12 The

Comparative

The Grass is Always

Greener on the
Other Side
Focus on Grammar 2
Part XII, Unit 40
By Ruth Luman, Gabriele Steiner, and BJ Wells
Copyright © 2006. Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Work Talk 1
Well, my old job So,
Oh,how
really?
was
was much better your
Whatfirst
wasdayyour
at
than this job. your
old job
newlike?
job?
 Work Talk 2
My old
My office at boss was
my old jobnicer than Oh,
was more my Inew
see.boss.
comfortable.
Well, I
My old job was easier than this
guess the grass is
the old the old job. the
always greener new
the new on
office boss the otheroffice
boss
side.

the old the new job

job
 Comparative Adjectives
Use the comparative form of an adjective +
than to compare two people, places, or things.

My dad is
stronger than
your dad.

my dad his dad

 Form 1
To form the comparative of most short (one-syllable)
adjectives, add –er to the adjective. Add only –r if the
adjective ends in e.

large
old ++ -r-er == older
larger

Sergiy’s car
Olga’sishouse is
largerthan
older than
mymyhouse.
car.
 Form 2
To form the comparative of adjectives that end in
consonant + y, change the y to i and add –er.

busy + -ier = busier

Sarah is
busier than
John.
 Form 3
To form the comparative of most adjectives of two or
more syllables, add more before the adjective.

more + intelligent = more intelligent

The student is
more intelligent
than the teacher.
 Write the comparative form of
Practice 1 the adjectives. Then compare
yourself to a friend.

Example: tall taller than

I am Steve is
taller than taller than
1. friendly friendlier than I am.
George.
2. smart smarter than
3. popular more popular than
4. funny funnier than
5. loud louder than
6. outgoing more outgoing than
 Exceptions 1
Tired, bored, and fun are one-syllable adjectives that
follow the pattern of long adjectives.

fun 
tired
bored  more
more tired
bored
fun than
thanthan

I am
I am
more bored than This is more tired than
he is. more fun than he is.
that is.
 Exceptions 2
Quiet and simple are two-syllable adjectives that follow
the pattern of one-syllable adjectives.

quiet
simple 
quieter
simplerthan
than

French was
simpler than
English.
Our old neighbors were
quieter than
these new neighbors.
h
is
F
ngl
E
 Less and More

Less is the opposite of more.

Liliana
Sandraisis
more
less famous
famousthan
than
Sandra.
Liliana.

Liliana Sandra
 Irregular Forms
The adjectives good, bad, and far have
irregular comparative forms.

good
bad
far  better
 farther
worse

My customer’s My popcorn is
hairstyle is bad. My customer’s
Denver, Colorado, is
good, but his
hairstyle is worse.
far from popcorn is
San Francisco. Chicago,
better.Illinois, is
even farther from
San
Francisco.
 Much

Use much to make comparisons stronger.

My new boyfriend is much

more handsome than my
old boyfriend.
the new
the old boyfriend
boyfriend
 Use the adjectives to compare
Practice 2 the two teachers. Try to use
much, not as, and less.

strict nice good interesting

old popular angry

Teacher A Teacher B

Teacher
TeacherABisisnot
stricter
as strict
thanasTeacher
TeacherA.B.
 References

Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education and

its licensors. All rights reserved.