C O M PA R A T I V E S
AND
SUPERLATIVES
Part 1: A D J E C T I V E S
6TH YEAR
Comparatives and Superlatives
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ADJECTIVES
An adjective describes a noun. They go
BEFORE nouns. E.g. A beautiful car.
They can also be used alone after the verb
TO BE. E.g. He is intelligent.
They have the same form in the singular and
plural. E.g. He is tall. They are tall. (NOT:
They are talls)
Adjectives have got three forms: positive,
comparative and superlative.
Comparatives and Superlatives
Alive- dead
Some adjectives: Beautiful- ugly
Big- small
Bitter- sweet
Cheap- expensive
Clean- dirty
Curly- straight
Difficult- easy
Early- late
Fat- thin
Full- empty
Good- bad
Intelligent- stupid
Interesting- boring
Light- heavy
Modern- traditional
New-old
Nice- nasty
Polite- rude/impolite
Poor- rich
Quiet- noisy
Right- wrong
Safe- dangerous
Short-long
Happy- sad/unhappy
Hardworking- lazy
Single- married
Soft- hard
Hot- cold
Wide- narrow
Comparatives and Superlatives
COMPARATIVE FORM
• We use the COMPARATIVE FORM + THAN
to compare TWO people, things, animals, countries, groups,
concepts, etc.
Examples
Tom is taller than Richard.
A car is more comfortable than a motorbike.
A dog is friendlier than a cat.
Spain is warmer than England.
Students in class A are more respectful than students in class B.
Humility is better than arrogance.
Comparatives and Superlatives
GRAMMAR
Short adjectives
ONE-SYLLABLE or
TWO SYLLABLE ending in Y. They add –ER suffix
to the adjective.
• YOUNG: Sandra is younger than Annie.
• HAPPY: John was happier than Paul.
Long adjectives
TWO-SYLLABLE (no Y) o
more syllables. They add MORE before the
adjective.
• INTELLIGENT: Annie is more intelligent than Sandra.
Comparatives and Superlatives
SPELLING RULES
Short adjectives:
• One-syllable adjectives ending in -E take –R in the
comparative form. E.g. large…larger.
• Two-syllable adjectives ending in –Y turn the
–Y into –I and –ER (-IER)
• Adjectives ending in stressed vowel between two
consonants double the final consonant and then
take -ER
Comparatives and Superlatives
Adjective
Comparative
Rules
short
shorter
one syllable: + er
big
bigger
consonant + vowel + consonant:
double final consonant + er
busy
busier
consonant + y: ier
relaxed
more relaxed
two or more syllables:
more + adjective
good
better
bad
worse
far
farther- further
little
less
Irregular
Comparatives and Superlatives
PRACTICE: Make comparative sentences as the examples.
• London/ expensive/ Manchester
London is more expensive than Manchester.
• Tierra del Fuego/ small/ Cordoba
Tierra del fuego is smaller than Cordoba.
1- My sister/ thin/ me. (Present)
My sister is thinner than me.
2- I/ busy/ this week/ last week. (Present)
I am busier this week than last week.
3- The second exam/ bad/ the first one. (Past)
The second exam was worse than the first one.
4- My new job/ boring/ my old one. (Present)
My new job is more boring than my old one.
5- My granparents/ fat/ than yours. (Past)
My grandparents were fatter than yours.
6- His car/ modern/ my motorbike. (Past)
His car was more modern than my motorbike.
Comparatives and Superlatives
SUPERLATIVE FORM
• We use THE+ SUPERLATIVE FORM + OF/IN
To indicate that a person, thing, animal, country, group,
concept, etc, modified have the quality of the adjective to a
degree greater than that of anything it is being compared to
in a given context.
Examples
The plane is the most comfortable means of transport of all.
Tom is the tallest of all.
Russia is the largest country in the world.
(We use IN when we talk about places)
Comparatives and Superlatives
GRAMMAR
Short adjectives
ONE-SYLLABLE or
TWO SYLLABLE ending in Y. They add –EST suffix
to the adjective.
• OLD: Pat is the oldest of all.
• BUSY: Susan is the busiest person of all.
Long adjectives
TWO-SYLLABLE (no Y) o
more syllables. They add THE MOST before the
adjective.
• INTERESTING: This book is the most interesting of all.
Comparatives and Superlatives
ADJECTIVE
COMPARATIVE
SUPERLATIVE
cold
colder
the coldest
hot
hotter
the hottest
pretty
prettier
the prettiest
beautiful
more beautiful
the most beautiful
good
better
the best
bad
worse
the worst
far
farther/further
the farthest/ the furthest
little
less
the least
Comparatives and Superlatives
PRACTICE
•
Complete the sentences with a superlative:
a.
This building is very old.
It’s the oldest building in the town.
b. It was a very happy day. It was …..…..…..of my life.
THE HAPPIEST DAY
c. It’s a very good film. It’s…………… I’ve seen.
THE BEST FILM
d. It was a very bad mistake. It was……………. in my life.
THE WORST MISTAKE
e. It was a very cold day. It was …………….of the year.
THE COLDEST DAY
Comparatives and Superlatives
f. She’s a popular singer. She’s……………. in the country.
THE MOST POPULAR SINGER
g. He’s a very boring person. He’s ………………I know.
THE MOST BORING
h. This house is very big. It is……………. I’ve lived in.
THE BIGGEST HOUSE
i. My cousin is very tall. He is ……………….I have.
THE TALLEST COUSIN
j. Laura is a very pretty girl. She is………… I know.
THE PRETTIEST GIRL