Comparatives and Superlatives

Comparing with adjectives

An adjective describes a noun: a tall tree, a fast car, a funny joke. When we want to compare things, adjectives change form.

• The comparative compares two things: My dog is bigger than your dog.
• The superlative compares three or more things: That is the biggest dog in the park.

A helpful clue: comparatives often come before than. Superlatives often come after the.

The spelling rules

How you make the comparative and superlative depends on the length of the adjective. Count the syllables (the beats in the word).

One syllable: add -er and -est

small → smaller → smallest
cold → colder → coldest
long → longer → longest

Ends in e: add -r and -st

nice → nicer → nicest
large → larger → largest

Short vowel + one consonant: double the consonant

big → bigger → biggest
hot → hotter → hottest
sad → sadder → saddest

Ends in y: change y to i

happy → happier → happiest
easy → easier → easiest
busy → busier → busiest

Two or more syllables: use more and most

careful → more careful → most careful
exciting → more exciting → most exciting
important → more important → most important

Some two-syllable words can go either way: quiet → quieter or more quiet. When in doubt, say both out loud and pick the one that sounds natural.

Irregular adjectives

Some adjectives are irregular. They change completely, so you need to memorize them.

Her drawing is good. His drawing is better. Mine is the best!

Comparing with less and least

To show less of something, use less and least:

This puzzle is less difficult than that one.
That was the least expensive ticket.

Comparing with adverbs

An adverb describes how something is done. Adverbs can compare too.

• One-syllable adverbs add -er/-est: fast → faster → fastest, hard → harder → hardest.
• Adverbs ending in -ly use more/most: quickly → more quickly → most quickly.
• Irregular: well → better → best, badly → worse → worst.

Ella ran faster than Jack. Of all the runners, Ben ran the most quickly.

Let’s try some examples

• A cheetah is faster than a horse.
• The blue whale is the largest animal on Earth.
• This book is more interesting than the movie.
• Today was the worst storm of the year.
• My sister is younger than me, but I am the youngest in my class.

Common mistakes

• Doubling up. ✗ more taller, most biggest → ✓ taller, biggest. Use -er or more, never both.
• Using the superlative for two things. ✗ Of the two twins, Sam is the tallest. → ✓ Sam is the taller of the two.
• Wrong irregular form. ✗ gooder, baddest → ✓ better, worst.
• Forgetting spelling changes. ✗ biger, happyer → ✓ bigger, happier.
• Mixing up than and then. Compare with than: taller than, not taller then.

Try it yourself

Write the comparative and superlative for each:

1. short
2. thin
3. pretty
4. dangerous
5. bad

Then write one sentence comparing two animals and one comparing three.

Answers: shorter/shortest, thinner/thinnest, prettier/prettiest, more dangerous/most dangerous, worse/worst.

Study tip

Line up three objects, such as three pencils or three books. Describe them out loud using a base adjective, a comparative and a superlative: This pencil is long. That one is longer. This one is the longest.

Quick recap

• Comparatives compare two things; superlatives compare three or more.
• Short adjectives add -er and -est; long adjectives use more and most.
• Watch spelling rules: double consonants and change y to i.
• Irregular adjectives like good, better, best must be memorized.