Adjectives

Comparative and superlative forms

This presentation has been taken, revised and adapted from different sources by
Mercedes Urdaneta de Gonzlez

What is an adjective?
It is a word that describes a noun.

Old

Big

Small

New

Long
Empty
Short

Full

IMPORTANT INFORMATION
1. In English, adjectives do not take an S in the plural; they do not change.
Example: A red book
Two red books
2. In English we write an adjective:
a. Before a noun: A big house
b. After the verb To Be: The house is big
3. Adjectives tell us more about a noun (function). They can:

*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*

Describe feelings or qualities:

He is a lonely man
Give nationality or origin:
Pierre is French
Tell more about a thing's characteristics:
A wooden table.
Tell us about age:
He's a young man
Tell us about size and measurement:
John is a tall man.
Tell us about colour:
Paul wore a red shirt.
Tell us about material/what something is made of: It was a wooden table
Tell us about shape:
A rectangular box
Express a judgement or a value:
Grammar is boring.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION (Cont.)

4. Adjectives are used in a certain order in English. Where a number of adjectives
are used together, the order depends on the function of the adjective.
The usual order is:

1. * Value/opinion:
2. * Size:
3. * Age/Temperature:
4. * Shape:
5. * Colour:
6. * Origin:
7. * Material:

delicious, lovely, charming

small, huge, tiny
old, hot, young
round, square, rectangular
red, blonde, black
Swedish, Victorian, Chinese
plastic, wooden, silver

Example: A lovely, small, old, square, red, Chinese, wooden box.

COMPARATIVE FORM OF ADJECTIVES

The comparative form is used to compare two

objects, ideas, persons, or places. We use
than to compare the two objects.
Ex: Madrid is more exciting than London.
By themselves adjectives and adverbs are in
the positive degree. Adjectives and adverbs
can be used to indicate that something or
someone has a relatively equal, greater or
lesser degree of some quality or feature.

1. Equal degree:

Use asas to indicate that two things

(people, animals, objects, places and so
on) have the same or equal degree of some
attribute or feature
Ex: Jane is as big as her sister.

2. Greater degree:

The comparative of majority form of an adjective or adverb is

used to indicate that one of two things (people, animals,
objects, places and so on) has more of some attribute or
feature. An adjective or adverb is changed to his form either
by adding the suffix er to it or by using the quantifier more
before it.
* a) Generally, if the adjective or adverb has one syllable,
add er: Ex. Small -- Smaller than
Sweet -- Sweeter than
* b) If the adjective or adverb has more than one syllable,
use more: Exs. Difficult ---- More difficult than
Interesting -- More interesting than
Quickly ----- More quickly than

Exceptions:
1. If the adjective or adverb has only one syllable and ends in a
single vowel followed by d or g, the consonant is doubled
when the er is added. Ex. Red ----- Redder than
Big ----- Bigger than
2. If the adjective or adverb ends in y, you replace it by i
followed by er.
Ex. Happy -- Happier than
Messy ---- Messier than
Busy ---- Busier than
Easy ------ Easier than
3) Some adjectives and adverbs have irregular comparative
forms.
Ex. Bad (ly) --- Worse than Far ------ Farther than
Good ------ Better than Little ---- Less than
Much ------ More than
Well ---- Better than

3) Lesser Degree:

The comparative of minority form of an adjective or

adverb is used to indicate that one of two things
(people, animals, objects, places, and so on) has
less of some attribute or feature. The degree of
minority is formed with less before the adjective or
adverb
Ex. Tall ----- Less tall than
Small ----- Less small than
Attractive ------ Less attractive than
Bad ----- Less bad than

SUPERLATIVE FORM OF ADJECTIVES

The superlative is used to single out people,
places and things from other people, places
and things
That is, it is used to show which object is
the most of something when speaking about
three or more objects:
Ex: Madrid is the most exciting city in Europe.

Difference between the comparative

and the superlative forms of adjectives:
The comparative
ignores the extremes
and looks at 2 points
anywhere on the scale
with regard to two or
more individuals,
objects and so on
Ex : Sarah is shorter than
her brother and her cousin.

The superlative
concerns itself with the
extremes of a given
scale with regard to a
specific set:

Ex: Sarah is the shortest.

REGULAR ADJECTIVES
Adjectives

One Syllable:

Young
One Syllable
+ y: Easy
Two syllables
Happy

Comparative

Superlative

Younger than

The youngest

Easier than

The easiest

More
Less

happy than

happy than
Happier than

The
The

most happy

least happy
The happiest

Adjectives

Comparative

Superlative

three
Syllables or
more:

More beautiful
than

The most
beautiful

Beautiful

IRREGULAR ADJECTIVES
Adjectives
good
bad
far

Comparative
Better than
Worse than
Farther than
(physical difference)

far

Further than
(mental difference)

quiet

Quieter than

Superlative
The best
The worst
The farthest

The quiest

Activities
Look at the following picture. Use adjectives to
make sentences

Dragons have:

A camel head,
a snake neck,
fish scales,
eagle claws,
tiger paws,
ox ears,
deer hornes and
whiskers

Look at the following pictures and

compare the 2 figures in each picture:
Old

Big
Small

New

Long
Short

Empty

Full

Write a comparative and a superlative

sentence of each picture:

1. Comparative: ______________________________________________
Superlative: ______________________________________________
2. Comparative: ______________________________________________
Superlative: _______________________________________________
3. Comparative: ______________________________________________
Suprelative: _______________________________________________
4. Comparative: ______________________________________________
Superlative: _______________________________________________

Next class handle in the written homework.

Look at the following

family. Compare the
members
www.israelsmith.com/.../2010/04/jessop-big.jpg

Write a comparative and a superlative

sentence of each person:

1. Comparative: ____________________________________________________________
Superlative: ____________________________________________________________
2. Comparative: _____________________________________________________________
Superlative: _____________________________________________________________
3. Comparative: _____________________________________________________________
Suprelative: _____________________________________________________________
4. Comparative:_____________________________________________________________
Superlative:______________________________________________________________
5. Comparative: ____________________________________________________________
Superlative: _____________________________________________________________
6. Comparaative: __________________________________________________________
Superlative: ____________________________________________________________
7. Comparative: __________________________________________________________
Superlative: ___________________________________________________________

Next class handle in the written homework.