Grammar Guide

What is it?

Comparative adjectives compare two people, places, things, or ideas.

• Tom is taller than Ben.
• This book is more interesting than that one.

Superlative adjectives compare one person, place, thing, or idea with a whole group. They show the highest or lowest degree of a quality.

• Tom is the tallest person in the class.
• This is the most interesting book here.

When to use

Use a comparative adjective when comparing two things.

• My car is faster than your car.
• Today is colder than yesterday.
• This exercise is more difficult than the first one.

Comparatives are often followed by than.

Use a superlative adjective when comparing three or more things, or one thing with a whole group.

• Anna is the youngest person in her family.
• That was the most expensive meal on the menu.
• February is the shortest month of the year.

Superlatives usually use the before the adjective.

Structure

Short adjectives

For most one-syllable adjectives, add -er for the comparative and -est for the superlative.

Structures:

subject + be + comparative adjective + than + noun

• My house is bigger than yours.

subject + be + the + superlative adjective + group

• My house is the biggest on the street.

Adjectives ending in -e

Add -r for the comparative and -st for the superlative.

Adjectives ending in consonant + vowel + consonant

Double the final consonant before adding -er or -est.

Adjectives ending in -y

Change -y to -i before adding -er or -est.

Long adjectives

For most adjectives with two or more syllables, use more for the comparative and the most for the superlative.

Comparing lower degrees

Use less and the least to show a lower degree.

• This bag is less expensive than that one.
• This is the least expensive bag in the shop.

Irregular adjectives

Some adjectives have irregular comparative and superlative forms.

Examples

1. My brother is taller than me.
2. This phone is cheaper than that one.
3. Today is hotter than yesterday.
4. Her new job is more interesting than her old job.
5. This chair is more comfortable than the sofa.
6. Mia is the youngest person in the office.
7. That is the tallest building in the city.
8. This is the most difficult question in the test.
9. Friday was the busiest day of the week.
10. This restaurant has the best pizza in town.

Exceptions

Some two-syllable adjectives can use either -er/-est or more/the most.

• cleverer or more clever
• simpler or more simple
• quieter or more quiet

Do not use both forms together.

• more beautiful, not more beautifuller
• faster, not more faster

Older and oldest are the usual forms for age.

Elder and eldest are sometimes used for people in the same family.

• my elder brother
• her eldest daughter

Common mistakes

1. Incorrect: My car is more faster than yours. Correct: My car is faster than yours. Explanation: Do not use more with an adjective that already has -er.

2. Incorrect: She is the most tallest student. Correct: She is the tallest student. Explanation: Do not use most with an adjective that already has -est.

3. Incorrect: This book is interestinger than that one. Correct: This book is more interesting than that one. Explanation: Use more with long adjectives.

4. Incorrect: Today is hoter than yesterday. Correct: Today is hotter than yesterday. Explanation: Double the final consonant in hot before adding -er.

5. Incorrect: He is more happy now. Correct: He is happier now. Explanation: Change -y to -i before adding -er.

6. Incorrect: This is biggest room in the hotel. Correct: This is the biggest room in the hotel. Explanation: Superlative adjectives usually need the.

7. Incorrect: My house is bigger that yours. Correct: My house is bigger than yours. Explanation: Use than after a comparative adjective.

8. Incorrect: This answer is gooder than mine. Correct: This answer is better than mine. Explanation: Good has the irregular comparative form better.