Comparative and Superlative Adjectives
Comparative adjectives are used to compare one noun to another noun. Superlative adjectives are used to compare three or more nouns.
What Are Comparative and Superlative Adjectives?
Comparative and superlative adjectives are forms of adjectives that are used to compare the degree or level of a quality or characteristic between two or more nouns or pronouns. Comparative adjectives are used to compare two nouns or pronouns, indicating that one has a higher or lower degree or level of quality than the other. Superlative adjectives, on the other hand, are used to compare more than two nouns or pronouns, indicating that one has the highest or lowest degree or level of quality.
Comparative and Superlative Adjectives: Types
Based on how the comparative and superlative forms of an adjective are formed, we can categorize them into three groups:
- Type I: monosyllable adjectives
- Type II: multisyllable adjectives
- Type III: irregular adjectives
Type I: Monosyllable Adjectives
Type I adjectives have only one syllable. Such as hot, big, tall, short, etc.
Type I: Comparative Adjectives
Monosyllabic adjectives can be made into comparative adjectives by adding the suffix '-er' to the adjective. Comparative adjectives are used to compare two nouns or pronouns, indicating that one has a higher or lower degree or level of a quality than the other. For example:
hot → hott
large → larg
tall → tall
dry → dri
Spelling Rules for Comparative Adjectives
As you can see in the examples above, the spelling of some adjectives changes when forming a comparative adjective. Here are some of the rules governing the spelling of comparative adjectives:
- If the adjective ends in '-e', only add '
-r '.
larg
nic
pal
- If the adjective ends in a consonant-vowel-consonant, double the final consonant and add '-er.'
big → bi
wet → we
mad → ma
- If the adjective ends in a consonant + '-y', change '-y' to '
-i ', then add '-er.'
dr
sl
Exceptions
There are some exceptions to these rules. For example, some monosyllable adjectives end in '-y' but do not change their '-y' to '-i' to form comparatives:
sh
Type I: Superlative Adjectives
'taller' is the comparative form of the adjective 'tall'
A superlative adjective compares one thing/person/place to all the others in the same group. We can form a superlative by adding the suffix '-est' to the end of the monosyllable adjective and 'the' before the adjective. Pay attention to the examples:
tall →
large →
dry →
Spelling Rules for Superlative Adjectives
As you can see in the examples above, the spelling of some adjectives changes when forming superlative adjectives. Here are some of the rules governing these changes:
- If the adjective ends in '-e', add '
-st '.
larg
nic
pal
- If the adjective ends in a consonant-vowel-consonant, double the final consonant and add '
-est '.
big → the bi
wet → the we
mad → the ma
- If the adjective ends with a consonant + -y, change -y to
-i , then add -est.
dr
sl
Type II: Multisyllable Adjectives
Type II adjectives have more than one syllable. We can divide type II adjectives into two groups:
- multisyllable adjectives
- multisyllable adjectives ending in -y
Type II: Comparative Adjectives
When we have a multisyllable adjective, we can form its corresponding comparative adjective by using the determiner 'more'
beautiful →
difficult →
wonderful →
For multi-syllable adjectives ending in -y, we can form the comparative adjective by changing -y to
eas
funn
prett
Using 'Less'
When comparing two things using a multi-syllable adjective, we use the word 'less' to modify a noun as having a lower amount of quality. For example:
These flowers are
I'm searching for a
Type II: Superlative Adjectives
When we have a multi-syllable adjective, we can form its corresponding superlative adjective by using the determiner 'most' in the structure '
beautiful →
difficult →
wonderful →
For multi-syllable adjectives ending in -y, we can form the superlative adjective by changing -y to
easy →
funny →
pretty →
Using 'The Least'
When we have a multi-syllable adjective, we use 'the least' to modify a noun as having the lowest level of a quality. For example:
She is my
I am looking for the
Type III: Irregular Adjectives
Irregular adjectives do not follow the rules we discussed so far. You have to memorize their comparative and superlative forms.
In the table below, you can see some of the common irregular adjectives in English :
| Comparative | Superlative | |
|---|---|---|
| good | better | the best |
| bad | worse | the worst |
| well | better | the best |
| far (extent) | further | the furthest |
| far (distance) | farther | the farthest |
| many | more | the most |
| much | more | the most |
| little (amount) | less | the least |
The Preposition 'Than'
'Than' is a preposition that is used to introduce the second part of a comparison.
Ben is taller
Lisa is prettier
The first question is more difficult
Uses
Other than comparison, we can use comparative adjectives to:
- show how something or someone changes
We can use two comparatives with 'and' to demonstrate how something or someone is changing. For example:
The percentage got
Everything is getting
- indicate dependency of one thing on another
We can use comparative adjectives with 'the' to indicate that one thing depends on another. Look at the examples:
The
The
Review
To make comparisons between people or things, we have no choice but to use comparative and superlative adjectives. There are three types of each which were discussed in detail throughout the article.
| type 1 | type 2 | type 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| comparative |
My husband is |
My mother is |
The yellow dress is |
| superlative |
My husband is |
My mother is |
This is |
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Contents
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Adjective Placement and Order
In this lesson, we will learn the place of adjectives in a sentence and where they appear. We will also learn about the order of different types of adjectives
Types of Adjectives
Adjectives are the most used words in sentences. There are several types of adjectives according to their uses. Let's get to know them!
Descriptive Adjectives
Descriptive adjectives are adjectives that modify a noun or pronoun by showing its quality. In this lesson, we will learn more about them.
Attributive and Predicative Adjectives
An attributive adjective is an adjective that appears before the noun or pronoun it describes. In this lesson, we will learn more about them.
