Comparative Adjectives
When we talk about two things, we can "compare" them. We can see if they
are the same or different. Perhaps they are the same in some ways and
different in other ways. We can use comparative adjectives to describe the
differences.
We use comparative adjectives when talking about two things (not three or
more things).
In the example below, "bigger" is the comparative form of the adjective "big":
A1 A2
A1 is bigger than A2.
Formation of Comparative Adjectives
There are two ways to make or to "form" a comparative adjective:
short adjectives: add "-er"
long adjectives: use "more"
Short adjectives: add -er examples
1-syllable adjectives old, fast
2-syllable adjectives ending in -y happy, easy
RULE: add "-er" old → older
Short adjectives: add -er examples
Variation: if the adjective ends in -e, just add -r late → later
Variation: if the adjective ends in consonant, vowel, consonant, double the last big → bigger
consonant
Variation: if the adjective ends in -y, change the y to i happy → happier
Long adjectives: use more examples
2-syllable adjectives not ending in - modern, pleasant
y
all adjectives of 3 or more syllables expensive, intellectual
RULE: use "more" modern → more modern
expensive → more expensive
With some 2-syllable adjectives, we can use "-er" OR "more":
quiet → quieter/more quiet
clever → cleverer/more clever
narrow → narrower/more narrow
simple → simpler/more simple
Exception: The following adjectives have irregular forms:
good → better
well (healthy) → better
bad → worse
far → farther/further
Use of Comparative Adjectives
We use comparative adjectives when talking about 2 things (not 3 or 10 or
1,000,000 things, only 2 things).
Often, the comparative adjective is followed by "than".
Look at these examples:
John is 1m80. He is tall. But Chris is 1m85. He is taller than John.
America is big. But Russia is bigger.
I want to have a more powerful computer.
Is French more difficult than English?
If we talk about the two planets Earth and Mars, we can compare them as
shown in the table below:
Earth Mar
s
Diameter (km) 12,760 6,790 Mars is smaller than Earth.
Distance from Sun (million km) 150 228 Mars is more distant from the Sun.
Length of day (hours) 24 25 A day on Mars is slightly longer than a day on
Earth.
Earth Mar
s
Moons 1 2 Mars has more moons than Earth.
Surface temperature (degrees 22 -23 Mars is colder than Earth.
Celsius)
Although we use comparative adjectives when talking about two things (not
three or more things), in fact one or both of the things may be a group of
things.
Mt Everest is higher than all other mountains.
Here, we are talking about hundreds of mountains, but we are still comparing
one thing (Mt Everest) to one other thing (all other mountains).
Superlative Adjectives
A superlative adjective expresses the extreme or highest degree of a quality.
We use a superlative adjective to describe the extreme quality of one thing in
a group of things.
We can use superlative adjectives when talking about three or more things
(not two things).
In the example below, "biggest" is the superlative form of the adjective "big":
AB
A is the biggest.
C
Formation of Superlative Adjectives
As with comparative adjectives, there are two ways to form a superlative
adjective:
short adjectives: add "-est"
long adjectives: use "most"
We also usually add 'the' at the beginning.
Short adjectives
1-syllable adjectives old, fast
2-syllable adjectives ending in -y happy, easy
RULE: add "-est" old → the oldest
Variation: if the adjective ends in -e, just add -st late → the latest
Variation: if the adjective ends in consonant, vowel, consonant, big → the biggest
double the last consonant
Variation: if the adjective ends in -y, change the y to i happy → the happiest
Long adjectives
2-syllable adjectives not ending in - modern, pleasant
y
Long adjectives
all adjectives of 3 or more syllables expensive, intellectual
RULE: use "most" modern → the most modern
expensive → the most expensive
With some 2-syllable adjectives, we can use "-est" OR "most":
quiet → the quietest/most quiet
clever → the cleverest/most clever
narrow → the narrowest/most narrow
simple → the simplest/most simple
Exception: The following adjectives have irregular forms:
good → the best
bad → the worst
far → the farthest/furthest
Use of Superlative Adjectives
We use a superlative adjective to describe one thing in a group of three or
more things. Look at these examples:
John is 1m75. David is 1m80. Chris is 1m85. Chris is the tallest.
Canada, China and Russia are big countries. But Russia is the biggest.
Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world.
If we talk about the three planets Earth, Mars and Jupiter, we can use
superlative adjectives as shown in the table below:
Earth Mars Jupiter
Diameter (km) 12,760 6,790 142,800 Jupiter is the biggest.
Distance from Sun 150 228 778 Jupiter is the most distant from
(million km) the Sun.
Length of day (hours) 24 25 10 Jupiter has the shortest day.
Moons 1 2 16 Jupiter has the most moons.
Surface temp. (degrees 22 -23 -150 Jupiter is the coldest.
Celsius)
When we compare one thing with itself, we do not use "the":
England is coldest in winter. (not the coldest)
My boss is most generous when we get a big order. (not the most generous)
