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Grammar Guide
Academic Excellence
Comparative and Superlative Adjectives: How to Compare Things in English 📊
We compare things all the time - prices, cities, films, people. English uses two special adjective forms for this: the comparative (comparing two things) and the superlative (saying which one is the most extreme in a group). 🎯
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1. Comparatives: comparing two things 🆚
Use the comparative + than to compare two people, things or places:
| Adjective type | Rule | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Short (1 syllable) | add -er | tall → taller than |
| Ends in -e | add -r | nice → nicer than |
| Ends in consonant-vowel-consonant | double final consonant + -er | big → bigger than |
| Ends in -y | change y to i + -er | happy → happier than |
| Long (2+ syllables) | add more before | expensive → more expensive than |
2. Superlatives: the most extreme in a group 🥇
Use the + superlative to say which one is number one in a group:
| Adjective type | Rule | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Short (1 syllable) | the + -est | tall → the tallest |
| Ends in -e | the + -st | nice → the nicest |
| Ends in consonant-vowel-consonant | double final consonant + -est | big → the biggest |
| Ends in -y | change y to i + -est | happy → the happiest |
| Long (2+ syllables) | the + most before | expensive → the most expensive |
3. Irregular forms 🔀
| Adjective | Comparative | Superlative |
|---|---|---|
| good | better than | the best |
| bad | worse than | the worst |
| far | farther / further than | the farthest / furthest |
4. Common mistakes ⚠️
| ✅ Correct | ❌ Wrong |
|---|---|
| She is taller than her brother. | She is more tall than her brother. |
| It is the most expensive hotel. | It is the most expensivest hotel. |
| This is the best film I have ever seen. | This is the goodest film. |
| London is bigger than Edinburgh. | London is more big than Edinburgh. |
Start comparing everything around you - it is the best way to practise! 🚀