Forming Comparative and Superlative Adjectives

One-syllable adjectives.
Form the comparative and superlative forms of a one-syllable adjective by adding er for the comparative form and est for the superlative.

One-Syllable Adjective tall old long

Comparative Form Superlative Form taller older longer tallest oldest longest

Mary is taller than Max. Mary is the tallest of all the students. Max is older than John. Of the three students, Max is the oldest. My hair is longer than your hair. Max's story is the longest story I've ever heard. If the one-syllable adjective ends with an e, just add r for the comparative form and st for the superlative form.

One-Syllable Adjective with Final Comparative Form Superlative Form -e large wise

larger wiser

largest wisest

Mary's car is larger than Max's car. Mary's house is the tallest of all the houses on the block. Max is wiser than his brother. Max is the wisest person I know. If the one-syllable adjective ends with a single consonant with a vowel before it, double the consonant and add er for the comparative form; and double the consonant and add est for the superlative form.

One-Syllable Adjective Ending with a Single Consonant with a Single Vowel before It big thin fat

Comparative Form Superlative Form

bigger thinner fatter

biggest thinnest fattest

My dog is bigger than your dog. My dog is the biggest of all the dogs in the neighborhood. Max is thinner than John. Of all the students in the class, Max is the thinnest. My mother is fatter than your mother. Mary is the fattest person I've ever seen.

Two-syllable adjectives.
With most two-syllable adjectives, you form the comparative with more and the superlative with most.

Two-Syllable Adjective peaceful pleasant careful thoughtful

Comparative Form Superlative Form more peaceful more pleasant more careful more thoughtful most peaceful most pleasant most careful most thoughtful

This morning is more peaceful than yesterday morning. Max's house in the mountains is the most peaceful in the world. Max is more careful than Mike. Of all the taxi drivers, Jack is the most careful. Jill is more thoughtful than your sister. Mary is the most thoughtful person I've ever met. If the two-syllable adjectives ends with y, change the y to i and add er for the comparative form. For the superlative form change the y to i and add est.

Two-Syllable Adjective Ending with -y

Comparative Form Superlative Form

Two-Syllable Adjective Ending with -y happy angry busy

Comparative Form Superlative Form happier angrier busier happiest angriest busiest

John is happier today than he was yesterday. John is the happiest boy in the world. Max is angrier than Mary. Of all of John's victims, Max is the angriest. Mary is busier than Max. Mary is the busiest person I've ever met. Two-syllable adjectives ending in er, -le, or ow take er and est to form the comparative and superlative forms.

Two-Syllable Adjective Ending Comparative Form Superlative Form with -er, -le, or -ow narrow gentle

narrower gentler

narrowest gentlest

The roads in this town are narrower than the roads in the city. This road is the narrowest of all the roads in California. Big dogs are gentler than small dogs. Of all the dogs in the world, English Mastiffs are the gentlest.

Adjectives with three or more syllables.

For adjectives with three syllables or more, you form the comparative with more and the superlative with most.

Adjective with Three or More Syllables generous important intelligent

Comparative Form Superlative Form more generous more important more intelligent most generous most important most intelligent

John is more generous than Jack. John is the most generous of all the people I know.

Health is more important than money. Of all the people I know, Max is the most important. Women are more intelligent than men. Mary is the most intelligent person I've ever met.

Exceptions.
Irregular adjectives.

Irregular Adjective Comparative Form Superlative Form good bad far little many

better worse farther less more

best worst farthest least most

Italian food is better than American food. My dog is the best dog in the world. My mother's cooking is worse than your mother's cooking. Of all the students in the class, Max is the worst. Two-syllable adjectives that follow two rules. These adjectives can be used with -er and -est and with more and most.

Two-Syllable Adjective clever clever gentle gentle friendly friendly quiet quiet simple

Comparative Form Superlative Form cleverer more clever gentler more gentle friendlier more friendly quieter more quiet simpler cleverest most clever gentlest most gentle friendliest most friendly quietest most quiet simplest

Two-Syllable Adjective simple

Comparative Form Superlative Form more simple most simple

Big dogs are gentler than small dogs. Of all the dogs in the world, English Mastiffs are the gentlest. Big dogs are more gentle than small dogs. Of all the dogs in the world, English Mastiffs are the most gentle.

