Teaching Comparatives
8 to 12 year olds 50mins
Description
Comparatives are a degree of adjectives used to show a change or comparison. We use 'than'
when we are comparing two things.
Objectives
To understand how to change adjectives to comparatives
Learn what are the rules for writing comparatives
Create comparative adjectives in day to day life
Language
A comparative is formed by adding +ED to the end of an adjective. We use them to explain
when one object or person has more of something than another one.
Tall + er
My father is taller than my brother.
Soft + er
A sheep is softer than a wolf.
When an adjective ends in a vowel and a consenant, we doubble the last letter.
Thin + ner
Big + ger
When an adjective ends in 'Y', change the 'Y' to an 'I' and add 'ER'.
Happ + ier
For adjectives with three or more syllables, modify the adjective by writing 'more' before it.
More beautiful
More intelligent
In some cases, the entire adjective changes.
Good - Better
Bad - Worse
Far - Farther
Teaching Comparatives
8 to 12 year olds 50mins
Materials
Two sets of flash cards
• one set of adjectives
• one set of nouns
Procedure
10mins Introduction: Introduce ‘comparatives’ by reviewing the grammar rules and
watching the supplementary video.
20mins Activity: Guess what - The teacher chooses one noun card from the deck, and
keeps in a secret. The other noun and adjective cards are laid out on the table, face
up, so the students can see them. The students take turns asking the teacher
questions, only using comparatives from the items provided. e.g. Is it bigger than a
butterfly? Is it colder than ice cream? Continue asking questions until someone
arrives at the answer. Students should see all noun cards before the game begins to
be familiarised with them. There is a two question minimum before the students can
guess the answer.
20mins Worksheet: Complete the sentences for reinforcement.
Diagram
The scientist is more intelligent than the clown He has more eyes than him
Mr. orange has longer legs than Mrs. yellow She is thinner and taller than him
creative LESSON
english 10 YE AR S
COMPARATIVES
Fill in the gaps using an adjective from the list below.
Change each adjective to a comparative by adding ‘ER’ to the end.
Fast - strong - cold - warm - small - old - loud - quiet - young - calm
1. Driving in a car is ....................................... than riding a scooter.
2. My grandfather is ....................................... than my sister..
3. The winter is ....................................... than the summer.
4. It is ....................................... in the house than it is in the garden.
5. A library is ....................................... than a concert.
6. Now that I practice a sport, I am ....................................... than I was last year.
7. My cat is ....................................... than your dog.
8. The sea is ....................................... today than it was yesterday.
9. Teenagers are ....................................... than adults.
10. Can you turn the volume up ....................................... ? I love this song!
Complete the following sentences.
1. A/an ....................................... is ....................................... (big) than a/an ....................................... .
2. A/an ....................................... is ....................................... (expensive) than a/an ....................................... .
3. A/an ....................................... is ....................................... (hot) than a/an ....................................... .
4. A/an ....................................... is ....................................... (good) than a/an ....................................... .
5. A/an ....................................... is ....................................... (bad) than a/an ....................................... .
6. A/an ....................................... is ....................................... (tall) than a/an ....................................... .
7. A/an ....................................... is ....................................... (difficult) than a/an ....................................... .
8. A/an ....................................... is ....................................... (easy) than a/an ....................................... .
Describe who is faster than who in this image.
creative
english
Comparatives
beautiful giraffe
big elephant
cheap ice cream
clean coffee
cold ice
cute butterfly
dark iphone
delicious backpack
dirty car
expensive bicycle
hard dog
heavy elephant
high old man
creative
english
Comparatives
hot young man
light plane
low dog
rough computer
short house
small pencil
smooth bag
soft rock
tall ball
thick cloud
thin worm
white shoe
yummy water
