LoginComparative and Superlative Adjectives For beginners
Here, you'll learn about comparative adjectives (e.g., "bigger") and superlative adjectives (e.g., "biggest"). Simple explanations and exercises to help you understand.
What Are Comparative and Superlative Adjectives?
Comparative and superlative adjectives are used to compare qualities of two or more things. Comparative adjectives are used to compare two things and superlative adjectives are used to compare three or more things.
Comparative Adjectives
Comparative adjectives are used to compare two things and show that one has a higher level or degree of quality than the other. For example:
This tea is colder than that one.
Miranda is taller than Lucy.
Than
To compare two things or persons, the preposition 'than' comes after the comparative adjective.
How to Make Comparative Adjectives?
For adjectives that have one syllable, '-er' is added to the end of the adjective to make it comparative. For example:
The man was nicer than the woman.
She was shorter than her big sister.
For adjectives that have more than one syllable, add 'more' before the adjective to make it comparative. For example:
This bag is more expensive than that bag.
This chair is more comfortable than my chair.
Superlative Adjectives
Superlative adjectives show the highest degree of a quality between three or more people or things.
How to Make Superlative Adjectives?
For one-syllable adjectives, simply add '-est' to the end of the adjective and put 'the' before it. For example:
This is the tallest building in the city.
She is the nicest person I know.
For adjectives that have more than one syllable, add 'the most' before them. For example:
This is the most expensive restaurant in town.
The princess was the most beautiful girl in the kingdom.
The table below shows some common English adjectives with their comparative and superlative forms:
Comparative | Superlative | |
|---|---|---|
fast | faster | the fastest |
nice | nicer | the nicest |
tall | taller | the tallest |
beautiful | more beautiful | the most beautiful |
comfortable | more comfortable | the most comfortable |
expensive | more expensive | the most expensive |
Irregular Adjectives
Some adjectives do not follow the typical rules for forming comparatives and superlatives. For example:
comparative | superlative | |
|---|---|---|
good | better | the best |
bad | worse | the worst |
Quiz:
Which of the following sentences correctly uses a comparative adjective?
This is an expensive bag.
The bag is expensiver than my bag.
This is the most expensive bag I have.
This bag is more expensive than that one.
Which sentence correctly uses a superlative adjective?
He is the better player on the team.
This chair is the comfortablest.
She is the most beautiful person I know.
This house is more expensive than that house.
Sort the words to form a grammatically correct sentence.
Match the words/phrases in the left column with the correct description.
Complete the sentence with the correct form of the adjective.
This is
(expensive) restaurant in town.
She is
(smart) than her sister.
This is
(fast) car in the race.
My house is
(big) than yours.
This book is
(interesting) than the one I read last week.
This is the
(good) movie I have ever seen.
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