Comparatives and Superlatives 1
Adjective Comparative of
1. One syllable adjective
ending in silent e
monosillabico che termina
con e muta,
wise, large, cute
2. One syllable adjective
ending in one consonant
preceded by one vowel
monosillabico che termina
con una consonante
preceduta da una vocale
thin, big, fat
3. One syllable adjective
ending in either more than
one consonant or one
consonant preceded by
more than one vowel
monosillabico che termina
con più di una consonante
o con una consonante
preceduta da più di una
vocale  
old, long, poor
4. Two syllables
adjectives ending in -y
bisillabico che termina con
-y
happy, silly, dirty
5. Two syllables and more
than two syllables
adjectives
Bisillabico e plurisillabico
common, interesting,
polite
* In English the silent vowels are not taken into consideration when forming the syllable.
In inglese le vocali non pronunciate non formano la sillaba
Superlative
Superiority
Add -er
Aggiungere -er
wiser, larger, cuter
Before adding –er, you
have to double the
consonant
Raddoppiare la
consonante e aggiungere
-er
thinner, bigger, fatter
Add -er
Aggiungere -er   Aggiungere -est
older, longer, poorer
Change the y in i and then
add er
Cambiare la y in i  e poi
aggiungere -er
happier, sillier, dirtier
Put more in front of the
adjective
Usare more davanti
all'aggettivo
more common, more
interesting, more polite
Add -est
Aggiungere -est
wisest, largest, cutest
Before adding –est, you
have to double the
consonant
Raddoppiare la
consonante e aggiungere
-est
thinnest, biggest, fattest
Add -est
oldest, longest, poorest
Change the y in i and then
add est
Cambiare la y in i  e poi
aggiungere -est
happiest, silliest, dirti est
Put the most in front of
the adjective
Usare the most davanti
all'aggettivo
most common, most
interesting, most polite
1. One syllable adjective ending in silent e:
 Ted is wiser than his brother.
 Max is the wisest in my family.

 Mary's car is larger than Bob’s car.

 Lucy’s car is the largest in the town.

2. One syllable adjective ending in one consonant preceded by one vowel:

 My cat is bigger than your cat.
 My cat is the biggest of all the cats in the neighbourhood.

 Max is thinner than Steven.

 Of all the students in the class, Max is the thinnest.
 My mother is fatter than your mother.
 Lucy is the fattest in my classroom.

3. One syllable adjective ending in either more than one consonant or one consonant
preceded by more than one vowel:
 Mary is taller than her sister.
 Mary is the tallest of all the students.

 Max is older than Ted.

 Mark is the oldest of the three students.
 My hair is longer than your hair.
 Mark's story is the longest one I've ever heard.

4. Two syllables adjectives ending in -y:

 Joan is happier than yesterday.
 Joan is the happiest girl in the classroom.

 Mark is angrier than Max.

 Mark is the angriest boy I have known.
 Ted is busier than John.
 Ted is the busiest person I've ever met.

5. Two syllables and more than two syllables adjectives:

 Ted is more generous than John.
 Ted is the most generous of all my friends.

 This date is the most important in my life.

 Cats are more intelligent than rabbits.
 Mary is the most intelligent friend I have.
 Some people think that Russian is the most difficult language.
 Albert Einstein was the most intelligent person in history.
 My most enjoyable class is English.
  You are the most irritating person I have ever met!
 Health is more important than money.

Irregular comparatives and superlatives

Good (buono) Better (migliore) The best (il migliore)
Well (bene) Better (meglio) The best (il meglio)
Bad (cattivo) Worse (peggiore) The worst (il peggiore)
Badly (male) Worse (peggio) The worst (il peggio)
Much (molto), Many (molti) More (più) The most (il più)
Little (poco) Less (meno) The least (il meno)
Far (lontano) Farther (più lontano) The farthest
Further (ulteriore)
Late (tardi) Later (più tardi) The latest (l’ultimo/il più recente)
The last (l’ultimo -di una serie-)
Near (vicino) Nearer (più vicino) The nearest (il più vicino)
The next (il prossimo/il successivo)
Old (vecchio) Older (più vecchio) The oldest (il più vecchio)
Elder (maggiore –fra due-) The eldest (il maggiore –fra più di due-)

This material is better than that one. In fact it’s the best one we have.
Questa stoffa è migliore di quella. Infatti è la migliore che abbiamo.
The weather today is worse than yesterday.
Italian food is better than American food.
My dog is the best dog in the world.

Use.

1. We use comparatives to compare two things. Il comparativo si usa per fare un paragone fra due cose o
persone:

Ted is thinner than Mary.

It's more expensive to travel by plane than by bus.
My house is smaller than your house.

2. We use superlatives to compare one thing with the rest of the group it belongs to. Il superlativo
relativo si usa per fare un paragone fra una cosa/persona e molte altre:

Ted is the tallest in the class.

She's the best player in the team.
This is the most expensive restaurant I've ever stayed in.

3. We do not use the with the superlative if there is a possessive. Il superlativo relativo non usa l’articolo the
se vi è un possessivo.
His best friend is Mark.
4. We can modify comparatives with much, a lot, far, a little, a bit, slightly. Possiamo rafforzare il
comparativo con much, a lot, far, a little, a bit, slightly
Max is much richer than I am.
My mother's hair is slightly longer than mine.

5. We can modify superlative with by far, easily and nearly. Possiamo rafforzare il superlativo relativo con
by far, easily and nearly.
Mario's is by far the best restaurant in town.
I'm nearly the oldest in the class.

*Interactive Exercises
http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/adjectives-
adverbs/adjectives/exercises
http://www.usingenglish.com/quizzes/45.html
http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/StudyZone/330/grammar/regcom1.htm
http://www.better-english.com/grammar/comp2.htm
http://perso.wanadoo.es/autoenglish/gr.comp.i.htm
http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/studyzone/330/grammar/regcom2.htm
http://a4esl.org/q/h/vm/compsup2.html
http://www.learnenglish.de/Games/Adjectives/CompSup.htm

*Please note:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXjFFFJ1DIo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7S2uw1DBe68
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_B0LbKMoZY&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=gwMI9y0Byi8&feature=PlayList&p=B5B16ABDCE16D099&playnext=1&pla
ynext_from=PL&index=24