COMPARATIVE AND

SUPERLATIVE

ADJECTIVES

Comparatives

Let’s say that I have two cars. I have a little Volkswagen and a big Ford. A comparative is used to show the difference between

the two.

Comparatives are used to show the difference between two objects.

The Ford is bigger than the Volkswagen

The Volkswagen is smaller than the Ford

Rule 1If an adjective has 1 syllable we add the ending –er to the adjective.

The ant is smaller than the hippo.

= harder than= smaller thansmall + er

hard + er

Rule 2 If a one-syllable adjective ends with a consonant + a vowel + a consonant (C+V+C) you must double the last consonant and then add –er.

The elephant is fatter than the giraffe.

= fatter than= bigger thanbig + er

fat + er

Rule 3If an adjective ends with a “y”, remove the “y” and add –ier–ier.

Miley Cyrus is trashierier than Katy Katy PerryPerry

= happier than= funnier thanfunny + ierier

happy + ierier

trashy: young people who lack class. They usually wear sporty, provocative clothes, big earrings, lots of necklaces. They speak slang variety of English and only worry about gossiping and partying.

Rule 4 If an adjective has two syllables or more, we add moremore.

The butterfly is more beautiful than the frog.

= more ambitious than= more expensive thanmoremore + expensiveexpensive

moremore + ambitiousambitious

Rule 5

There are a few exceptions.

= worse than= better thangood

bad= farther thanfar

His haircut is worse than his.

Remember, when using a comparative you must always follow it with the word “than”.

The Volkswagen is smaller than the Ford.

The Ford is bigger than the Volkswagen.

The ant is smaller than the hippo.

The elephant is fatter than the giraffe.

The girl is happier than the duck.

The butterfly is more beautiful than the frog.

SuperlativesSuperlatives are used to show the

difference between more than two objects.Let’s say that there are three cars parked in the street. A superlative is used to show the differences that exist in the group.

The white van is the biggest. (on the left)

The red car is the smallest.

The ant is the smallest.

Rule 1 If an adjective has 1 syllable we add the ending –est to the adjective.

= the hardest= the smallest small + est

hard + est

The hippo is the fattest.

Rule 2 If a one-syllable adjective ends with a consonant + a vowel + a consonant (C+V+C) you must double the last consonant and then add –er.

= the fattest = the biggestbig + est

fat + est

The blue whale is the heaviest mammal in the world.

Rule 3If an adjective ends with a “y”, remove the “y” and add –iest–iest.

= the happhappiestiest= the funnfunniestiestfunny + iestiest

happy + iestiest

The Porsche Spider is the most expensive car.

Rule 4 If an adjective has two syllables or more, we add the mostthe most.

= the most ambitious= the most expensive the mostthe most + expensiveexpensive

the mostthe most + ambitiousambitious

Villarreal is the best football football teamteam in the world.

Rule 5

There are a few exceptions.

= the worst= the bestgood

bad= the farthestfar