Comparatives & Superlatives
Comparative adjectives
We use comparative adjectives to show change or make comparisons:
Examples
This car is certainly better,but it’s much more expensive.
I’m feeling happier now.
We need a bigger garden.
We use than when we want to compare one thing with another:
Examples
She is two years older than me.
New York is much bigger than Boston.
He is a better player than Ronaldo.
France is a bigger country than Britain.
Superlative adjectives
We use the with superlative adjectives:
Examples
It was the happiest day of my life.
Everest is the highest mountain in the world.
That’s the best film I have seen this year.
I have three sisters: Jan is the oldest and Angela is the youngest.
How to form comparatives and superlatives
We usually add –er and –est to one-syllable words to make comparatives and superlatives:
| old | older | the oldest |
| long | longer | the longest |
If an adjective ends in –e, we add –r or –st:
| nice | nicer | the nicest |
| large | larger | the largest |
If an adjective ends in a vowel and a consonant, we double the consonant:
| big | bigger | the biggest |
| fat | fatter | the fattest |
If an adjective ends in a consonant and –y, we change –y to –i and add –er or –est:
| happy | happier | the happiest |
| silly | sillier | the silliest |
We use more and most to make comparatives and superlatives for most two syllable adjectives and for all adjectives with three or more syllables:
| careful | more careful | the most careful |
| interesting | more interesting | the most interesting |
However, with these common two-syllable adjectives, you can either add –er/–r and –est/–st or use more and most:
| adjective | comparative | superlative |
|---|---|---|
| clever | cleverer / more clever | cleverest / most clever |
| common | commoner / more common | commonest / most common |
| likely | likelier / more likely | likeliest / most likely |
| pleasant | pleasanter / more pleasant | pleasantest / most pleasant |
| polite | politer / more polite | politest / most polite |
| quiet | quieter / more quiet | quietest / most quiet |
| simple | simpler / more simple | simplest / most simple |
| stupid | stupider / more stupid | stupidest / most stupid |
| subtle | subtler / more subtle | subtlest / most subtle |
| sure | surer / more sure | surest / most sure |
Examples
He is certainly politer than his brother.
His brother is handsome, but he is more polite.
She is one of the politest people I have ever met.
She is the most polite person I have ever met.
The adjectives good, bad and far have irregular comparatives and superlatives:
| adjective | comparative | superlative |
|---|---|---|
| good | better | best |
| bad | worse | worst |
| far | farther/further | farthest/furthest |
comparatives with as + adj + as
We can use ‘as + adj + as‘ with a normal adjective (not a comparative) to say two things are the same:
Examples
John is as tall as Tracy (= they are the same height).
The red shirt is as expensive as the blue shirt (= they are the same price).
We can use ‘not as + adj + as‘ to say that two things are not the same:
Examples
Lucy is not as tall as Bob (= Bob is taller than Lucy).
Paris is not as big as London (= London is bigger than Paris).
