The blue pencil is longer than the yellow pencil.

The girl is taller than the boy.

The mouse is smaller than the elephant.

In July the weather is hotter than in April.

Compare the following people:

Bob
28 years old
55 kilos
1.50 mt

Bob is
Homer is
Alice is
Bob is
Homer is
Alice is

Homer

Alice

39 years old
80 kilos
1.55 mt

9 years old
33 kilos
1.20mt

(YOUNG) than Homer.

(OLD) than Alice.
(SLIM) than Bob.
(SHORT) than Homer.
(FAT) than Bob.
(SHORT) than Homer.

Homer is

(UGLY) than Alice.

Homer is

(SLOW) than Bob.

Alice has got

(LONG) hair than Bob.

Alice can run

(FAST) than Homer.

Harry
32 years old
75 kilos
1.90 mt

Garfield
10 years old
60 kilos
0.57 mt

Sponge Bob
6 years old
3 kilos
0.20 mt

Example: Harry is older than Garfield. (OLD-YOUNG)

Garfield
Sponge Bob
Harry

Sponge Bob. (YOUNG-OLD)

Harry. (FAT-SLIM)
Sponge Bob. (SHORT-TALL)

Garfield

Harry. (SHORT-TALL)

Garfield

Harry. (FUNNY-BORING)

Sponge Bob's eyes

Harry

Harry's. (SMALL-BIG)
Garfield. (STRONG-WEAK)

1.

The

2. The

3. The

4. The

5. The
boy.

6. The

elephant is bigger / smaller than the

boy is cleaner / dirtier than the

woman is sadder / happier than the

turtle is slower / faster than the

man is stronger / weaker than the

boy is shorter / taller than the man.

ant.

girl.

boy.

man.

the

7. The

car is slower / faster than the

8. The

dog is fatter / thinner than the

9. The

woman is younger / older than the

10. The

baby is younger / older than the

11. The

ant is bigger / smaller than the

bus.

cat.

boy.

man.

elephant.

There are 3 rules regarding the comparative and superlative forms of adjectives:
1. For short adjectives (adjectives with 1 syllable) we add -er in the comparative form and -est in the superlative
form:
Short adjective

Comparative

Superlative

small
tall
cheap
long

smaller than
taller than
cheaper than
longer than

the smallest
the tallest
the cheapest
the longest

Examples:
Comparatives
France is smaller than Argentina.
Cheese is cheaper than caviar.
The Tower of London is older than the Empire State Building.
* Note that when the last 3 letters of a word are consonant - vowel - consonant in that order, when we add
extra letters, the last letter becomes a double:
Adjective

Comparative

Superlative

big
hot
fat

bigger than
hotter than
fatter than

the biggest
the hottest
the fattest

2. For adjectives which end with y, short and long, we replace the y with -ier in the comparative form and -iest
in the superlative form:
Adjective

Comparative

Superlative

happy
heavy
lucky
friendly

happier than
heavier than
luckier than
friendlier than

Examples:
Comparatives
Iron is heavier than wood.
He is friendlier than his mother.
She is prettier than her sister.

the happiest
the heaviest
the luckiest
the friendliest