Comparatives and Superlatives

Special forms of adjectives. They are used to compare two or more things.

Comparatives

 Short ending in E: Examples:

Add r

wider, finer, cuter

Ending in Y. Change y to i, then add -er: happy happier easy easier heavy heavier

 One syllable ending in a vowel and consonant.

Double the consonant and add -er:

big bigger hot hotter fat fatter

 The rest of adjectives and adverbs with one or two syllables. Add -er: light lighter small smaller fast faster

Two syllables or more, not ending in Y. Ex: modern, interesting, beautiful.

Use more before the adjective: beautiful more beautiful difficult more difficult expensive more expensive

Some adjectives are irregular.

good bad far little

better worse farther less

strong

weak

tall short

high low

slow

fast

heavy

light

ugly

beautiful

boring

funny

small big

empty

full

wet

dry

far

near

long

short

easy

difficult

dark

light

dirty

clean

soft

hard

young

old

bad

good

poor

rich

fat thin

cheap expensive

happy

sad

Comparatives: You can use sentences with than, or you can use a conjunction like but. Paul is taller than Jane. Jane is tall, but Paul is taller.

Madonna

Justin Bieber

Madonna is more famous than Justin Bieber.

Messi

Ronaldo

Messi is better than Ronaldo. Ronaldo is faster than Messi.

The Queen

Rajoy

The Queen is richer than Rajoy. Rajoy is taller than the Queen.

a turtle

an elephant

The turtle is slower than the elephant. The elephant is heavier than the turtle.

a computer

a pillow

The computer is more expensive than the pillow. The pillow is softer than the computer.

a crocodile

a mole

The crocodile is longer than the mole.

The mole is weaker than the crocodile.

Giselle

Henry

Giselle is more beautiful than Henry. Henry is older than Giselle. Giselle is taller than Henry.

the Sun

a pencil

The Sun is hotter than the pencil. The pencil is smaller than the Sun. The Sun is more important than the pencil.

a car

a plane

The car is slower than the plane. The car is cheaper than the plane. The plane is more expensive than the car.

Superlatives

Ending in Y. Change y to i, then add -est: happy the happiest easy the easiest heavy the heaviest

Ending in E:

Add -st: wide the widest fine the finest cute the cutest

One syllable with one vowel and one consonant at the end: Double the consonant, and add -est: hot the hottest big the biggest fat the fattest

With more than one vowel or more than one consonant at the end. Add -est: light the lightest small the smallest fast the fastest

Two syllables or more, not ending in Y. Ex: modern, interesting, beautiful. Use most before the adjective: modern the most modern interesting the most interesting beautiful the most beautiful expensive the most expensive

Some adjectives are irregular. adjective good bad far little many comparative better worse farther less more superlative the best the worst the farthest the least the most

Superlatives:
Superlative sentences usually use the, because there is only one superlative. Antonio is the tallest in the class. Vanesa is tall, and Juan is taller, but Antonio is the tallest.

Madonna

Rajoy

Justin Bieber

Madonna is the richest one. Bieber is the youngest of the three. Rajoy is the tallest.

Messi

Ronaldo

Villa

Ronaldo is the best player. Messi is the fastest of the three. Villa is the funniest one.

The Queen

Bisbal

Banderas

Banderas is the most famous. The Queen is the shortest of the three. Bisbal is the strongest one.

a turtle

a tiger

an elephant

The turtle is the slowest. The tiger is the fastet of the three. The elephant is the biggest one. The elephant is the heaviest. The tiger is the strongest one.

a computer

a house

a pillow

The house is the biggest. The pillow is the softest of the three. The computer is the most expensive. The house is the highest. The computer is the newest one.

a car

a bike

a plane

The bike is the cheapest. The car is the most popular. The plane is the fastes of all. The plane is the safest means of transport. The bike is the healthiest one.

 http://www.englishexercises.org/makeagame/viewgame.asp?id=206 5 http://www.englishexercises.org/makeagame/viewgame.asp?id=630 2 http://www.englishexercises.org/makeagame/viewgame.asp?id=120 5 http://www.englishexercises.org/makeagame/viewgame.asp?id=183 1 http://www.englishexercises.org/makeagame/viewgame.asp?id=293 4 http://www.englishexercises.org/makeagame/viewgame.asp?id=356 5