative because they are only "two sisters" so my question is "Is it
acceptable to use the preposition 'of' after the comparative form of adjective?". Thanks in advance.

Submitted by Jonathan R on Mon, 24/10/2022 - 04:12

Hi Roman...
Yes, you could say "Lisa is the youngest of the two sisters". However, it may be considered non-standard
and incorrect. A more standard answer would be to say "Lisa is the younger of the two sisters". As there
are only two sisters and one is compared with the other, it is a comparative case. Yes, it is fine to use "the
+ comparative adj. + of" if there are exactly two things being compared.
I hope that helps.
Jonathan

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Adjectives with '-ing' and '-ed' (/grammar/english-grammar-reference/adjectives-ing-ed)
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Comparative and superlative adjectives (/grammar/english-grammar-reference/comparative-superlative-adjectives)
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Comparative and Superlative Adjectives - LearnEnglish

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Comparative and Superlative Adjectives - LearnEnglish

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English Grammar (/node/1263) > Adjectives (/grammar/english-grammar-reference/adjectives) > Comparative and superlative adjectives

This car is certainly better, but it's much more expensive.

We use than when we want to compare one thing with another:

She is two years older than me.

The balloon got bigger and bigger.

The faster you drive, the more dangerous it is.

The higher they climbed, the colder it got.

Grammar reference: Comparative adjectives 1

If you practise more,

We've invited six friends for dinner, so

The Beatles are not bad, but

My brother is ten years

Brazil's economy is now

Grammar reference: Comparative adjectives 2

1. If you practise more, your English will get b .

2. We've invited six friends for dinner, so we need a l table.

3. The Beatles are not bad, but I prefer m m music.

4. My brother is ten years o t me.

5. Brazil's economy is now b t Britain's.

6. Travelling by train is m d t flying.

7. Computers these days are getting s and s .

8. As the story went on, it became m and m i .

9. The h I work, the m tax I have to pay.

10. The f the boat went, the m f I became.

 Finish  Try again

It was the happiest day of my life.

Grammar reference: Superlative adjectives 1

What's ___ time of year to visit your city?

 Finish  Try again

Grammar reference: Superlative adjectives 2

1. What's time of year to visit your city?

2. What are things to see and do?

3. What's way to travel around? What's ?

4. What do you think is area?

6. What's building? What's ?

7. What are cafés and restaurants?

8. What's supermarket? What's ?

 Finish  Try again

How to form comparative and superlative adjectives

old older oldest

long longer longest

If an adjective ends in –e, we add –r or –st:

nice nicer nicest

large larger largest

If an adjective ends in a vowel and a consonant, we double the consonant:

big bigger biggest

happy happier happiest

silly sillier silliest

careful more careful most careful

interesting more interesting most interesting

He is certainly handsomer than his brother.

good better best

bad worse worst

far farther/further farthest/furthest

How to form comparative and superlative adjectives

Grammar reference: How to form comparative and

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Submitted by Peter M. on Sat, 27/01/2024 - 06:02