Test your knowledge

Directions: Choose the best answer. (10 problems)

COMPARATIVE & SUPERLATIVE

COMPARATIVE & SUPERLATIVE

: Small , big , short , long : Expensive , beautiful , comfortable

:

. - . - : - Small big er/ier + smaller bigger The ++Est/iest The smallest The biggest

Happy /

happier /

The happiest /
:

1- . 2- ( )y ( )ier ( )iest . - :

expensive beautiful

+ More More expensive More beautiful

+ The most The most expensive The most beautiful /

: 1- . 2- ( / (than/but : . Abdullah is younger than Ail . Riyadh is bigger than Dammam . Jeddah is big , but Riyadh is bigger : :

. In , in the , of , of the , of all , I have know , I have seen . Abdulaziz was the bravest man in Arabia . This is the highest building in the cite
: Good bad far better worse farther the best the worse the farthest

 late little ( )many ( )much ( ) some

later less more more more

the latest the least the most the most the most

:
1- ( )ly/lly : Quick : quickly final : finally ( )ily ( )y : Happy : happily , busy : busily 2- :

careful happy probable late early

carefully happily probably late early

More carefully More happily More probably Later Earlier

Most carefully Most happily Most probably

hard fast good early late

hard fast well early late

: 1- : / deadly / brotherly friendly

extremely terribly ) ( ) late ( ) lately( 2- .

Since this lesson discusses comparative and superlative forms , let's compare the students at the English Learning Institute of this university . Professor Jack , who teaches English to foreign students , is older than professor Peter . However , professor James is the oldest member of the faculty . He is going to retire this year . That's why he has more experience and is more competent in his field of study . Professor Jack is quite different from Professor Peter .. But they are both cheerful and very anxious to help their students . They also have large experience in teaching . Professor Peter is much more serious than Professor Jack , but Jack is younger and more dynamic . As for the students of the English Language Institute at this university , all of them study hard . However , some fresh students study harder than the old ones . Perhaps Omar is the best student in the class this year , but he is less active than Omar . chin the Chinese student is as old as Omar . Khaled , who is a Saudi student from Abha , is highly mannered , and the most intelligent and hard-working student in the Institute . . . . .

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Comparative and superlative adjectives

The comparative form of an adjective is used for comparing two people or things (e.g. he is taller than me), while thesuperlative is used for comparing one person or thing with every other member of their group (e.g. he was the tallest boy in the class).

Adjectives make their comparative and superlative forms in different ways, depending on the base adjective itself. Heres a quick-reference guide to the spelling of comparative and superlative adjectives:

Adjectives with one syllable

In general, if the adjective has one syllable, then the letters -er or -est are added:

warm quick tall

warmer quicker taller

warmest quickest tallest

Adjectives with one syllable ending in e

If the adjective has one syllable and ends in e, just add -r or -st:

late nice large

later nicer larger

latest nicest largest

Adjectives with two syllables

Adjectives with two syllables vary. Some add -er/-est or -r/-st:

feeble

feebler

feeblest

Some use the words more for the comparative and most for the superlative:

famous

more famous

most famous

Many can do either, like clever:

clever

cleverer/more clever

cleverest/most clever

Adjectives with three syllables or more

If the adjective has three syllables or more, then the words more and most are used:

interesting

more interesting

most interesting

attractive

more attractive

most attractive

Adjectives that change their spelling

Some adjectives change their spelling when forming the comparative and superlative:

Some one-syllable adjectives that end with a single consonant (e.g. big, wet, sad, fat) double this consonant before adding -er or -est:

big wet sad

bigger wetter sadder

biggest wettest saddest

If the adjective ends in y (e.g. happy, greedy, or tidy), change the y to an i and add -er or -est:

happy greedy tidy

happier greedier tidier

happiest greediest tidiest

Some common adjectives have irregular comparative and superlative forms that you just have to learn:

bad good little (of a quantity) much

worse better less more

worst best least most