Comparatives & Superlatives

FORM

1 One syllable adjective: cheap
COMPARATIVE: add er (cheaper)
SUPERLATIVE: add est (the cheapest)

2 One syllable adjective ending in e: nice
COMPARATIVE: add r (nicer)
SUPERLATIVE: add st (the nicest)

3 One syllable adjective ending in consonant - vowel - consonant: hot
COMPARATIVE: add consonant + er (hotter)
SUPERLATIVE: add consonant + est (the hottest)

4 Two syllables ending in y: happy
COMPARATIVE: replace y with ier (happier)
SUPERLATIVE: replace y with iest (the happiest)

5 Two or more syllables: beautiful
COMPARATIVE: add more / less (more / less beautiful)
SUPERLATIVE: add the most / the least (the most / least beautiful)

6 Irregular adjectives
good - better - the best
bad - worse - the worst
far - further - the furthest


FUNCTIONS AND EXAMPLES
We use comparatives:

to compare two things

John is thinner than Bob
It's more expensive to travel by train than by bus
My house is smaller than my friend's house

We use superlatives:

to compare one thing with the rest of the group it belongs to

John is the tallest in the class
He's the best football player in the team
This is the most expensive hotel I've ever stayed in


******ANT POINTS

1. We do not use "the" with the superlative if there is a possessive

His strongest point is his ambition

2. We use as + adjective + as to say that two things are equal in some way

He's as tall as me
Jim's car is as fast as mine

3. We use "not as" to say that two things are not equal in some way

He's not as tall as me
Jim's car is not as fast as mine

4. We can modify comparatives with "much", "a lot", "far", "a little", "a bit", "slightly"

Bob is much richer than I am
My mother's hair is slightly longer than mine

5. We can modify superlative with "by far", "easily" and "nearly"

Mario's is by far the best restaurant in town
I'm nearly the oldest in the class

6. If the second part of a comparative or superlative sentence is clear from what comes before or from the context, we can omit it

Going by bus is very fast, but the train is more comfortable

7. We can repeat comparatives to say that something is changing

These exams are getting worse and worse every year
She gets more and more beautiful every time I see her